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Ethernet to OC-3 Extender

I'm looking for lo-cost devices that will take Ethernet from one side and send it over an OC-3 circuit to another such device on the other side. Specifically I am looking for a device that has a non-copper Gig-E port on it so that you can get as much of the OC-3 bandwidth as possible. Most devices I've seen have a copper 10/100 port and only work to 100Mbps. I know that RAD has a new device (the RIC155GE) and it's the first one I've seen but I'm wondering if anyone has come across anything else. Low-cost and simplicity are key, as extra 10/100 ports and TDM ports and other things on the box only add to the expense (though SNMP management is needed).

Reply to
ethenator
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Howdy,

How many dollars does low-cost mean to you? Everyone has a different pain threshold, and it usually depends on volume.

Are you wanting fiber based GbE because the thing you are connecting to is fiber based? Or because you believe it would be cheaper or give you more bandwidth?

Besides the RIC-155GE, I don't see anything else out there, but I'll keep an eye out.

Regards,

Marc

Reply to
mrand

might not fit your definition of "cheap", but have a look at some of the recent SDH muxes - Axxessit is one we are using.

modular, 1U high SDH mux - they can take STM / SDH links at speeds from OC-3 / STM-1 upwards, and 10/100 or Gig Ethernet ports.

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Reply to
stephen

Why do you think that fiber Gig-E is any better than copper Gig-E, or that either is remotely necessary to feed a 45 Mbit/s link?

I presume you want good performance for your users, and that's a lot more than bandwidth. Latency matters.

You need good routers that do QoS (Quality of Service) to prioritize some packets (queue jump). You request low cost, so I'd steer you to the Linux Router Project where you can reuse an old PC.

-- Robert

Reply to
Robert Redelmeier

Probably because OC-3 is 155 Mbit :-)

Well I don't know of SDH/PoS PC-cards that would qualify not as experimental. Another option would be a used router with a PoS module but I cannot say anything about prices.

Reply to
Manfred Kwiatkowski

Oops. My bad. Filling that pipe won't be easy. The standard PC PCI bus is bursts at 1064 Mbit/s, but short bursts and setup unusally limit it to around 300.

-- Robert

Reply to
Robert Redelmeier

I believe the Extreme BlackDiamond has an unusual board that will inverse multiplex any ethernet traffic on the switch to four OC3s.

The board isn't low cost however.

Reply to
Will

Gigabit Ethernet is needed to make full use of the available OC-3 bandwidth. With framing overhead and management you should be able to get around 145 Mbps.

As for fiber versus copper, fiber is preferable since we have almost all fiber-based GigE ports in our switches so it saves the added cost of the media converter. Pandatel has a copper-based GigE/OC-3 box, but they are an obscure international company that makes it difficult for us to deal with.

There seem to be a few boxes out there such as the Larscom and the Axxessit that offer multiple 10/100 ports, but we are looking to create a single pipe with this bandwidth rather than carve it up among 10/100 ports, and ethernet aggregation does not always achieve effective multiplexing.

The cost we are looking for is around $2,000-2,500 US. The RAD box comes in around that price.

Reply to
ethenator

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