Calix is expanding 
its Fiber-Forward access portfolio with the introduction of its E7-20 multi-terabit Ethernet Service Access Platform (ESAP), a high capacity, low latency, all-fiber access concentrator offering 2 Tbps of switching capacity — sufficient for delivering hundreds, even thousands, of megabits per second (Mbps) of high-bandwidth, video-rich content to residential or business subscribers. The new platform, which is positioned as a complement to Calix’s widely deployed E7-2 modular ESAP, is focused exclusively on Ethernet-based fiber access services deployed in high density and high capacity environments. Calix also introduced a sealed Ethernet Service Access Node (ESAN) focused on VDSL2 copper services deployment in low density and remote areas. T
The new E7-20 ESAP is a 13-u, 20-slot chassis initially supporting GPON, Active Ethernet (AE), and point-to-point gigabit Ethernet (GE) services on the subscriber side and multiple 10 gigabit Ethernet (10GE) transport services on the network side. The 2 Tbps capacity enables 100 Gbps to each of its 20 universal line card slots. This enables the platform to support emerging technologies such as 10G PON, 10 Gbps Ethernet (10GE) aggregation, and 100 Gbps Ethernet (100GE) uplinks.
Each E7-20 will be capable of serving up to 480 dedicated AE subscribers or 5,120 GPON subscribers — with sufficient headroom to accommodate more than 20,000 subscribers through the introduction of higher density and higher capacity line cards in the future. It offers full support for standards-based Ethernet ring protection switching (ERPS) and rapid spanning tree protocol (RSTP), as well as 10GE uplinks and link aggregation. Initially, the platform will come to market with three line cards supporting and array of fiber access services:
- SCP-10GE — A switch control processor, this card has four GE SFP ports and two 10GE ports that support both SFP+ and XFP, as well as a 100 Gbps switching capacity.
- GE-24x — Focused on AE and point-to-point Ethernet services, this card provides 12 compact SFP ports, supporting 24 GE ports.
- GPON-4x — Focused on GPON, this cards has four GPON ports, which in turn can support up to 256 subscribers with a 64:1 split.
Trials of the E7-20 are expected in the first part of 2011.
“We fundamentally believe that the access network of the future will be dominated by bandwidth intensive, unicast video traffic, and that the ideal medium for carrying this traffic is fiber,” said Kevin Pope, senior vice president of product development at Calix. “A new generation of access platforms is necessary to address the realities of this future head-on, and that is the inspiration behind the development of the E7 Ethernet Service Access Platforms. We believe that the E7-20 is the first access platform developed and optimized purely for this new ‘all-video’ and ‘all-fiber’ world — a world dominated by GPON and Active Ethernet today, but which we believe will require even more advanced and higher capacity technologies tomorrow.”
On the copper side, Calix’s new e E3-48 is a sealed ESAN VDSL2 delivery vehicle that supports AC and -48VDC powering, and can be easily installed virtually anywhere in the access network — on poles, on walls, in low profile “dog house” enclosures, or even in the basements of multi-dwelling units (MDUs). Additionally, the E3-48 is fiber-fed, supporting up to two standards-based 10GE/1GE uplinks and four GE/2.5GE uplinks.
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