Broadband

Harmonic offers MAC Anywhere Flexible MAC Architecture capability

Oct. 13, 2021

MAC Anywhere will run on any vendor’s hardware and enable operators to locate the containerized DOCSIS MAC function within the headend or in fielded nodes, the company asserts.

Stephen Hardy

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Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) has used this week’s SCTE Cable-Tec Expo 2021 virtual event to announce MAC Anywhere, the company’s implementation of Flexible MAC Architecture (FMA). Delivered via Harmonic’s CableOS Cloud-Native Core Platform, MAC Anywhere will run on any vendor’s hardware and enable operators to locate the containerized DOCSIS MAC function within the headend or in fielded nodes, the company asserts.

FMA is a CableLabs specification that, as the name implies, enables an evolutionary approach to Distributed Access Architectures, particularly a transition between Remote PHY and Remote MACPHY (see “CableLabs publishes FMA specs with eye toward 10G”). According to Gil Katz, Harmonic's senior vice president of cable access business operations, MAC Anywhere extends the flexibility of FMA to include a compatibility with a wide variety of hardware from different vendors thanks to its ability to run on any CPU.

MAC Anywhere implemented via CableOS’s orchestration capabilities thus creates the potential of an FMA ecosystem, according to Katz. While the company has run full lab trials of MAC Anywhere, it has not yet conducted demonstrations or performed integration work with other hardware vendors, Katz stated. However, the company has discussed such integration with operators.

Katz added he expects initial deployments next year.

About the Author

Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director & Associate Publisher

Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.

Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.

He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, DOCSIS technology, and more.