Omnitron introduces hybrid Ethernet NID

Omnitron Systems is formally introducing a new hybrid network interface device (NID) today at the Carrier Ethernet World Congress in Warsaw that allows delivery and monitoring of carrier-grade Ethernet service across multiple operators' networks via a single piece of equipment.

Omnitron Hybrid NID"If you look at carrier Ethernet today, a lot of network is deployed with multiple providers. You have a wholesale provider and maybe a retail service provider, and they collaborate to deliver a carrier Ethernet service end to end," said Abel Tong, Vice President of Marketing, during a preview of Omnitron's iConverter HybridNID at COMPTEL in Dallas, Texas. "Anytime you have two providers working together is an opportunity to use a hybrid NID."

Tong illustrated a mobile backhaul case as an example of a hybrid NID use. "In a mobile backhaul situation we have a wireless carrier sitting at the tower delivering wireless services, and a wireline operator (which) provides the connectivity between say a mobile switching center and the tower, and in that case for the wireline operator the challenge is to deliver a carrier grade Ethernet service, deliver not just bandwidth but also management and the ability to do SLA assurance. As a wireless carrier, I really depend on things like low latency, high reliability, low frame loss--so I need something at my end point at the tower and at my mobile switching center for me to actually monitor the quality of service that I'm getting. ... The hybrid NID is useful here because there's two operators, wireline and wireless, and we can manage both from the same point: the dropoff point at the tower."

Omnitron hybrid NID demarcThe iConverter HybridNID also features zero-touch provisioning and tiered database backup and restore functionality. With zero-touch provisioning, "the idea here is to simplify the whole service activation process," Tong said. "Just go out, plug the equipment in and have it turn up and come back to a server back in the network operations center (NOC), figure out what it needs to do and provision itself. ... because it's all automated, the test cycle is a lot shorter and the soak cycle is a lot shorter. So you have the ability to turn up in days."

While Tong didn't discuss price, he said that interest in the product was very high at COMPTEL and expects similar response at CEWC.

For more:
- Ethernet Academy has an overview of NID types

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