Introducing the 2-slot Ciena 6500 Packet-Optical Platform
Last month, Ciena made a big announcement dubbed “Intelligent Infrastructure” that detailed the strategic evolution of our packet-optical portfolio. The news included a slew of product and technology enhancements across multiple product lines. In this second of several blog posts that delve into the details of some of those individual enhancements, we focus on the new 2-slot version of the Ciena 6500 packet-optical platform.
The 6500 packet-optical platform forms one of the major pillars of Ciena’s packet-optical transport solutions. With more than 20,000 nodes deployed worldwide, the 6500 is one of the most recognized and successful optical transport products in the industry.
Since its original introduction, the platform has been in a constant form of evolution, adding features and functionality as well as several new chassis configurations. Last month, Ciena officially unveiled a new 2-slot version of the 6500, making it the little sibling to the platform’s existing 7-slot, 14-slot and 32-slot chassis options.
But the 2-slot version of the 6500 is more than just a different size box, it serves as an entirely new deployment scenario for this ultra-flexible optical platform – extending the reach of the 6500 right to the customer premise.
Big Features in a Small Package
The 2-slot 6500 packs a ton of functionality into a small package. Just 2 standard rack units (2RU) in size, the chassis is also wall mountable and comes in both DC and AC power versions to accommodate different site requirements.
The 2-slot 6500 gets its name from the 2 service slots that are compatible with a list of existing 6500 service cards than can handle traffic ranging from TDM to packet to wavelengths, at speeds from 125Mb/s to 10Gb/s.
Additionally, the box features a built-in shelf processor that integrates eight multi-rate optical SFP ports that support sub-2.5G client services such as GbE, OC-3/12/48, STM-1/4/16, and FC100/200.
OTN Extension
The most notable feature of the new 2-slot 6500 is its OTN capabilities. Ciena’s Intelligent Infrastructure launch last month included the news that OTN functionality would be integrated into the 6500 series (see Ciena extends OTN across product lines). This includes even the 2-slot 6500. By using the same software load, management user interfaces and service interfaces as the rest of the 6500 family, the 2-slot 6500 is a truly seamless extension of the 6500 portfolio and a true extension of OTN to the customer premise.
Several OTN service cards are already available for the 2-slot 6500, with OTN capabilities also part of the integrated multi-rate optical ports in the shelf processor.
This OTN extension further to the edge of the network allows service providers to leverage OTN’s ability to more efficiently package multiple service types from the enterprise premise into a single wavelength.
Current supported cards. Support for other broadband cards will be
added as verification testing for these circuit packs is completed.
Have questions on the new 2-slot version of the Ciena 6500? Post them here and we will do our best to answer them.
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by Paulina Gomez
Hi @David, yes, two 6500 shelves can share a single transponder protection shelf (TPT). Actually, multiple 6500 shelves can share a single transponder protection shelf (TPT). In either case, the TPT will be cabled to one shelf with the cat5 cable for inventory purposes only, and any pairs of cards in any other shelf can use the TPT ports for traffic protection.
by David Drews
Can 2 cuena 6500 shelves share 1 transponder protection shelf. Shelf 1 is connected to the total shelf with a cat5 cable from Port 83 to Port on top shelf
by Kacie Levy
Hi Balaji,
The power for the 6500 2-slot will vary depending on the common equipment and service interfaces used with the shelf. The 6500 2-slot can be used for a variety of applications, which include a line amplifier node, a packet aggregation access node, or even high capacity 400G node for high capacity 100GbE aggregation.
by balaji R
What is the power( in Watts) consumption for the ciena 6500 2-slots
by Bo Gowan
Hi Yale, if you'd like help answering product questions, I suggest you post this question on our Ciena 6500 Community page, where many of our Ciena customers and experts interact and get questions answered. Here's a link: https://community.ciena.com/community/products/converged-packet-optical/6500
by Yale
How to connect Ciena 6500 management port? such as D7.
by Brito, Jose
Hi guys !!
I need know the Power Consumption Ciena 6500: 2 Ex: xx/W and xx/Amp.
by Paula
I am looking for the specs for NT0H49ADE6. Can anyone help me?