POS to Ethernet Converter

Thu Sep 9 21:03:35 UTC 2010

I currently have several dozen ONS 15310-MA's deployed to do exactly that,
convert OC12's and OC48's into 1 or 2 gige's.  Its a bookend solution, so
you need a box for each end of the circuit, but in our case the cost of the
two boxes was still cheaper than the router POS interfaces.

There are cheaper options compared to Cisco, like the Force10 Traverse
series, but for the size and cost of the 15310-MA, its hard to find a better
box.  There are two model cards that will do the conversion for you, the ML
card which operates more like a transparent switch and bridges the traffic,
or the CE card which mimics more of a media converter, layer 1 3/4 :-).  I
use the CE card most often and its works great.

For the CE card, the ONS uses GFP can VCAT to mimic a direct physical
connection and it can even turn the remote TX laser off if the local RX
losses link.

If you want more info or a parts list, let me know.  The optical division
within Cisco is a tricky place to navigate and most of the SE's I have
spoken with didn't even want to do anything with the optical side of the
business.  Some of the interesting things I have learned about the Optical
division:

   - They have literally a thousand times more part numbers than the rest of
   the division
   - every part in the chassis order ala carte, and the config tool doesn't
   build it for you (chassis, fan tray, front door kit, sup card, blanks, etc)
   - they give you more than enough rope to hang yourself and then some
   - support is ala carte as well, per piece (chassis, fan tray, sup card,
   etc

:-)

GL

-Rob

On Thu, Sep 9, 2010 at 1:06 PM, Mikael Abrahamsson <swmike at swm.pp.se> wrote:

> On Thu, 9 Sep 2010, Alan Bryant wrote:
>
>  We currently have a POS OC-3 that I would like to be able to convert
>> it to Ethernet, if possible.
>>
>> Do such devices exist?
>>
>
> Yeah, and it's pretty sweet idea. Haven't used it myself but it seems
> really nice.
>
>
> <http://www.rad.com/10/GbE-over-STM-1-OC-3-SFP-Converter/17834/>
>
> RAD’s MiRICi-155 connects Gigabit Ethernet LANs over wireline or wireless
> STM-1 or OC-3 links. The miniature Ethernet over STM-1/OC-3 converter
> provides TDM connectivity to any Ethernet device with an SFP (small form
> factor pluggable)-compatible, GbE port. Hot-swappable and
> software-configurable, the intelligent SFP converter is a fully managed
> device supporting standard GFP encapsulation. It delivers a complete
> Ethernet over SDH/SONET solution in a finger-sized SFP enclosure and enables
> a quick rollout of new Ethernet services over legacy TDM infrastructure. The
> MiRICi-155 is part of RAD’s “System on an SFP” product line.
>
> --
> Mikael Abrahamsson    email: swmike at swm.pp.se