RAD Unveils Miniature Fast Ethernet Remote Bridge on an MSA SFP

RAD Data Communications has announced the launch of a “System on an SFP™,” a new series of patent-pending Ethernet First Mile access solutions.

 

The MiRIC series of miniaturized Fast Ethernet-over-PDH and SDH/SONET connectivity devices is the first such implementation of this concept. Housed in standard SFP (Small Form-factor Pluggable) packages, the MiRIC can be plugged into any regular MSA (Multi-Source Agreement) compatible socket, providing remote bridging over E1/T1 and E3/T3 lines.

 

“The MiRIC in an SFP package is a revolutionary idea,” states Jacky Acoca, Business Development Manager at RAD Data Communications. “Most SFP sockets available today feature different fiber optic interfaces and function, for all intent and purposes, as Ethernet media converters,” Acoca continues. “The SFP-packaged MiRIC, however, offers full system functionality supporting LAN bridging, flow control and HDLC protocol over E1/T1 or E3/T3.” The MiRIC offers framed and unframed E1/T1 and E3/T3 TDM interfaces.

Until now, such interdisciplinary functionality has been possible only by deploying expensive, external products adjacent to Ethernet switches, IP routers or other Ethernet equipment, or by equipping them with dedicated internal modules, in order to connect them to E1/T1, E3/T3 PDH or SDH/SONET links. In comparison, the finger-sized MiRIC boasts a small footprint and can be plugged directly into the Ethernet device. This eliminates the need for external units, cables and even power supply cords, since it draws current directly from the hosting device. “The MiRIC’s form factor, simplicity and flexibility combine to make it the ideal end-to-end Ethernet solution for enterprise and carrier applications alike,” Acoca adds.

 

According to Infonetics Research, global demand for Metro Ethernet equipment will have grown from $2.4 billion in 2004 to $7.6 billion by 2008. Expenditures on Ethernet-over-PDH products alone will have expanded from $266 million in 2004 to $756 in 2008, a hefty annual growth. “RAD’s MiRIC series of miniaturized Fast Ethernet remote bridges is a unique solution, and we expect it to capture a significant segment of this galloping market,” Acoca predicts.

The core of the MiRIC is a highly integrated ASIC that enables it to function as a fully autonomous device that does not require any special software in the host equipment. The MiRIC can be used with any standards compliant device, as well as to complement applications employing other RAD products at remote locations, such as RIC intelligent converters, ETX Ethernet media converters, the Egate central Ethernet gateway, and the IPmux-14 TDMoIP® gateway.