MERRIMACK, N.H. -- Metrobility Optical Systems today announced that it is introducing a scalable and flexible managed Ethernet Coarse Wave Division Multiplexing (CWDM) solution for metro access or campuses to its Radiance model family. A cost effective passive optical networking solution to bring fiber optics to the curb, business and home, the R4000 CWDM models reduce the capital expenditure of the channel costs to approximately 1/3 that of DWDM, and reduces the operating expenditures by simplifying the installation, configuration, and management of the network.

Metrobility’s R4000 CWDM solution maximizes the use of the existing fiber plant, is simple to deploy, leverages existing Ethernet expertise, and creates a solution that addresses quality of service issues since it is both highly available and highly manageable.

Metrobility’s CWDM solution utilizes a Gigabit Ethernet line card with wavelength-specific SFP pluggable optics based on the ITU-T industry standard 20nm spacing. The line card, available as copper-to-fiber or fiber-to-fiber, provides an inline electrical conversion mechanism for monitoring the optical power of every link against problems such as poor connections, wavelength degradation, and even physical breaks in the fiber. Optical power management is accomplished through the Company’s EFM OAM feature-ready Radiance technology and Metrobility’s NetBeacon SNMP Element Management software. Optional line protection and restoration capabilities are also available by providing dual wavelength-specific fiber connections that automatically failover should a link loss occur.

The R4000 (1U high, 19 or 23” rack mount) multiplexer is a scalable solution that supports up to 12 wavelengths (from 1350nm to 1610nm) based on the ITU G.694.2 CWDM wavelength grid. Optical add/drop multiplexers provide either point-to-point or ring topologies and can support distances up to 80km without regeneration. The R4000 enables service providers to offer up to 12 Gigabits of bandwidth over a single fiber link. The R4000 is designed to meet NEBS certification requirements.

“As network builders deploy CWDM solutions to support multiple users/customers on a single fiber link, the need to ensure a high availability fiber connection becomes even more critical and makes management and redundancy a key component of any CWDM system,” stated Alex Saunders, president and CEO of Metrobility Optical Systems.

“A fiber optic link is rarely taken out-of-service for routine testing and measurement, and with more wavelengths and more customers on a single link the proactive management provided by NetBeacon becomes a necessity. Because optical devices have a wide power budget, when a problem begins to develop and worsens over time, failures occur without any warning. NetBeacon will continuously monitor and graph power levels over time so that maintenance can be planned, and crews deployed before multiple customers are adversely affected. With the introduction of the R4000 and wavelength-specific Gigabit line cards, Metrobility is at the forefront of bringing end-to-end management of passive optical devices by incorporating optical management capabilities into each wavelength.”

Pricing and Availability

The R4000 chassis has a list price of $199. The R153-xx Gigabit Ethernet line card has a base list price of $749, and 80 km wavelength specific (1350nm to 1610nm in 20nm spacing) pluggable optics are $2799. The 4 and 8-channel mux/de-mux modules have $2999 to $5999 list prices. Drop-and-Pass and Drop-and-Add modules list at $999 and $1999, respectively.

The R4000, the R153-xx line card, pluggable optics, and OADM modules will ship in October.

Metrobility Optical Systems