The Traverse PacketEdge™ 1200 (TPE-1200) IP Edge Aggregator, formerly known as the VLX400 and VLX300, allows service providers to significantly reduce capital equipment expenditures by eliminating the need for channelized DS3 cards for their edge routers, and reduce operational expenditures by eliminating the number of DS3s required to backhaul their voice and data traffic. The TPE-1200 provides up to 80% CapEx savings over comparable solutions and thousands of dollars per month in OpEx savings by reducing the number of DS3 frame relay backhaul circuits.
The TPE-1200 combines the statistical multiplexing benefits of IP and Ethernet and the grooming capabilities of a Digital Cross-connect System (DCS) in a single system. Deployed in service provider collocation facilities, central offices (COs) and POPs, the TPE-1200 enables efficient aggregation of IP and Ethernet traffic onto clear channel DS3 frame relay or GbE backhaul circuits.

The TPE-1200 provides a unique solution for optimizing the delivery of TDM voice, Internet Access and Ethernet VPN services over bonded T1 or T3 facilities utilizing PPP, MLPPP or Frame Relay.

Improved Backhaul Efficiency

By leveraging the benefits of statistical multiplexing for channelized DS3 data traffic, the TPE-1200 can significantly reduce backhaul OPEX. When used together with its intregral DS1/DS0-level grooming, service providers can increase the number of subscribers per T3 (DS3) circuit from 28 (in a typical TDM-only environment) to over 600 NxDS1, DS1, NxDS0 or DS0 circuits. The TPE-1200 can also apply IETF DiffServ-style QoS to IP traffic allowing prioritization of time-sensitive packet traffic such as VoIP.

IP Aggregation Reduces Router Costs

The TPE-1200 can be used in service provider POPs to aggregate up to 12 channelized DS3 access circuits from multiple collocation facilities or COs onto one or two fully protected GbE interfaces. By handing off traffic to an edge router using GbE, service providers can eliminate the need for expensive channelized DS3 router line cards. Each subscriber is identified and segregated using standard Frame Relay DLCIs or Ethernet 802.1Q VLAN tags. The TPE-1200 supports PPP, MLPPP, Bridging Control Protocol (BCP) over PPP, Frame Relay and HDLC connections to the service provider’s CLE router.