8-Port Enhanced Data Muxponder Card for the Cisco ONS 15454 Data Sheet

The 8-Port Enhanced Data Muxponder Card (Figure 1) for the Cisco^® ONS 15454 Multiservice Transport Platform (MSTP) expands the platform’s storage area network (SAN) and data interface density. The card facilitates the delivery of Gigabit Ethernet, 1-Gbps to 4-Gbps Fibre Channel, IBM Fiber Connection (FICON), and IBM ISC services for enterprises or metropolitan-area (metro) and regional service provider networks.

Background

Large and medium-sized enterprises and service providers increasingly find themselves at a critical stage in the expansion of their networked data centers. They typically need to consolidate a variety of networks services and protocols that support their storage and data applications in order to simplify operations and reduce costs. These services range from Gigabit Ethernet to 10-Gbps Fibre Channel and include 1-Gbps Fibre Channel, 2-Gbps Fibre Channel, the emerging 4-Gbps Fibre Channel data rate, IBM FICON, ISC Compat, and ISC-3 (1-Gbps/2-Gbps).

In the recent past, SONET add/drop multiplexers (ADMs) provided the services platform to aggregate and transport services up to OC-48/STM-16, whereas metro dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) platforms were designed for optical signals from OC-3/STM-1 to OC-192/STM-64, including Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet. Unfortunately, deploying multiple platforms (including metro DWDM and SONET ADMs) to support multiple services is not cost-effective for many service provider and enterprise networks. The Cisco ONS 15454 MSTP with a variety of muxponder cards provides a more cost-effective networking solution to facilitate the delivery of all data, storage area networking (SAN), and TDM services.

Product Overview

The Cisco ONS 15454 8-Port 10-Gbps Data Muxponder Card can transport up to 8 x 1-Gbps services, 4 x 2-Gbps services, 2 x 4-Gbps services, or a mix of these services aggregated over a G.709 OTU-2-based, 50-GHz spaced, 50-GHz stabilized, ITU-compliant wavelength with selectable Forward Error Correction (FEC), Enhanced Forward Error Correction (E-FEC). The muxponder card is a plug-in module to the Cisco ONS 15454 MSTP, helping enable a high-density, cost-effective solution for Gigabit Ethernet, Fibre Channel, FICON, and ISC transport over a highly resilient optical platform. The muxponder card architecture contains eight client interfaces that are mapped to a single line interface, without accessing the Cisco ONS 15454 shelf cross-connect fabric.

Each client interface supports Gigabit Ethernet, 1-Gbps or 2-Gbps Fibre Channel/FICON/ISC, or 4-Gbps Fibre Channel using a Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP) optics module with LC connectors, providing the flexibility to support several protocols, data rates, or fiber types with support for qualified SFP modules. The data muxponder card supports a mixture of SFP types and also supports in-service insertion or removal without affecting other active ports, allowing networking flexibility and reduced pre-planning activities.

The DWDM line interface provides one 10.70923-Gbps G.709 OTU-2 digital wrapper, long-reach/long-haul, ITU-compliant, 50-GHz spaced optical interface using LC connectors supporting G.709 OTU-2 digital wrapper interfaces. The DWDM output line interface is tunable across the full optical C or L band, dramatically reducing the inventory of spares. When operated within the outlined specifications, each card will transport the aggregated signals with a maximum bit error rate (BER) of 10E-15.

The muxponder card incorporates the eight client interfaces and one DWDM line interface on the same card. The muxponder cards are deployable in the 12 multiservice interface card slots of the Cisco ONS 15454 MSTP, in systems with or without cross-connect cards. The addition of a cross-connect card enables the platform to support hybrid applications containing transparent 2.5-Gbps services as well as aggregation of the other services supported by the Cisco ONS 15454 MSTP. The only other common card required for operation is the timing, communications, and control (TCC) card.

The data muxponder card provides many carrier-class features and capabilities necessary to deliver SAN and data services, including selectable service mix, wavelength tunability, flexible protection mechanisms, flexible timing options, and management capabilities.

Enhanced FEC Capability

An important feature of the data muxponder card is its ability to configure the Forward Error Correction in three modes: NO FEC, FEC, and E-FEC. The output bit rate will always be 10.7092 Gbps as defined in G.709 but the error-coding performance can be provisioned:

·     NO FEC: no Forward Error Correction

·     FEC: standard G.975 Reed-Salomon algorithm

·     E-FEC: standard G.975.1 two orthogonally concatenated BCH super FEC code. This FEC scheme contains three parameterizations of the same scheme of two orthogonally interleaved block codes (BCH). The constructed code is decoded iteratively to achieve the expected performance.

