Calix delivers E7 Ethernet service access platform

ORLANDO, USA: Calix, the largest communications equipment supplier focused solely on access solutions for broadband service delivery, unveiled a revolutionary new approach to access networks: the E7 Ethernet Service Access Platform (ESAP), a modular, chassis-based pure Ethernet platform architected for carrier class performance, deployment flexibility and management simplicity.

Marrying an advanced 100 gigabits per second (Gbps) backplane with a one rack unit (RU), two slot chassis, the E7 can deploy any mix of GPON, point-to-point gigabit Ethernet (GE) or Active Ethernet (AE), and 10GE transport for business and residential services, allowing communications service providers (CSPs) to combine multiple E7 platforms as a single, manageable network element.

The E7 is a highly extensible standards-based, Ethernet platform that offers CSPs the flexibility needed to address the bandwidth and operational challenges of an increasingly all-video world, while maintaining an architectural simplicity that eases provisioning and operations.

A powerful new option in the Calix Unified Access portfolio, the E7 ESAP complements the C7, North America’s most widely deployed multiservice access platform (MSAP). Together, these solutions provide an array of deployment options for CSPs looking to transform their networks from legacy to advanced services efficiently and cost-effectively.

With Internet traffic growing 60 percent annually, video is becoming the predominant consumer application. CSPs are struggling to keep pace with the exponential need for access network bandwidth.

Simultaneously, they face an increasingly competitive environment that renders services uptake extremely unpredictable. The modularity of the E7 is well-suited to address these challenges head-on, allowing CSPs to meet emerging service demands with bandwidth-rich GPON, residential AE, and point-to-point GE business services, while deploying a customized mix of E7 chassis that are optimized to their deployment needs.

As subscriber penetration increases, E7 chassis can be added incrementally, with each additional platform providing supplementary GPON, AE, and 10GE ports, yet managed as a single network element with one IP address as well as a single configuration database. This gives CSPs flexibility to easily add new service cards as demand dictates, with the extra capacity to meet network bandwidth challenges cost effectively while maintaining operational efficiency across the extensible modular chassis.