Calix Unveils VNF, Unlocking Software Defined Access for Cable Operators

Calix, Inc., a global enabler of Subscriber Driven Intelligent Access, has unveiled AXOS DPx Connector, a DOCSIS Virtualized Network Function (VNF) based on a microservices architecture, enabling Software Defined Access (SDA) for cable operators.

AXOS DPx provides cable operators a simple “plug and play” solution to integrate AXOS Systems into their existing DOCSIS back office systems. Utilizing a VNF architecture, Software Defined Network (SDN) ready NETCONF interfaces, and standards-based YANG models, AXOS DPx enables MSOs to leverage DOCSIS, as well as the AXOS anyPHY™, anySDN™, ecosystem.

Calix pioneered SDA to enable service providers to transform their businesses and best align the device enabled subscribers with their content and applications in the cloud. For cable operators, the SDA architecture allows them to leverage the advantages of DOCSIS, rapidly deliver new services, and adopt new technologies while being free to immediately integrate the advantages of SDN into their access network. Premier cable solutions provider Momentum Telecom recognized the benefits of providing a simplified path to SDA for its broad cable provider customer base, and has coordinated with Calix to integrate AXOS DPx Connector into its widely deployed, DOCSIS-based BBX Broadband Management platform.

“Calix recognizes that SDA aligns well with the business direction of many MSOs,” said Michael Weening, Calix executive vice president of sales and marketing. “By connecting DOCSIS to AXOS, the world’s only true Software Defined Access Platform, cable operators are free to choose the technology that will allow them to deliver the best subscriber experience, at the lowest cost and at the fastest time to market. As cable operators move to SDN in the future, AXOS’s native NETCONF interface, standards based YANG models, and pre-integrated partners like Momentum Telecom enable a seamless path to SDN if and when it makes sense for their business.”

In stark contrast to traditional solutions where DOCSIS mediation was embedded into systems, AXOS DPx Connector provides a simpler and more cost-effective means to facilitate legacy DOCSIS OSS to SDN transition as operators move to the coveted SDA architecture of the future.

“As an industry, we know that SDN is the way of the future for service providers and this partnership between Calix and Momentum Telecom will allow our customers to more easily move to an SDN architecture as soon as they are ready,” said Scott Helms, senior vice president of advanced services at Momentum Telecom. “We are excited to be taking the next step together to integrate DPx with our BBX Platform, which provides cable operators with complete network management and premier monitoring, provisioning, and managed support for broadband and voice services. The service agility enabled by SDN has become a key strategic goal for cable operators, and the combined solution allows our joint customers to immediately begin to reap the benefits of an SDA architecture without the complexity of high costs of integration.“

Cable operators seeking to dramatically accelerate their pace of innovation and begin to leverage the power of anySDN and anyPHY can download Calix AXOS Sandbox today, enabling them to start integration and testing of actual production software releases of Calix systems virtually without any Calix hardware.