Note:   E-FEC gains 2 dB when compared to standard FEC.

Wavelength Tunability

The data muxponder cards operate on the 50-GHz ITU grid and are tunable across 82 adjacent 50-GHz channels for the C-band module and across 80 adjacent 50-GHz channels for the L-band module. The incorporation of tunability into the data muxponder cards dramatically reduces the customer’s inventory required to cover all the system wavelengths.

Flexible Protection Mechanism Support

The data muxponder card, depending on the requirements of the network, can be deployed to support a choice of protection mechanisms. Table 1 outlines the protection options available to help meet the service-level agreements (SLAs) required by the application.

Table 1.       Protection Formats

SAN Extension Beyond the Metro

When a Fibre Channel link is extended over a long distance, the inherent flow-control mechanism can significantly reduce the overall throughput performance. The data muxponder card implements a buffer-to-buffer distance extension scheme that effectively increases the supported distance up to 1200 kilometers (km) for 1-Gbps Fibre Channel, 600 km for 2-Gbps, and 500 km for 4-Gbps. Buffer-to-buffer credit and R_RDY spoofing allows users to extend their business continuance and disaster recovery applications beyond the boundaries of a metro network.

Management

The Cisco ONS 15454 MSPT provides comprehensive management capabilities for operations, administration, monitoring, and provisioning (OAM&P) accessed through the integrated Cisco Transport Controller craft interface with support from the Cisco Transport Manager Element Management System (EMS). The data muxponder card incorporates provisionable digital wrapper (G.709) functions, providing DWDM wavelength performance-management capabilities, especially for services being transported transparently across the network. Without the digital wrapper function, a carrier transporting a service transparently would be unable to identify network impairments that may degrade the transported signal and exceed SLA requirements. The digital wrapper’s general communication channel (GCC) enables a separate communications channel, versus the section DCC/regenerator section DCC (SDCC/RSDCC) in SONET/SDH signals, to be used by the platform when transparent signals are transported. This GCC enables the Cisco ONS 15454 to extend its advanced network autodiscovery capabilities to DWDM-based services. The integrated Cisco Transport Controller craft manager and the Cisco Transport Manager EMS provide the user with OAM&P access for the system.

Performance Monitoring

The data muxponder provides extensive performance-monitoring capability, by wavelength or service level. At the wavelength level, the card continuously monitors transmit and receive power, loss of signal or frame, alarm-indication signal, and remote defect indication. Additionally, based on the protocols of the client interfaces which include Gigabit Ethernet, 1-Gbps and 2-Gbps Fibre Channel, 4-Gbps Fibre Channel, FICON, and ISC, the card provides detailed performance statistics and alarms including 8b/10b code violation, received and transmit frame or packet count, and received and transmit R_RDYcount (Fibre Channel only). Enhanced performance monitoring allows the user to define additional criteria to better assess the health of the network and support the decision for protection switching. The card’s performance-monitoring capabilities provide support for G.709 (OTN). Calculation and accumulation of the performance-monitoring data is in 15-minute and 24-hour intervals as per G.7710. The data muxponder card also incorporates faceplate-mounted LEDs to provide a quick visual check of the operational status at the card. An orange circle is printed on the faceplate, indicating the shelf slot in which the card can be installed.

Configurable Far-End-Laser-Off Behavior

The data muxponder card offers the capability to provision the Far-End-Laser-Off behavior. You can use Cisco Transport Controller to configure how the remote client interface will behave following a fault condition. It is possible to configure the remote client to squelch or to send an alarm indication signal (AIS).

Application Description

The data muxponder card effectively addresses demands for high-density data and storage service aggregation. Whether they are using a dedicated enterprise infrastructure or a metro or regional service provider’s network, customers can efficiently and cost-effectively scale their business continuance applications and consolidate their backbone network infrastructures.

The tremendous growth of business applications is quickly heightening data-storage requirements and network expectations. As shown in Figure 5, customers demand uninterrupted access to corporate systems and data. Enterprises must respond to this surge in demand by providing robust, highly secure, interconnected SANs and geographically dispersed data-recovery solutions. The data muxponder card provides the capability to efficiently aggregate mission-critical Gigabit Ethernet, Fibre Channel, FICON, and ISC services across the metro optical transport network, enabling real-time synchronous replication of information between the primary and backup data centers. For enterprise customers with less stringent requirements, the data muxponder card provides a highly cost-effective data and storage transport solution for asynchronous disk mirroring or tape backup applications. The ONS 15454 MSTP also supports 2.5-Gb Data Muxponding and the transport of 10-Gbps GE and FC services.

