PMC-Sierra 10G-EPON OLT chips support symmetric and asymmetric operation

Last week PMC-Sierra, Inc. (Nasdaq:PMCS) announced a family of four 10G-EPON optical line terminal (OLT) system-on-a-chip (SoC) devices that between them support both symmetrical 10 Gbps as well as 10 Gbps downstream and 1 Gbps upstream for FTTH and FTTB applications. The devices also offer traffic management, packet processing, on-chip redundancy, and optical diagnostic capabilities.

The family includes:PAS8301 asymmetric 10G-EPON OLTPAS8311 asymmetric 10G-EPON OLT with integrated traffic managementPAS8401 symmetric 10G-EPON OLTPAS8411 symmetric 10G-EPON OLT with integrated traffic management.

PMC-Sierra sources cited the devices’ in-band optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) and upstream signal analyzer capabilities as differentiators. The line diagnostic features can pinpoint the location of cuts and bends, even those beyond the splitter, the PMC-Sierra sources asserted. The results of the tests can be displayed on a computer via a combination of PMC-Sierra-supplied firmware and software.

Meanwhile, on-chip fiber automatic protection switching (APS) enables rapid switch-over in cases of network failures. The chips’ quality of service support exceeds China Telecom specifications, including IPv6 protocol support. A loss-less power save capability reduces power requirements as well as operational expenses, PMC-Sierra says. The technique is currently in the process of being standardized by the IEEE and ITU, the sources explain.

PMC-Sierra offers reference designs and software design kits (SDK) for the new devices. The SDK includes a 10G-EPON protocol stack, a complete set of traffic management drivers, IEEE 802.3av/ah OAM protocol including operator-specific stacks, optical diagnostics functions, and pre-integrated peripheral drivers.

The OLT device family reference designs will be available in the second quarter of 2011 to select customers. Companion ONU devices should be available later this year, the sources said.

October 2, 2011

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