Calix Targets Operator Efficiency With Its AXOS E7-2 Aggregation Card

With the launch of an aggregation line card for the AXOS E7-2 Intelligent Modular System, Calix is aiming to give service providers a way to more efficiently combine traffic from remote systems and reduce the number of required router ports at the service edge, thereby reducing network capex and increasing operational efficiencies.

The 10GE-12 aggregation line card features 12 ports of 10G Ethernet, allowing operators to combine traffic from up to 24 systems on one E7-2 installation, rather than running multiple aggregation platforms that need to be managed and backhauled independently. This in turn creates a dense fiber connection to the service edge router infrastructure, resulting in a reduced need for fiber in the outside plant and fewer active router ports, according to Calix.

"Service providers are always looking for new ways to reduce the costs associated with new FTTH network builds as the fiber and other construction materials are an expensive component of these projects," said Broadbandtrends Principal Analyst Teresa Mastrangelo, in a statement. "At the same time, router ports are a costly necessity for backhaul into the network and have become an even larger expense in recent years as bandwidth usage has grown. Aggregating traffic from multiple systems into a single platform is a more efficient use out of both outside plant fiber and router ports while simplifying operating procedures through reduced complexity; a win-win for service providers that need to gain an edge in the all-important time-to-market race."

This new capability is the result of an ongoing focus on access network innovation, with the Calix team focused on evolving platforms such as the AXOS E7-2 that integrates into existing systems and provides network operators with a foundation for the deployment of software-defined access and next-generation networks, Teresa McGaughey, director of Solutions Marketing at Calix told Broadband World News.

"There's no more of this swivel-chair provisioning. You can just do it in a very common way across all the services you deploy," she said. "As service providers turn up services, they don't have to think about what technology they're running on, or where that service is coming from."

Using the 10GE-12 aggregation line card, service providers with 12 small central offices in their network could aggregate them into one central office, combining fiber and router ports and, in turn, saving money and reducing their time-to-market, said McGaughey. By using the same software platform across all AXOS systems, CSPs can establish common services and one method and operating procedure for their entire network, she added.

It also is an important tool for providers' 5G backhaul plans, McGaughey said. Since the product is hardened, it can be placed in harsher environments such as cabinets and towers, she said.

Added Shane Eleniak, senior vice president of platforms at Calix: "As we partner with service providers to build next-generation fiber networks, it's clear that making the aggregation function more efficient results in key savings for their businesses, shortening their payback period on a fiber network build while freeing investment to win the war for the subscriber."

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— Alison Diana, Editor, Broadband World News. Follow us on Twitter or @alisoncdiana.