Waystream FTTB switches

The Waystream 7100 and 7300 series are FTTB switches with RJ-45 Ethernet connectors for in-building networks. The series includes 24 and 48 port layer 2 (MS) and layer 3 (ASR) switches that support a wide variety of use-cases.

The 7100 series has 1Gbit/s downlink ports with 10Gbit/s uplinks while the 7300 series support up to 2.5Gbit/s on Category 5E cables for downlinks and 25Gbit/s uplinks.

Built for FTTH /FTTB access the switches enable easy operation and deployment of services, including streaming telemetry and built-in service assurance capabilities for maximum network visibility and quality control.

Waystream FTTB switches feature set supports demanding business and residential services such as Internet, TV, wholesale capacity services and private networks at the same time as simplified and automated control of the network lets you reduce operational cost and save time when dealing with network issues.

Key benefits

• FTTH Customer and Service VLAN topology support with advanced QoS
• Cost effective upgrade of in-building copper network
• Feature set for business and residential services
• Service Assurance and streaming telemetry

Waystream switches are filled with features to deliver voice, video and data services and to support the network team in daily troubleshooting and network operations, including streaming telemetry and service assurance features.

The Waystream FTTB switches can be used in a variety of network topologies such as

• Customer VLAN topology in combination with a Service Router/BNG with efficient multicast distribution and optional RADIUS based control of ingress traffic
• Service VLAN topology where the Waystream switches performs service enforcement and isolates end-users securely using MACF Forced Forwarding
• Layer3 routed access where the ASR 7300 performs BNG service enforcement
• TR-101 topologies with VLAN translation
• PPPoE topologies with intermediate agent features for customer identification
• 802.1x port authenticated networks

Security features such as IP strict clients can be used with both dynamic and statically assigned addresses to prevent spoofing of IP traffic.
Extendable through the ScriBOS script language, the 7100 and 7300 series behavior can be easily adapted to fit into a variety of service provisioning solutions using e.g. DHCP or RADIUS to signal service parameters.

Industry standard CLI and SNMP support allows easy management and control of the switch operation.

Faster services

The 7300 series can deliver faster services on existing infrastructure. Many FTTB installations use Ethernet Category 5E or better cabling in the building. In such networks the 7300 series provides an immediate upgrade to 2.5Gbit/s - simply replace the existing switch with a Waystream 7300 series switch and the upgrade is done. Modern WiFi 6 routers or home gateways support the faster uplink speed enabling users to instantly benefit from the higher network bandwidth. This is more cost effective than converting to fiber.

Advanced traffic classification/forwarding

Waystream FTTB switches provides advanced traffic classification and forwarding capabilities, including hierarchical QoS (HQoS) based on MEF-compatible rate-limiters to support wholesale and other complex services.

Automated deployment

The 7100 and 7300 series switches can be deployed into the network directly out of the box thanks to its ZeroTouch Provisioning (ZTP) process. There is no need for pre-configuration of the switch before installation. Using standard protocols such as DHCP and BOOTP the switch can have its firmware upgraded and complete system configuration downloaded when connected to the network. The MS-models within the series even supports alternating between untagged and tagged VLAN 127 on the uplink during ZTP to allow a variety of network architectures to be used with the switches.

Stacking

As of iBOS 7.7.5 the platform also supports stacking for network management. The stacking feature in iBOS allows up to eight switches to be grouped together into a switch-complex that is managed by a single headnode. This creates a single logical switch from a network management point of view. The participating switches need to be connected to each other, but are not required to be in the same physical location

Connectors in the front

All connectors for network, administration and power are located in the front of the unit. Combined with the small form factor - only 24 cm depth - it simplifies installation and makes the Waystream FTTB switches fit into narrow spaces in apartment buildings as well as dense deployment in central office or wiring-closet sites.

An additional 12V DC power input connector is located in the rear enables dual external power sources if needed for maximum redundancy.

Service Assurance - Quality inspection of TV and connectivity checks

Included in Waystream iBOS operating system are service assurance features to allow operators to verify service quality in the network. The 7300 series can inspect multicast MPEG to measure the quality of TV. If an end user reports a problem with the TV service, the switches can provide immediate information if a problem is seen in the network, and if it affected the entire network or only a part of the network. The feature help network engineers to pinpoint the location of the problem in seconds.

In addition, the switch can perform continuous connectivity checks to ensure that traffic is working, following the active network path. These checks provide insight into network performance over time and can also immediately notify network operations if service failure occurs.

Streaming telemetry

The switches support streaming telemetry data to provide in depth information about system health and network performance. Telemetry can be uploaded directly to an Influx timeseries database or any receiver that can accept JSON metrics. This allow commercial and open-source receivers to collect the telemetry data and visualisation and analysis tools to be applied.