iConverter® Network Interface Devices (NIDs) provide MEF Carrier Ethernet 2.0 certified service demarcation that enables rapid service activation, higher revenues with Service Level Agreement assurance, and lower operating costs.

iConverter NIDs conform to carrier-class Service Ethernet OAM standards that provide the efficient detection and rapid isolation of potential service problems, and performance monitoring that enables SLA assurance across one or more operator networks.

Carrier Ethernet Demarcation Products

iConverter® Carrier Ethernet 2.0 Network Interface Devices

iConverter NIDs provide MEF Carrier Ethernet 2.0 Certified demarcation for business services and cloud services. These state-of-the-art NIDs enable business services with advanced service assurance, and reduce operating costs with automated service provisioning and testing. 

iConverter GM4 Gigabit NIDs

iConverter GM4 Gigabit NIDs with PoE

iConverter XM5 10G NIDs

iConverter XM5 10G Demarcation and Aggregation NIDs

iConverter Tiered NID Products

iConverter NIDs are available with different feature sets, form factors and price points to match functions and cost to service types and revenue. 

Carrier Ethernet Service Demarcation

In this application diagram, a Service Provider is delivering Carrier Ethernet 2.0 E-Line (point-to-point) and E-LAN (multi-point to multi-point) services to business subscribers. The Service Provider deploys iConverter 10G and Gigabit Network Interface Devices (NIDs) for demarcation and aggregation of the business services, and to provide crucial traffic management and performance assurance functions throughout the life cycle of the Carrier Ethernet service.

The fiber metro network consists of a 10G resilient ring with ITU-T G.8032 Ethernet Ring Protection Switching (ERPS). An iConverter XM5 Demarcation and Aggregation NID is deployed at a hub location for connectivity to the 10G G.8032 ring and to provide up to 12 Gigabit fiber access links. Each of the Gigabit fiber access links are terminated with compact two-port iConverter GM4 NIDs to provide Gigabit service demarcation at subscriber locations.

A Gigabit fiber ring is connected to the 10G fiber ring with an XM5 NID that provides connectivity to the 10G G.8032 ring and connectivity to the Gigabit G.8032 ring and supports G.8032 resiliency on both rings. Compact five-port iConverter GM4 NIDs are deployed as nodes on the Gigabit ring that provide up to three 1000Mbps copper or fiber access links.

The iConverter NIDs on the metro network and customer premises locations provide traffic management for the subscriber traffic across the network. The advanced Traffic Management features enable the Service Provider to offer MEF-certified Carrier Ethernet 2.0 services with Multiple Classes of Service (Multi-CoS), granular rate-limiting, and 802.1ad Provider Bridge VLAN stacking (Q-in-Q) for service multiplexing. GM4 NIDs filter the subscriber traffic, assign the traffic to different Classes of Services, enforce rate-limiting for each CoS, and forward the allowed traffic to the other subscriber locations. Support for per-flow service mapping, traffic policing and shaping transports nearly any type of subscriber traffic as an EVC or CoS flow. In a multi-point E-LAN service, the NIDs also manage traffic delivered to each customer location, monitoring and enforcing the total delivered utilization rate (for billing purposes).

Service activation and testing tools include Zero-Touch Provisioning, and ITU-T Y.1564 and RFC 2544 test heads allow the NIDs to perform tests with synthetic subscriber traffic, and eliminates the need for service personnel and test equipment at the customer premises. Service testing ensures proper service provisioning, validates the Service Level Agreement (SLA) parameters, and helps troubleshoot any service issues. These features shorten time to market and reduce operating costs by simplifying service provisioning and testing.

During operation, the iConverter NIDs constantly communicate with each other, ensuring the service paths between the subscriber locations are uninterrupted. Advanced fault management features include support for IEEE 802.1ag Connectivity Fault Management (CFM) for proactive fault monitoring and isolation, and G.8032 Ethernet Ring Protection Switching (ERPS) for resilient rings with sub-50ms failover.

iConverter NIDs provide comprehensive support of the ITU-T Y.1731 Performance Monitoring standard, ensuring the delay, delay variation, loss and availability of the service are meeting the SLA. Support for third-party SLA Portals enable customers access to performance monitoring metrics through the Service Provider’s existing OSS/BSS.

Business Service Demarcation with Tiered NIDs

Omnitron provides a tiered product offering of iConverter Network Interface Devices (NIDs) which align features and costs with the different types of Ethernet services.  Service Providers can deploy iConverter NIDs that match the appropriate service tier to save equipment costs and deliver profitable services.

• Different service levels of Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum
• Different of MEF-defined services such as E-Line, E-LAN, E-Tree and E-Access (both VLAN-based or multiplexed)
• Different types of network applications, including business, cloud, and HetNet wireless backhaul

iConverter NIDs are available with different configurations, feature sets and price points to match the different types of services, service tiers and demarcation needs.

>> Learn more about the tiers of iConverter NIDs.

In this application, Carrier Ethernet 2.0 NIDs are deployed in a Metro Ethernet network with a 10G resilient ring. An iConverter XM5 Demarcation and Aggregation NID that supports ITU-T G.8032 Ethernet Ring Protection Switching (ERPS) is deployed at a hub location on left side of the ring and provides up to 12 Gigabit fiber access links. On the right side of the ring, an iConverter XM5 NID provides 10G G.8032 ring connectivity and Gigabit ITU-T G.8031 Ethernet Linear Protection Switching fiber links that connect to a Gigabit 5-Port GM4 NID.  The GM4 NID also supports G.8031, and provides up to three copper or fiber ports for connectivity to Customer Premises Equipment at different subscriber locations.

Another GM4 NID is connected to the XM5 NID via a Gigabit access link and terminated with a compact 2-Port GM4 NID.

iConverter CE 2.0 NIDs are MEF Carrier Ethernet 2.0 Certified Compliant to provide advanced traffic management and service assurance.

Service OAM NIDs are deployed at customer premises locations to provide cost-effective demarcation that supports SLAs with performance monitoring and fault management.  Traffic management and Policing is performed by the XM5 Aggregation NID at the 10G ring hub location. 

An SFP NID™ is installed directly into an SFP port in the subscribers switch or router, and saves Capital Expenditures (CAPEX) by eliminating the need for a standalone demarcation device. The SFP-NID enables low-latency, SLA-guaranteed services with real time OAM Y.1731 and TWAMP Performance Monitoring, and 802.1ag Connectivity Fault Management. Integrated ITU-T Y.1564 and RFC 2544 test heads provide multi-flow Service Activation Testing (SAT) of throughput, latency, jitter and frame loss at full wire speed.

A microNID™  is deployed at the second customer location.  The microNID is a low-cost, standalone demarcation device that provides an RJ-45 copper hand off from a fiber access link, and supports the same features as the SFP-NID.

A GM3 NID is deployed at the third customer location.  The GM3 NID is cost-effective and feature rich demarcation device that supports Service OAM standards along with traffic management, policing and shaping.  The GM3 NID also supports Zero-Touch Provisioning and port redundancy.