The Point System is a modular media conversion chassis from Transition Networks. The chassis accepts combinations of media conversion cards (sold individually and separately by the vendor) that provide for the conversion of multiple connections (Ethernet, ATM, T1/E1, Serial, to name a few) into fiber.

The chassis itself is offered in several flavors, supporting 1, 2, 8, 13, 18, or 19 available slots. Into these slots can be loaded single or dual SNMP management modules and any mix of media conversion cards, per the customer's needs. Power supplies for the chassis are available in AC or DC flavors, and redundant power supplies (hot swappable, with failover) can be optionally utilized. All card blades are also hot-swappable.

The Management Modules are SNMP (v.1) based, and can be accessed by the vendor's Focal Point SNMP management GUI (Java based; JRE 2 v1.4+), a Web-based interface, or a CLI accessible via a local console or Telnet. Management modules can also be installed redundantly, and provide monitoring, configuration, and alerting features for each of the individual conversion cards loaded into the chassis as well as the chassis itself (i.e., internal temperature, redundancy status of power supplies and current power consumption). Individual chassis card slots can be powered on and off via the management module, and each media card exposes its own unique set of configuration features, such as auto-negotiation disable/enable, force 100Mbps/full duplex, assign priority level threshold (IEEE 802.1P), and more. Alarms can be reported via SNMP traps. Finally, multiple (up to 8) chassis can be stacked and managed via a single IP address.

The vendor offers dozens of available media conversion module cards for populating the chassis, typically in dual-port configurations, focused on the conversion of media from one type of connection into fiber media of various flavors. Available cards include those converting Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, 802.3ah 10/100/1000 Ethernet, ATM/OC-X, DS3-T3/E3, Serial, T1/E1, and others into fiber (FX, SX, LX, etc.).

New to the Point System product line is the introduction of the xBFFG products family, available as a slide-in card for the Point System or as a stand alone converter module. The xBFFG facilitates 10/100/1000TX to 1000BASE-X conversions, and is MEF 9 and MEF 14 certified. Other features include support for IP-Based remote management or IEEE 802.3ah-based OAM in-band management; support for remote loopback activation; support for 802.1q VLAN management (including double VLAN tagging and VLAN tunneling); transparent link pass through; and automatic link restoration. The new xBFFG modules are expected to be available in July.

Visit the Transition Networks Web site for further details, including a full break-down of currently available media conversion modules.

product submission by EITPlanet Staff

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