Vitesse introduces 2.5 and 10-Gbit/sec HOVCATe mappers for architects of metro Ethernet equipment
August 30, 2004 Camarillo, CA-- Vitesse Semiconductor unveiled two additions to its VersaCAT Ethernet-over-SONET product family, the HOVCAT48e and HOVCAT192e. The HOVCATe (High Order Virtual Concatenation) devices map traffic at OC-48 (2.5 Gbits/sec) and OC-192 (10 Gbits/sec). These devices enable carriers to utilize existing SONET/SDH networks to efficiently and cost-effectively transport data services with new or existing platforms. The mappers support Generic Framing Procedure (GFP), Link Capacity Adjustment Scheme (LCAS), and Virtual Concatenation (VCAT) for use in multiservice provisioning platforms (MSPPs), SONET/SDH ADMs, and Resilient Packet Ring (RPR) applications.
The HOVCATe mappers are built on the HOVCAT192(VSC9118) mapper, which has been designed into eight of the top 10 tier-one optical networking manufacturers, according to Vitesse. These devices implement an optimized architecture that adds support for OC-48 RPR applications with a specialized 5-Gbit/sec operating mode and vital GFP statistics counters. They also offer improved performance management capabilities to enable the essential operations, administration, management, and provisioning (OAM&P) features required by carriers as Ethernet-in-the-WAN deployments mature, creating a more reliable network that is easier to manage.
"Carriers in their quest to converge on a single network supporting multiple services have standardized on GFP, VCAT, and LCAS. iSuppli expects port shipments of GFP-enabled mappers to grow by 85% CAGR thru 2007," said Steve Rago, principal analyst, networking and optical practice, iSuppli. "One reason carriers chose to build their next-generation networks over existing SONET/SDH infrastructure is its proven reliability and well established OAM&P capabilities. Vitesse in its HOVCATe has recognized this and added OAM&P capabilities on chip, helping OEMs meet the expectations of carriers."
The 64 channels offered by HOVCATe coupled with 10-Gbit/sec bandwidth scalability provides unmatched density for Metro Ethernet MSPPs, reducing system costs by maximizing the number of Ethernet clients that can be terminated in a single chassis, according to Vitesse. The industry standard SPI-4 interface allows connection to an Ethernet MAC, Layer 2 switch, NPU, FPGA, or RPR MAC, providing customers with the flexibility to support all Metro Ethernet deployment models with a single chipset solution.
Additionally, Vitesse mappers were first to offer a totally hitless LCAS solution which allows carriers to dynamically allocate bandwidth based on factors such as time of day and peak usage, according to the company. The ability to allocate bandwidth on an "as-needed" basis enhances the services carriers can offer, and drastically reduces costs to the end customer. Vitesse has reduced development risks and design time for implementing LCAS by providing OEMs with a mapper evaluation system.
"Vitesse's well established technical relationships provide us early visibility into market requirements and enabled us to be first to market with the HOVCATe mappers," said Andrew Schmitt, director of SONET/SDH product marketing at Vitesse. "The enhanced functionality of the new HOVCATe devices provides the next step in performance for the evolving Metro Ethernet equipment market."
In addition to offering expanded features, the HOVCATe's flexible architecture also provides the groundwork necessary to deliver hardware- and software-compatible mapper versions that support low order VCAT at 2.5-, 5-, and 10-Gbit/sec densities in the near future. HOVCATe customers will then easily migrate their existing systems to support low-order tributaries. The ability to add low-order features without making changes to existing hardware or software provides equipment designers with compelling time-to-market and cost savings of up to 80%.
The HOVCAT192e (VSC9128) and HOVCAT48e (VSC9125) are priced at $700 and $400, respectively, in volume quantities. The HOVCATe mappers sample at the end of September and are slated for volume production in Q4 2004. Vitesse supports all HOVCAT mappers with an applications engineering team, software drivers, and the VersaCAT evaluation platform, which can serve as the foundation for in-field designs.
The VersaCAT family adapts Ethernet technology to the WAN by efficiently provisioning Ethernet services across existing transport infrastructures while optimizing bandwidth utilization using hitless rate adaptation. It includes a suite of 2.5- and 10-Gbit/sec mapper (HOVCAT and HOVCATe) and multi-protocol WAN MACs (Meigs-IIe) and Campbell-I) that support VCAT, fully integrated LCAS, and GFP, as well as provide extensive Layer 2 aggregation, encapsulation, and management features. More specifically, this family is used for efficient provisioning of data services from Ethernet (10 Mbits/sec) to 10 Gigabit Ethernet and various storage and video protocols over WAN transport infrastructure, while optimizing bandwidth utilization using hitless rate adaptation.