AHhaha, it sounds like you're giving us a first hand account of something you've seen.
Yes. They opened it up for me so that I could try to understand it.
Can you post a link to this?
This morning I was invited to examine this new unit that integrates and enhances the existing CATV system with the combined FO voice/data feed on the loop.
The 6x6x8 ... that's feet, right?
Yes. It has two open out doors to expose the racks. To get at the air conditioner and UPS you have come in another panel door at rear.
Sounds like a controlled environmental vault (cev), but you say it's steel?
It is a cev made of sheet steel. The comm engineer said this unit supports a region of maybe 5,000 houses in a fairly dense suburb and has a range of several miles.
The only DSC that I know of with an outside subscriber plant product line was Digital Switch Corporation of TX whose product, Lightspan, sounds like it might fit this space.
DSC Communications was bought in '98 by Alcatel and apparently they're selling these advanced switches to Att. This switch takes the data and voice channels and manages the crossconnect and distribution to sub-distributors(I forgot the name) so that both BB:Internet and BB:telephony can be sent throughout the CATV system on shorter segments.
It takes an optical input from the cenral office or other upstream source and feeds twisted pair, or other media to the home or business.
I think Att has finessed that system with what they are now installing. Twisted pair is not supported in this box. This is FO to coax only.
And Lightspans are routinely situated in huts and CEVs, similar to what you've described, but they (DSC) were bought out by Alcatel a while back and did not retain their name, as far as I know.
I think we're on the same page, but DSC is still a functioning division with the name in tact.
Is this the same outfit?
Yes.
Or, are you referring to some enclosure product firm (who makes the CEV) that goes by the same name, possibly?
No. The cev is just someone's cabinet. The rack and all the other mass of equipment that they get into it comes from various vendors.
At first I thought that you were referring to the HLIT Node CMTS that someone posted a piece about yesterday, on the LMT.
Best I know the CMTS is upstream. This pseudo node is for distribution rather than detection termination. The idea is to circumvent the long runs on the CATV coax by splicing into the loop and distributing the channels closer to their final destination. Given the mass of PC boards inside the cev probably this unit has more function than I'm suggesting.
I'd also be interested in knowing how much life that UPS has once a commercial power failure occurs. Do you know?
The comm engineer said that although there was lots of electronics the whole unit didn't consume much power and so they didn't expect the UPS would be taxed. Apparently they designed around expected power downs, but I didn't get a figure. It was certainly a more robust unit than the one I had on my computer some time ago. I'll see what I can find out. |
