Calix Expands Access Portfolio with Carrier-Grade 10 Gigabit Ethernet Solution

New E5-400 Platform Complements Existing Calix Access Solutions, Delivers Unified Access Infrastructure for Advanced IP Services

PETALUMA, CA—Calix today announced a new addition to its access portfolio that expands Ethernet services capacity over both fiber and copper networks. The Calix E5-400 meets growing network traffic demands by adding carrier-grade 10 gigabit Ethernet (10GE) and multiple gigabit Ethernet (GE) aggregation and transport capabilities to the Calix unified access infrastructure.

[Editor’s note: See also today’s release entitled, “New Calix Ethernet Service Platforms Deliver High-Speed VDSL2 over Copper”]

Part of the Calix E-Series Multiservice over Ethernet product family, the Calix E5-400 allows service providers to address their bandwidth challenges head-on:

* The E5-400 provides standards-based, redundant, non-proprietary 10GE, NxGE, and GE transport and aggregation across the access network.
* It delivers ultra-high-capacity IP services support over fiber to the premises (FTTP) and last-mile copper infrastructure.
* Service providers can deploy the E5-400 with other E-Series products and the Calix C7 to create a comprehensive unified access infrastructure that supports advanced Ethernet services as well as legacy services such as POTS, Specials, DS-3, and OC-3/12/48 SONET.
* A hardened, 1 rack unit (RU) form factor enables flexible deployment from the CO to the network edge.
* The E-400 is fully managed via the Calix Management System (CMS), which in turn provides a single network view and a common user experience independent of media type, protocol, or service

“Service providers need to address the growing capacity challenges posed by advanced IP services with carrier-grade, highly reliable, high-bandwidth solutions for business and residential customers,” said Frank Wiener, vice president of product development at Calix. “The E5-400 combines the flexibility of a compact and hardened form factor, the capacity of 10GE, and alignment with industry standards to deliver the first widely deployable 10GE transport and aggregation solution for the access network.”

New Platform Addresses Need for Increased Network Capacity

The Calix E5-400 addresses major trends pushing higher bandwidth requirements in the access network, such as an increasingly connected consumer lifestyle and skyrocketing rates of content exchange and consumption. As competition grows, service providers need to quickly bring to market an increasing array of advanced IP services while lowering capex and opex. To keep up with these demands, service providers need solutions that enable higher-bandwidth services, simpler management, and new revenue sources.

“IdeaOne’s business subscribers leverage our services for mission-critical applications,” said Bob Johnson, CEO at IdeaOne Telecom of Fargo, North Dakota. “Calix’s new offering lets us keep expanding our business services by meeting the bandwidth and reliability demands of our largest customers, including hospitals, high-tech companies, and financial institutions. Calix access solutions ensure that our networks are stable and redundant, with no single point of failure. Plus, we have the peace of mind that we’ll be able to meet our customers’ needs well into the future.”

“Network traffic is growing dramatically due to fundamental shifts in how consumers and businesses are finding, accessing, and sharing content,” said Matt Davis, program director of consumer multiplay services at IDC. “To address this growth, service providers need solutions that have the raw capacity to reliably handle and manage the volume of traffic, plus the flexibility to be deployed effectively and efficiently wherever they’re needed. The ability to snap into existing network infrastructure will be a key driver in the wide deployment of these solutions, and service providers will clearly favor adherence to standards.”

The Calix E5-400 – A Carrier-Grade Ethernet Access Platform

The flexible, secure, scalable, and environmentally hardened Calix E5-400 platform includes these unique features and benefits:

* Its compact 1 RU form factor provides greater flexibility, enabling deployment in the field or the CO. For last-mile delivery, providers can deploy the Calix E5-400 by dropping GE services directly to the business or home.
* New layers of protection include enhancements to ITU G.8032 Ethernet Automatic Protection Switching (Enhanced EAPS), IEEE 802.1w Rapid Spanning-Tree Protocol (RSTP), and IEEE 802.3ad link aggregation to ensure network flexibility and redundancy. Enhanced EAPS creates a fault-tolerant topology for VLANs that ensures highly available Ethernet switched rings. RSTP enables redundant links for automatic backup if an active link fails.
* With support for multiple SFP, XFP, and SFP+ ports and a robust switching fabric, the E5-400 provides flexibility, capacity, and redundancy across copper and fiber Ethernet interfaces.

A Natural Complement to the Calix Access Portfolio

The E5-400 brings a new addition to the Calix E-Series product family that is fully managed by the CMS. When combined with the other solutions in the Calix access portfolio – the Calix C-Series, F-Series, and P-Series platforms – the E5-400 plays a key role in providing a comprehensive unified access infrastructure that delivers a single managed network for advanced services while providing operational and capital efficiency.

Availability and Live Demonstration

The Calix E5-400 platform, which is in use in customer networks today, is available now on a limited basis. Calix expects it to be available generally in Q3 2008.

The E5-400 will be on display at NXTcomm 08 in Las Vegas, June 17-19, at Calix booth SU8010. The new Calix platform will be part of an industry-first, live, advanced IP services demonstration that includes Microsoft Mediaroom middleware, HD linear and on-demand video content, and a host of interactive services. A dazzling user experience will be delivered across a redundant 10GE Enhanced EAPS ring created by multiple E5-400s and subsequently delivered across copper and fiber media via the Calix E5-120 (VDSL2), the Calix C7 (GPON), and the Calix E5-111 (bonded ADSL2+) platforms.