Managed Optical Ethernet with SLAs (Fast, Simple, Auditable)
Lit Fiber delivers carrier-managed optical Ethernet between your sites and clouds with contracted SLAs—no optics to manage, no DWDM to tune.
You choose the handoff (EPL/EVPL/E-LAN/DIA), speed (100 Mb/s → 1/10/100/400 Gb/s where available), and endpoints; the provider lights and monitors the path. SolveForce designs Lit Fiber so it’s resilient, secure, and evidence-ready for audits.
Related options: 🌑 Dark Fiber (you light it) → Dark Fiber • 🔀 Wavelength (per-wave L1) → Wavelength Services
See the catalog: 🌐 Connectivity • 🖧 Networks & Data Centers
🎯 Outcomes (Why Lit Fiber)
- Simplicity — provider lights and manages optics; you get Ethernet handoffs and SLAs.
- Speed & scale — 100M/1G/10G common; 100/400G where plant supports it.
- Predictable performance — latency/jitter/loss SLAs, plus Mean Time To Restore (MTTR).
- Easy redundancy — dual diverse circuits, diverse POPs, or protected rings.
- Audit-ready — turn-up baselines, SLA reports, and change evidence exported to SIEM.
🧭 Service Profiles (Spelled Out)
- EPL (Ethernet Private Line) — point-to-point Layer-2; transparent Ethernet as if local.
- EVPL (Ethernet Virtual Private Line) — point-to-multipoint L2 (multiple EVCs on one UNI).
- E-LAN (VPLS/EVPN-based) — any-to-any L2 “virtual LAN” across sites. → VPLS
- E-Access / E-Tree — hub-and-spoke L2 for wholesale/aggregation patterns.
- DIA (Dedicated Internet Access) over Lit Fiber — managed Internet with symmetric bandwidth. → Fiber Internet
Need deterministic L1 without managing optics? Choose Wavelength Services.
Need full optical control (your own DWDM)? Choose Dark Fiber.
🧱 Technical Building Blocks
- UNI/NNI handoffs — electrical or optical (SMF LC/MPO); 1/10/100/400 GbE.
- EVCs & QoS — Ethernet Virtual Circuits with CoS for voice/video/critical apps.
- Protection & diversity — protected rings (sub-50 ms) or dual unprotected paths with physical diversity.
- Monitoring — provider NMS + customer visibility; performance probes and fault management. → Circuit Monitoring • NOC Services
🧰 Design Patterns (Pick Your Fit)
A) Branch ↔ DC / Hub (L2)
- EVPL from branches to hub/DC; add SD-WAN for app-aware steering.
→ SD-WAN
B) Any-to-Any Campus/Metro (L2)
- E-LAN for metro multi-site; QoS per class; optional shaping for bulk flows.
C) Managed DCI (L2)
- EPL/E-LAN between data centers when you don’t want to manage optics; choose protected or diverse unprotected paths.
→ For L1 with per-wave SLAs: Wavelength Services
D) Cloud On-Ramps (L3)
- DIA over Lit Fiber + private on-ramps (AWS/Azure/GCP) at colo hubs for deterministic paths.
→ Direct Connect • Colocation
E) Hybrid WAN (L2/L3)
🔒 Security & Boundary Controls
- Edge policy — next-gen FW/WAF at borders; L2 ACLs/SGT where supported. → Cybersecurity • WAF / Bot Management
- Encryption — add MACsec (L2) or IPsec (L3) if policy requires encryption over managed fiber. → Encryption
- Identity & ZTNA — app-level access for users/contractors; no flat VPN. → ZTNA
- Evidence — perf & fault logs stream to SIEM; SOAR playbooks for escalate/rollback. → SIEM / SOAR
📐 SLO Guardrails (Typical Lit Fiber Targets)
| Metric | Metro (Class A) | Regional (Class B) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-way latency | ≤ 1–3 ms | ≤ 8–20 ms | Route-dependent |
| Jitter | ≤ 1 ms | ≤ 3 ms | QoS classes honored |
| Packet loss (sustained) | < 0.1% | < 0.1% | SLA backed |
| Availability | 99.95–99.99% | 99.9–99.95% | With protection/diversity |
| MTTR | ≤ 4 hours | ≤ 4–8 hours | Contracted |
We publish SLO dashboards and open carrier tickets on breach. → Circuit Monitoring • NOC Services
💵 Commercials (No Surprises)
- Port/access speed (100M/1G/10G/100G/400G) and EVC count drive price.
