Can OLTs separate port management by admin user?

Wed Feb 6 15:56:00 UTC 2013

----- Original Message -----
> From: "Scott Helms" <khelms at zcorum.com>

> On Wed, Feb 6, 2013 at 10:30 AM, Robert E. Seastrom <rs at seastrom.com>
> wrote:

> > If you were talking about layer 2 handoffs, your statement is perhaps
> > even more untrue - active ethernet and PON layer 2 handoffs are
> > approximately as easy as each other.
> 
> Perhaps you'd share some specifics? I certainly haven't worked on all of
> the PON systems that are out there, but the ones I have worked one didn't
> have (or I didn't find) a good way to separate traffic at layer 2 so that
> several operators could handle their own Layer 3 provisioning for customers
> on the same OLT.

I am speculating here, Scott, and perhaps Frank, who runs the boxes, will
chime in, but my understanding of the Calix E series is that you can separate
the *traffic* on a per port basis, even on the GPON cards, as to where
that traffic is routed to, presumably by VLAN.

I don't think, on rereading your post, that that's what you actually mean,
though; I think you're asking about something which I myself
got to yesterday afternoon:

Can you separate the *control plan* on an ISP by ISP basis: is it 
possible to give ISPs whose clients are on specific ports of an access
mux like an OLT *control over only those ports*, leaving card- and chassis-
global functions for the L2 operator? (Possibly with the optimization
of allowing card-global functions if all the ports on the card are owned
by that operator, or unassigned.)

It's a very good question, and the next nail I was going to hammer.

I'm betting the answer is presently "no; you'll have to put a smart
OAM&P layer in front of it", myself.

Can anyone who's used such Access multiplexers comment on this?

Cheers,
-- jra
-- 
Jay R. Ashworth                  Baylink                       jra at baylink.com
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