TECHNICAL
by Brendan Ryan, Intel Corporation; Jorge Figueroa, Harmonic Inc.; Kevin A. Noll, Ciena & Paul Runcy, Ciena How Harmonic’s cOS Platform Reinvents Next-Gen Broadband Access for Unified DOCSIS and PON
Consolidating last mile technologies by disaggregating the access network
IEEE 10G-EPON and ITU-T XGS-PON, are co-located in the same HFC node enclosure, while DOCSIS MAC and OLT Controller functions run at the head-end under Harmonic’s cOS cloud-native core platform powered by Intel ® Xeon ® CPUs. This paper covers this unique combination which enables MSO’s to leverage the next generation of access network technology, while extending the longevity of their existing network infrastructure without wholesale changes. Introduction Many MSOs are enhancing their services portfolio by deploying Passive Optical Networks (PON), focused mainly on greenfield residential applications and business services. In the near-term PON can also be used to extend the value of existing DOCSIS network infrastructure
MSO’s are experiencing increased demand for expansion into new markets and are starting to require higher capacity in their access networks. The shift has accelerated a transition to Distributed Access Architecture (DAA) that enables MSO’s to innovate with higher capacity access networks. The DAA requires disaggregation of physical and logical network functions. Disaggregation of the access node allows the simplification and miniaturisation of the physical network devices. It also enables centralisation of software- based functions. This architecture drives the need for additional compute resources in the core and requires a new method to orchestrate these functions and resources.
Harmonic’s cOS™ Pebble R-PHY and Fin OLT Plug (OEM from Ciena) supporting
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Volume 46 No.1 March 2024
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