Haunting from the past.........
Zhone: We do everything, at video rates
$500M, Ejabat & Symons, yields a box that does everything
Zhone opened the kimono this week, showing at N + I a model of a complete system they believe will outperform any DSL equipment on the market. The first piece is called DAM, which combines the functions of a Voice Over DSL gateway, a Redback-like system management unit, and some switching functions. With a ten gigabyte backplane, and processor power planned to match, it promises internet connectivity at non-blocking speeds ten to twenty times faster than most current DSL equipment. Rather than megabit level interfaces, the unit is designed for gigabit OC-48 inputs, and can be go to DWDM or OC-192 in the future. It's backed up by a complete element management and provisioning system. The DAM can be frontended by an access module that replaces the DSLAM, an interface to existing DSLAMs, or their MALC, essentially a DSLAM/DLC. A complete line of customer gear, including voice and video, is coming next. No softswitch promised, although so many are fighting for market they could buy a vendor easily, and the architecture is robust enough to support it internally.
This architecture locates most intelligence at the DAM, which should make for easier control. The industry is in intense debate about the most efficient location for intelligence, with Cisco and the OpenDSL initiative looking more towards distributed processing, which has different advantages. The people at Zhone have an earned reputation, but the first samples are just going out. On paper, everything looks great; but until volume is delivered and proven, we'll have to be skeptical. |
