Calix Upgrades C7 Multiservice Access Platform

PETALUMA, CA -- Broadband access vendor Calix added five new line cards to its flagship C7 multiservice access platform, significantly enhancing its capacity and Ethernet capabilities. The new line cards bring 10 Gbps Ethernet transport and aggregation functionality, VDSL2 and enhanced GPON services, as well as Ethernet gateway functionality to this versatile MSAP, which now offers 47 line card options.

According to Calix marketing director Geoff Burke, the C7 chassis was designed in 2002 with far more capacity than was needed at the time; the new cards provide access for the first time to capacity that was built in at the outset. This avoids the need for forklift upgrades and protects the investments of the 500-plus providers that are using the C7 today. Both the original chassis and all the original line cards function with the new cards.

The C7 enables providers to evolve to advanced Ethernet and fiber-based services from copper-based legacy service offerings. Leveraging the Calix Ethernet eXtensible Architecture (EXA), an Ethernet kernel based on industry-standard protocols, the new line cards enhance this evolutionary path, delivering more capacity, higher-bandwidth services across both copper and fiber, and more flexibility in bridging legacy services and advanced Ethernet services in a single, manageable platform.

“Seven years ago, we were the first Calix customer to install the C7, choosing it because of its flexibility to deliver both a high-capacity SONET transport as well as robust voice and broadband services in one platform,” says Gene Baldwin, vice president at Cimarron Telephone, a subsidiary of MBO Corporation in Oklahoma. “Today, our service requirements have evolved to require 10 Gbps Ethernet transport and the flexibility to support advanced IP-based solutions like Microsoft Mediaroom to our subscribers over both copper and fiber. The C7 is able to seamlessly support this migration without leaving our existing investment behind. The C7 has lived up to its promise, allowing us to cost-effectively and efficiently migrate our network to deploy new services, rapidly capture new revenue opportunities, and maintain a long-term, sustained competitive advantage.”

The new C7 line cards share a common software core with other Calix E-Series platforms, including the new E7 Ethernet Service Access Platform (ESAP). This commonality not only provides engineering efficiencies across the Calix portfolio, but allows the C7 and E7 platforms to work harmoniously in the same access network despite differences in form factor and functionality. In addition, each new card is fully compatible with the existing stable of C7 cards, allowing for simple service migration and preservation of necessary legacy services.

• The RAP-10GE, which is the common control unit for the C7, delivers carrier-grade, ERPS-ring-protected 10 Gbps and 1 Gbps transport interfaces, full Metro Ethernet Forum service assurance and compliance, as well as a 150 Gbps switching fabric.


• The COMBO2-24V and VDSL2-24 deliver high-density VDSL2 services, including seamless fallback to ADSL2+, Annex M, and bonding support, in a single-slot form factor that allows for 1:1 replacement of existing Calix ADSL cards for operational simplicity. The fallback to ADSL2+ allows carriers to avoid changing out modems for customers who do not need or cannot benefit from VDSL2.


• The Ethernet Gateway acts as a gateway for the existing base of C7 multiprotocol line cards, allowing existing cards to leverage the Ethernet transport infrastructure of the EXA Powered C7.


• The OLTG-4E delivers up to four GPON ports per card, supporting any mix of standard or Extended Reach GPON optical interface modules. Unlike the earlier GPON OLT card, it can take full advantage of the 10 Gbps Ethernet backplane and can operate in full peer Ethernet mode.

Calix is also introducing six new residential optical network terminals (ONTs). The new 700GE ONT family builds on the extensive capabilities of the 700GX ONT family by introducing two or four gigabit Ethernet ports on each 700GE ONT. Like the 700GX ONT family, each 700GE ONT is capable of auto-detecting both GPON and active Ethernet transport. Each GE access port on the 700GE ONTs is also designed to deliver a full 1 Gbps of bandwidth in both the upstream and the downstream, and can also support multiple services and virtual local area networks (VLANs), providing exceptional flexibility and efficiency.