SALIRA PROPOSES UNIFIED EPON MANAGEMENT STANDARDS FOR ETHERNET BROADBAND ACCESS

San Jose, CA July 17, 2001
Salira Optical Network Systems, Inc., the first vendor to offer carrier-class, IP/Ethernet optical systems for high-speed broadband access, took another step last week toward enabling carriers to more easily deploy and manage EPON systems with a unified, end-to-end, standards-based network management system.

In a paper delivered to the IEEE Ethernet for the First Mile (EFM) Study Group, Salira underscored the requirements for managing Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON) systems and defined a standardized set of Station Management objects that are key to the development of an EPON Management Information Base (MIB).

"Last week's presentation at the IEEE meeting is significant in making high-speed Ethernet broadband access a reality for businesses and consumers and an easy-to-manage solution for carriers," said Wei Gao, CTO and founder of Salira. "Our proven, patent-pending IP/Ethernet technologies, combined with our team's experience in developing and establishing access network management standards, will help drive the critical interoperability requirements for the evolution of Ethernet for widespread broadband access."

EPONs are a natural integration of Ethernet and fiber to provide a revolutionary access solution that leverages the simplicity of Ethernet and the speed of fiber. The EPON MIB will create an industry standard network management interface for EPON systems, enabling carriers to more easily deploy and manage EPON systems with a unified, end-to-end network management system that helps solve the bottleneck problems that occur in the WAN portion of carriers' access networks.

Salira continues to play an active role in establishing and developing the IEEE 802.3 EFM Study Group, which was created to establish standards for Ethernet in access networks. The IEEE 802.3 EFM Study Group is part of the IEEE, an international organization of electronics and electrical engineers with a complete portfolio of standards programs and a key contributor to the IEEE technical professional society. Last week's meeting follows the initial meeting of the EFM Study Group held last year.

The IEEE sessions were held in Portland, OR from July 10-12. The OAM proposal was presented by Salira Senior System Architect Faye Ly. A veteran access network management architect and industry standards advocate, Ly is currently chair of the IETF, where she is chair of the ATM MIB group, whose charter is to develop a standardized optical interface MIB. Ly also authored the standards for a DSL MIB.

Salira's OAM EPON proposal is based on a set of standardized Station Management objects for managing the physical elements of EPON systems. Salira's proposed EPON specifications call for the addition of an EPON-specific class to the IEEE 802.3 EFM standards.

About Salira Optical Network Systems, Inc.
Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Salira builds broadband systems that are used to deliver advanced voice, video and data services to business and residential customers. Salira’s systems give carriers the ability to offer traditional TDM services and advanced IP-based broadband services in one integrated, cost-effective system. Salira Shanghai, Ltd., a subsidiary of Salira, performs manufacturing, R&D and customer support functions, and has responsibility for marketing and sales in the Asia Pacific region.