The Cisco Advantage

The data muxponder card complements and extends the service capabilities of the Cisco ONS 15454 MSTP. The card allows users to take advantage of their existing fiber plant and installed base of Cisco ONS 15454 systems, while providing new services such as Gigabit Ethernet, 1-Gbps to 4-Gbps Fibre Channel, FICON, and ISC over the same Cisco ONS 15454 platform that supports DS-1/E-1, DS-3/E-3, OC-n/STM-n, Ethernet, ATM, and video and 10-Gbps services.

The Cisco ONS 15454 optical transport solution offers significant advantages over traditional network elements. These advantages include the following:

Unprecedented Service Densities

The Cisco ONS 15454 platform supports up to 96 Gigabit Ethernet or 1-Gbps Fibre Channel/FICON/ISC, 48 2‑Gbps Fibre Channel/FICON/ISC, or 24 4-Gbps Fibre Channel interfaces per shelf. When the platform is installed in a typical central office bay frame, a bay can support up to 384 Gigabit Ethernet or 1-Gbps Fibre Channel/FICON/ISC, 192 2-Gbps Fibre Channel/ISC, or 96 4-Gbps Fibre Channel interfaces per shelf. These industry-leading densities are attainable because of the single-slot footprint of the data muxponder interface card.

Common Line Cards

Optical line cards are not restoration-type-dependent, which reduces sparing costs and technician confusion. Additionally, as networks and customer interface demands evolve, you can easily redeploy optical circuit packs as necessary.

Single Software Load

One software load supports all of the restoration types listed previously, eliminating unnecessary guesswork when ordering. No software right-to-use license is required for each protection type. After the software is purchased, all features with full functionality are available to the user.

Common Chassis

A common chassis supporting all optical interface speeds allows the technician to spend time deploying bandwidth and services instead of learning about multiple equipment platforms. The Cisco ONS 15454 platform’s line-rate and restoration flexibility makes ordering and deploying simple, fast, and easy. With integrated DWDM capabilities, the need to deploy another metro DWDM platform is reduced.

Multiservice Interface Selection

Gigabit Ethernet, 1-Gbps Fibre Channel/FICON/ISC, 2-Gbps Fibre Channel/ISC, and 4-Gbps Fibre Channel interfaces are all supported. This eliminates the “missing interface” found with many vendors’ SAN and data product offerings.

The Cisco ONS 15454, the industry’s leading metro optical transport platform, delivers supercharged SONET/SDH transport, integrated optical networking, unprecedented multiservice interfaces, and competitive economic benefits.

Cisco ONS 15454 8-Port Enhanced Data Muxponder Card Features and Specifications

Compact Design

●   Single-width card slot design for high-density, up to eight 1-Gbps, four 2-Gbps, or two 4-Gbps solutions

●   Up to 12 data muxponder cards per shelf assembly on the Cisco ONS 15454 platform

●   Up to 6 data muxponder cards per shelf assembly on the Cisco ONS 15454 M6 platform

●   Up to 2 data muxponder cards per shelf assembly on the Cisco ONS 15454 M2 platform

Flexible Restoration Options

●   Transparent Protection

●   Unprotected (1+0)

●   1+1 Transparent Protection

●   Client Y-protection option

Regulatory Compliance

Tables 2 and 3 list the regulatory compliance and system requirements for the muxponder card. Tables 4 through 7 list technical specifications, and Table 8 provides ordering information.

Table 2.       Regulatory Compliance¹

1. All compliance documentation may not be completed at the time of product release. Please check with your Cisco sales representative for countries outside of Canada, the United States, and the European Union.

Table 3.       System Requirements

1. The TCC3 card is supported on the Cisco ONS 15454 DWDM systems from Rel 9.2 onwards. However, it is backward compatible with software Release 9.1 and earlier releases. In the Release 9.1 and earlier releases, the TCC3 card boots up as the TCC2P card in the Cisco ONS 15454 DWDM systems.

2. The TNC-E and the TSC-E cards are supported on the Cisco ONS 15454 M6 and M2 DWDM systems from Rel 9.3 onwards

Table 4.       Client-Side Specifications*

1. Specified OMA at 4.25 Gbps is equivalent to an average power of –7.3 dBm at an ER of 9 dB.

2. Specified OMA at 4.25 Gbps is equivalent to an average power of –17.3 dBm at an ER of 9 dB.

Table 5.       DWDM Specifications

Table 6.       DWDM Receive Side Optical Performances

Table 7.       Card Specifications

 

Table 8.       Ordering Information