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Closet Switch Replacement

A solution for economical one-to-one closet-based Ethernet switch replacement that reuses the last 100m CATx cables in the horizontal, walls and drops, while taking advantage of all the benefits of a Passive Optical LAN.

The industry’s only rack mountable Optical Network Terminal with 48-ports of Ethernet

It is a foregone conclusion that Optical LAN is good for new builds. However, many still believe that OLAN is not ideal for brownfield renovation projects. This is because there are false assumptions that if the last 300 feet of copper cables are not touched during a renovation, it’s easier to just refresh the traditional closet-based Ethernet switch. This untruth is perpetuated because people wrongly believe that the current form-factor of Passive Optical LAN ONTs don’t match workgroup switch footprint. They also unfortunately believe that introducing a new technology, like Optical LAN for greenfield and not brownfield, makes it difficult for the IT staff to manage two LAN technologies.

So, how can we stop this vicious cycle and start leveraging Optical LAN for newbuilds as well as renovation projects?

The Tellabs FlexSym® ONT248 is the industry’s only rack mountable one-rack unit offering the delivery of 48-ports of Ethernet enabling reuse of existing cable infrastructure while providing the benefits of Passive Optical LAN.  It is compliant with ITU-T G.9807 providing XGS-PON symmetrical 10 Gbps downstream, and 10 Gbps upstream transmission. Using the Tellabs FlexSym ONT248 simplifies legacy Ethernet switch replacements, while leveraging an OLAN infrastructure.

Quick Facts

  • Economical one-to-one closet-based legacy switch replacement
  • Reuse the last 100m CATx cables in the horizontal, walls and drops
  • Achieve lower IT support and maintenance costs
  • Reduce fiber cabling building-to-building and floor-to-floor
  • Gain extended temperature range inside IT equipment rooms
  • Support IoT, smart buildings, Wi-Fi, digital ceiling and LED lighting

Featured Closet Switch Replacement Content

Graceful migration to 10 gigabit speeds using Tellabs FlexSym Series
Graceful migration to 10 gigabit speeds using Tellabs FlexSym Series
U.S. Department of Defense Approves First 10-Gigabit Passive Optical Network in Federal Marketplace
U.S. Department of Defense Approves First 10-Gigabit Passive Optical Network in Federal Marketplace
Study shows 60% savings in capital cost with Optical LAN versus a legacy switch design
Study shows 60% savings in capital cost with Optical LAN versus a legacy switch design

Highlighted Products for Closet Switch Replacement

FlexSym ONT248
FlexSym ONT248

An efficient migration to the ultimate goal of a deep fiber design

One-for-One Switch Replace

The Tellabs FlexSym ONT248 is an economical closet-based switch replacement. When replacing outdated and manufacturer discontinued workgroup switches, all of the existing AC power hook-ups, CATx cable connections, and cable management all align the same. This is possible because the ONT248 has the same form, fit and function compared to the legacy 48-port Ethernet switches.

Reuse Existing CATx Cabling

With the ONT248 rack mounted in the telecom room, and equipped with 48-ports 10/100/1000 Ethernet all Power over Ethernet (PoE) enabled, this now allows for the reuse the last 100m CATx cables in the horizontal, walls and drops. This also lowers project costs as the building’s walls do not need to be opened up and CATx cabling removed.

Reduce Fiber Runs

Another great benefit of the Tellabs FlexSym ONT248 is how it reduces fiber cabling building-to-building and floor-to-floor. Passive Optical LAN technology is based on wave division multiplexing therefore both upstream and downstream wavelengths can be transmitted across the same fiber – lowering cabling requirements by 50%.

Extended Thermal Range

The Tellabs FlexSym ONT248 allows extended temperature range inside IT equipment rooms. That means you can follow the lead of the major data centers best practices taking advantage of natural convection cooling. This reduces the need for conditioned air in the telecom rooms, thus the lower AC needs directly saves money in lower energy usage.

Remove Network Vulnerabilities

Optical LAN can improve the physical LAN’s defensibility by enabling consistent protection policies that are centrally managed – all while reducing human error and increasing network stability. OLAN tightens an enterprises’ cybersecurity posture by reducing a companies’ attack surface by drastically eliminating network points of vulnerability. For example, the process to harden a corporate LAN that connects 4,032 Ethernet from eighty-four 48-port workgroup switches would need to lockdown 85 IP addresses to protect, 85 switches to secure (Security Technical Implementation Guide, STIG), 85 switches to provision, 85 software loads to maintain and 85 physical equipment provisioning ports (CLI access). For Optical LAN supporting the same 4,032 connections can be done from eighty-four 48-port closet-based Tellabs FlexSym ONT248 that would only have one IP address to protect, one OLT to secure (STIG), one OLT to provision, one software load to maintain and one OLT provisioning ports to secure – that’s an 85 to 1 reduction in network vulnerability!

Lower Operational Costs

Lower annual software, support and training costs are yet one more advantage of the Tellabs FlexSym ONT248. With an Optical LAN design has fewer devices to license and Tellabs’ software is sold in perpetuity eliminating annual costs. Tellabs allows customers to upgrade software fixes without holding them hostage to new feature rates. Finally, traditional switch manufacturers’ annual 24X7 TAC support costs are approximately over 3x higher than Tellabs.

Looking for more information?

If you still need additional details, and even greater technical explanation, then click on the “Download Overview” button below to access our comprehensive closet-based switch replacement solution overview.

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