ANAHEIM, Calif., December 3, 2002 - Cisco Systems, Inc. today announced an upgrade to its Cisco uBR10012 cable modem termination system (CMTS) router. The MC5X20S Broadband Processing Engine is a blend of high-speed Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSISTM) processing, high port density and advanced RF spectrum. Cisco is also introducing the uBR7200-NPE-G1 processor, which more than doubles the performance of the Cisco uBR7246VXR CMTS router. Lastly, Cisco is introducing a number of high- availability features and industry's first integrated OC-48 WAN interface for a CMTS.
With the 5X20 BPE, the DOCSIS and EuroDOCSIS 1.1-qualified Cisco uBR10012 CMTS router allows Multiple System Operators (MSOs) to scale from five to 80 thousand modems on a single carrier-class chassis, simplifying operations and reducing overall capital expense. With up to eight 5X20 BPEs in a single chassis, the Cisco uBR10012 is now the densest CMTS platform on the market today, giving operators the opportunity to reach more subscribers and giving each of those subscribers increased bandwidth.
"The Cisco 5X20 Broadband Processing Engine will greatly increase the capacity of our Cisco uBR10012 CMTSs, enabling us to keep pace with rapid subscriber growth while still meeting the service and reliability requirements our customers demand," said Yasunori Sugiyama, Director, VICTOKAI Corporation. "This quantum leap forward in CMTS technology allows us to significantly upgrade our deployed uBR10012 CMTSs with minimal capital and operational expense."
The new uBR7200-NPE-G1 is the newest member of the high-performance Cisco NPE processor family for the uBR7246VXR CMTS router. The G1 more than doubles the performance of the uBR7246VXR, enabling operators to serve more customers with a wider range of value-added services such as voice over IP (VoIP), VPN services and video streaming and giving operators maximum bandwidth and scalability for minimal incremental expense.
"With cable operators keenly focused on free cash flow, Cisco continues to evolve its CMTS uBR portfolio to deliver the investment protection, performance and scalability required to offer new profitable services," said Ron Westfall, Principal Analyst, Broadband Infrastructure, at Current Analysis. "Cisco's leadership in the IP cable market is the result of sustained innovation centered around real customer needs."
New high availability features such as Stateful Switchover (SSO) and the new N+1 inter-chassis failover solution virtually eliminate cutover time between processors and provide uninterrupted broadband service to end users. The N+1 failover solution is another industry first for a CMTS. Cisco's carrier-class CMTS line is helping cable operators deploy profitable, communications-grade IP services to growing new markets.
"As the Cable industry evolves toward increased residential penetration, multiservice capability, and commercial deployments, the ability to deliver service and network integrity and increase operational effectiveness becomes increasingly critical," said Carson Chen, vice president of Cisco's cable business unit. "By taking advantage of our expertise and sustained innovation in the CMTS router market, our cable customers are assured of industry-leading network resiliency, availability and scalability to meet ongoing demand and achieve operational excellence."
The new Cisco OC-48 DPT WAN Interface, the industry's first integrated high-speed optical interface for a CMTS, reduces MSOs capital and operational expenses by reducing network complexity. This new interface delivers scalable Internet service and reliable IP-aware optical transport to support the expanded bandwidth requirements of mass-market voice and commercial services.
The new OC-48 DPT WAN interface is part of Cisco's Dynamic Packet Transport/Resilient Packet Ring (DPT/RPR) portfolio, which includes the new high-density 4-Port OC-12/STM-4 DPT/RPR line card for the Cisco 12000 Series routers. These two new additions to the DPT/RPR portfolio enable a range of carrier-class optical internetworking solutions ideally suited for CMTS aggregation and commercial services applications.
The Cisco MC5X20S Broadband Processing Engine and the OC-48 DPT WAN Interface are scheduled to be commercially available at the end of 2002. The Stateful Switchover feature is scheduled to be available in the first quarter of 2003, and the uBR7200-NPE-G1 and the N+1 failover solution are available today.