- Distance/route — metro vs regional; protected vs unprotected; diversity options.
- Term — 12/24/36+ months; NRC for install, MRC for service; cross-connect fees in colos. → Colocation
- Burst/QoS — contracted rates; excess handled per class and policy.
🧪 Turn-Up & Acceptance (What We Test)
1) Provisioning — UNI/EVC build; QoS classes; VLAN tags.
2) Baseline — RFC 2544 / ITU-T Y.1564 throughput/latency/jitter/loss by class.
3) Diversity — validate path/POP diversity (route letters/maps where requested).
4) Monitoring — add to NOC; perf thresholds; escalation trees. → NOC Services
Artifacts (test reports, routes, SLAs) are stored and exported to SIEM for audits. → SIEM / SOAR
🧭 Lit vs Wavelength vs Dark (Quick Guide)
| Need / Constraint | Choose |
|---|---|
| Simple L2/L3 handoff with SLAs; no optics to run | Lit Fiber |
| Deterministic L1 per-wave, provider-lit | Wavelength |
| Full optical control (DWDM under your ops) | Dark Fiber |
Many customers mix: Lit for branches, Wavelength for regional trunks, Dark for high-capacity DCI/AI fabrics.
🛠️ Implementation Blueprint (No-Surprise Rollout)
1) Inventory endpoints — sites/DCs/colos/cloud on-ramp POPs.
2) Select service — EPL/EVPL/E-LAN/DIA and QoS classes.
3) Redundancy plan — protected vs unprotected; dual diverse laterals/POPs; letters for diversity.
4) Handoffs — optics (LR/LR4/ER4) vs electrical; VLAN/EVC plan; MTU/QoS settings.
5) Security & policy — FW/WAF, MACsec/IPsec where required; ZTNA for users.
6) Turn-up tests — RFC 2544/Y.1564; store baselines; attach to change ticket.
7) Operate — onboard to NOC; perf alarms; monthly SLA reviews; carrier escalation playbooks.
→ Direct Connect • SD-WAN • Cybersecurity
✅ Pre-Engagement Checklist
- 📍 Site list, addresses, suite/room; MPOE/MMR access & hours.
- 🔗 Service type (EPL/EVPL/E-LAN/DIA), VLAN/EVC plan, QoS needs.
- 🧭 Diversity requirements (separate conduits/bridges/POPs); request route letters.
- 🔌 Handoff type (optical/electrical), optics spec (LR/LR4/ER4), MTU.
- 🔒 Encryption policy (MACsec/IPsec), FW/WAF posture; ZTNA for user access.
- 📊 SLO dashboards; SLA reporting cadence; escalation contacts.
- 🧪 Test artifacts required (RFC 2544/Y.1564), acceptance criteria, rollback plan.
🔄 Where Lit Fiber Fits (Recursive View)
1) Grammar — a managed transport in Connectivity.
2) Syntax — underlays for Cloud, DCI, and on-ramps.
3) Semantics — integrity & boundary protection via Cybersecurity.
4) Pragmatics — telemetry drives SolveForce AI and SD-WAN steering.
5) Foundation — consistent terms via Primacy of Language.
6) Map — indexed in the SolveForce Codex & Knowledge Hub.
📞 Order Lit Fiber / Design a Resilient Underlay
Related pages:
Wavelength Services • Dark Fiber • Direct Connect • Colocation • SD-WAN • MPLS • VPLS • VPN Services • Circuit Monitoring • NOC Services • Connectivity • Networks & Data Centers • Cloud • Cybersecurity • Knowledge Hub