Next-Gen, Carrier-Class Access Switch from Lucent

New multiservice device currently supports up to 2,688 ports per unit (up to 8000 in the future), accommodates voice, fax, and data on a single platform.

by Wayne Kawamoto [April 3, 2000]

Lucent Technologies recently announced its APX 8000 Multiservice Access Switch. The device offers up to 2,688 ports per shelf, and "universal port" capability that can help carriers support new residential and business technologies and services.

The APX 8000, which joins Lucent's MAX product family, offers greater capacity and performance than any of the company's other remote access products. For the future, the system has been designed to support a three-fold increase in capacity to 8,000 ports per shelf. This will let service providers offer more remote access dial-in ports in the same amount of space.

According to Lucent, the APX 8000 lets carriers offer almost any combination of access services for residential or business subscribers. Using its "Universal Port" capabilities, provided by TAOS 8.0 software, the APX 8000 can automatically sense the type of incoming call, accommodate it on an available port, and then transport it over an IP network. The device's ability to support both voice and data access service on a single platform should simplify a carrier's network infrastructure and support operations.

The APX 8000's integrated voice-and-fax-over-IP gateway has been designed to let ISPs deliver integrated voice/data services, as well as supporting next-generation applications such as unified messaging. Lucent says that the APX 8000 is suited for high-density applications that include Internet access wholesaling, VPN tunnel aggregation, and Internet call diversion, and can act as a VoIP Trunking Gateway—the latter two in conjunction with the Lucent Technologies' Softswitch. Together with the Lucent Softswitch, the APX 8000 was designed to handle toll and tandem voice traffic.

The APX 8000 is compliant with NEBS Level 3 specifications. In addition, the APX 8000 shares many modules with the MAX TNT, giving MAX TNT users investment protection and flexibility in migrating to the higher capacity, more fault-tolerant APX 8000 chassis.

Curt Sanford, president, InterNetworking Systems at Lucent Technologies, observes, "With the new universal port capabilities and NavisAccess 5.0, the APX 8000 is the ideal switch for large ISPs and carriers faced with growing demand for dial-up Internet access and for anyone who plans to offer value-added services such as VoIP, Fax-over IP, VPNs and port wholesaling over multiservice networks."

"The NavisAccess 5.0 software release provides new features and flexibility across Lucent's access line," says Michael Howard, Principal Analyst of Infonetics Research. "This new release was developed in conjunction with the APX 8000, and yet it extends the universal port and business-level service management capabilities across the entire installed base of MAX TNT products. This is good news for ISPs and carriers who bought Lucent gear."

Availability and pricing
The APX 8000 is available immediately worldwide, and pricing ranges from $200 to $400 per port depending on the configuration.

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