Cisco Introduces Gateways for Video-on-Demand Services

Enterprise Networks & Servers, Feb 2004

Cisco Systems has announced the digital video quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) product series as part of the next phase of the Cisco Next Generation Digital Video Network strategy designed to help cable operators deliver new video-on-demand (VoD) services.

The new product series consists of the standalone Cisco uMG9820 QAM Gateway and the Cisco uMG9850 QAM Module, which both serve as lP-to-MPEG-2 gateways between a Gigabit Ethernet transport network and a hybrid fiber-coaxial cable network. The uMG9820 is a smaller, QAM-only platform optimized for smaller deployments, and the uMG9850 inserts into a larger, more scalable chassis optimized for larger deployments or mixed switching-and-QAM architectures.

"Cisco is bringing into play its considerable Gigabit Ethernet expertise and leadership to optimize architectures for VoD services," said Yvette Gordon-Kanouff, corporate vice president of strategic planning for Seachange. "With the introduction of the new QAM product series, cable operators will further benefit from the combined power of Gigabit Ethernet solutions along with a commitment to drive better performance and lower operational costs from vendors like Cisco and Seachange."

The new solutions allow for up to 240 standard-definition video streams per device, fully utilizing the capacity of a Gigabit Ethernet link. Cable operators will no longer need to daisy-chain QAM devices together in order to take advantage of the full capacity of a Gigabit Ethernet link. This eliminates the single points of failure associated with the QAM links in the chain and reduces the amount of QAM devices needed.

The uMG9850 Module is designed for the Cisco Catalyst 4500 Series. The chassis integrates QAM functionality with switching and pluggable optics into one system. The modularity of the Cisco Catalyst 4506 and Catalyst 4507R switches will support up to five Cisco uMG9850 QAM modules for a maximum of 120 QAM channels, allowing a cable operator to process up to 1200 digital video streams in one device. The modular, standalone design of the Cisco uMG9820 QAM Gateway is hardware-configurable, allowing customers to incrementally add QAM cards to increase the density to a maximum of 24 QAM channels in a one-rack-unit chassis.