Calix E7 and 760GX ONTs deliver standards-based Ethernet OAM support over GPON
DALLAS, TX—February 15, 2011—Calix, Inc (NYSE:CALX, news, filings) today announced the introduction of Carrier Ethernet service assurance for its Calix Unified Access portfolio. Calix fiber access solutions – including the E7 Ethernet Service Access Platform (ESAP), 760GX family of optical network terminals (ONTs), and the Calix Management System (CMS) – now allow communications service providers to ensure that their Ethernet services conform to service level agreements (SLAs) via industry-standard Ethernet operations, administration, and maintenance (OAM). Tactically, Ethernet OAM is essential for service providers to demonstrate their adherence to SLAs that are increasingly required by business subscribers for mobile backhaul, mission-critical enterprise services, and wholesale services. Strategically, communications service providers are finding that meeting the needs of business subscribers is a fundamental requirement to the overall success of their “Fiber Forward” initiatives, both from a business case contribution perspective, as well as to achieve their economic development aspirations.
“We’re seeing significant growth in our retail Ethernet services to businesses, as well as wholesale Ethernet access and mobile backhaul transport,” said Chris Emick, manager of network operations at SECOM, a division of the Southeast Colorado Power Association based in La Junta, CO. “The new OAM enhancements to the Calix fiber access portfolio provide us with the tools we need to sell high quality Ethernet service and predictable service level agreements to demanding businesses and mobile providers. Our serving area is extensive, and having remote test heads and Ethernet monitoring tools embedded at the end of every circuit allows us to understand how an Ethernet service is performing without sending technicians out to the far corners of our network.”
OAM tools – available on any member of the Calix 760GX ONT family when deployed in conjunction with software release 1.2 on the Calix E7 ESAP – allow Calix customers to monitor, manage, and report on SLAs they sell to their commercial customers. In addition, CMScan now provision and activate Y.1731 Performance Monitoring, 802.1ag Fault Management, and RFC2544 out of service testing by enabling Calix 760GX ONTs to function as remote test heads and RFC2544 “reflectors.” These enhancements fully automate the testing, fault detection, and performance monitoring of Ethernet circuits in the field. Other features include enhanced alarming using 802.1ag continuity checks with remote defect indication (RDI), which notify the network operator when a service starts degrading, as well as CMS collection of Y.1731 performance data compiled at the ONT service edge, which enables the creation of historical reports and graphs to be used as SLA compliance mechanisms for the end customer.
All nine members of the Calix 760GX business services ONT family now support Ethernet OAM, making this solution available in a variety of port configurations, including rack-mounted as well as outdoor wall/pole-mounted versions. The 766GX, the most popular unit for commercial services and mobile backhaul, offers four gigabit Ethernet (GE) ports, eight POTS ports, and eight T1/E1s. The T1/E1s can be provisioned as time-division multiplexing (TDM) or pseudowire 3 (PWE3) circuits compliant to Metro Ethernet Forum-8 (MEF-8) specifications for TDM over Ethernet. The 760GX ONTs feature the unique Calix auto-detect technology supporting both GPON and point-to-point GE services. A follow-on software release will bring Ethernet OAM to the 760GX ONTs for point-to-point GE deployments.
“Ethernet OAM support has become an essential requirement for communications service providers engaged in ‘Fiber Forward’ initiatives that will include local businesses, mobile backhaul, or economic development aspirations,” said Kevin Pope, vice president of product development at Calix. “With embedded Ethernet test heads in our fiber access solutions, we are able to lower the cost of operations for our customers by allowing them to remotely enable and retrieve Ethernet circuit performance data, and pinpoint faults remotely based on MEF standards. Hundreds of our customers today offer mobile backhaul transport services over Ethernet to wireless operators, and Ethernet OAM tools have become the de facto standard for turn-up and testing. Our Ethernet service assurance support over GPON gives our customers the edge they need in an increasingly competitive market.”
Calix Unified Access portfolio support for Ethernet OAM service assurance was introduced today at the 2011 NTCA Annual Meeting and Expo in Dallas, TX, and will be demonstrated during exposition hours on February 15 and 16 at Calix Booth 125.
About Calix
Calix is a leading provider in North America of broadband communications access systems and software for fiber- and copper- based network architectures that enable communications service providers to connect to their residential and business subscribers. Calix has shipped over eight million ports of its Unified Access portfolio to more than 600 North American and international customers, whose networks serve over 40 million subscriber lines in total.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are based upon management’s current expectations and are inherently uncertain. Forward-looking statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this release and we assume no obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking statement to reflect any event or circumstance after the date of this release, except as required by law. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from current expectations, based on risks and uncertainties affecting the Company’s business. The reader is cautioned not to unduly rely on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Additional information on potential factors that could affect Calix’s results and other risks and uncertainties are detailed in its report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 25, 2010, filed with the SEC on October 22, 2010, available at http://www.sec.gov.
Press Contact:
Catherine Koo
415-992-4400
calix@lewispr.com
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