The MGX 8260 Media Gateway is a full-scale, carrier-grade platform with high-performance, high-density termination and switching of voice, and data traffic over circuit or packet based WANs. With a modular architecture and interfaces that are compatible with a wide range of access and backbone network types, the MGX 8260 Media Gateway accommodates a diverse and changing communications network.
The MGX 8260 incorporates multi-path switching intelligence, a speedy edge switch, and ease of operation. The following list briefly highlights the features of the MGX 8260 Media Gateway Media Gateway.
Offload Dial Traffic and Increase Profitability
The Cisco MGX 8260 is a high-density, carrier-class gateway that intelligently switches TDM and voice over IP (VoIP) traffic across packet networks to significantly reduce costs, improve availability, and manage escalating demand. The MGX 8260 can offload TDM and VoIP traffic across a range of interfaces and backbone networks:
Voice services across circuit-switched networks (PSTN/SS7)
Dial traffic offloading for cost-effective wholesale delivery to Internet service providers
TDM to VoIP gateway
By offloading dial traffic directly to network access servers, the MGX 8260 eliminates long hold-time calls from your TDM network, thereby freeing costly TDM ports for voice calls. The MGX 8260 maximizes revenue-generating TDM services, reduces total cost of ownership by improving data transport efficiency, and lays the foundation for a New World IP+ATM infrastructure that delivers tomorrow's value-added services.
Leverage High Density and High Performance
With the highest density in the industry, the MGX 8260 media gateway scales from 384 ports to more than 70,000 TDM ports in a seven-foot telco rack. More than 20 racks of traditional circuit switching equipment would be required to provision the same number of ports as one MGX 8260 gateway. The MGX 8260 scales up as necessary, when necessary, for rapid time to revenue.
By using advanced digital signal processing (DSP) design, RISC processing, and patented technology for pipe- lining voice packets, the MGX 8260 also delivers unmatched gateway performance. Choose from 5 Gbps to 15 Gbps of switching power with the system's interchangeable switch fabrics. At the same time, ensure the lowest possible network delay. The MGX 8260 limits delay to 40 milliseconds (between two MGX 8260 gateways) for VoIP packetization/ de-packetization.
Maximize Service Availability
The MGX 8260 provides the industry's highest availability—99.999 percent—to ensure that your customers enjoy always-on service. A redundant architecture and hot-swappable modules eliminate single points of failure. The MGX 8260 provides built-in 1:1 redundancy on all high-speed modules and interfaces, as well as 1:N redundancy for narrowband and DSP resources. The MGX 8260 platform also incorporates a redundant, high-speed hybrid bus design for switching between TDM and packet services. With no single point of failure, calls in progress are maintained even if the switch or line cards fail—a significant advantage over TDM switches.
Excellent serviceability also maximizes platform reliability. Technicians have quick and easy access to the platform via a passive rear panel where network connections attach to physical interface cards. Seamless software upgrades ensure that new features are added without downtime or service disruptions.
Deliver New Services
Based on the Cisco Open Packet Telephony framework, the MGX 8260 interoperates with your existing technology and transitions smoothly to emerging value-added services. The Open Packet Telephony framework, an industry-standard open interface, separates the call control layer from the switching fabric. This open interface integrates the MGX 8260 with your operations support systems, service creation environments, and media gateway controllers based on the Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP).
The MGX 8260's open interfaces enable you to quickly and cost-effectively develop and deploy new revenue- generating services. And by moving data streams onto a packet network you not only add a revenue source, you also are positioned to support New World value-added services—the cornerstone of future profitability. As new industry-standard networking capabilities emerge, you will be able to leverage them.
You can manage the MGX 8260 from any of the following interfaces:
WebViewer
SNMP
Command line interface
The MGX 8260 gateway offers multiple levels of security access, including viewing, configuration, system administration, and super-user control. It also supports configuration file backup and restore, as well as software upgrades. The following diagram shows the management interfaces and the internal databases they control (see Figure 1-1).
With SNMP you can integrate the MGX 8260 with existing NMS management, provisioning, and Operations Support Systems. All system attributes are accessible through SNMP, and the MGX 8260 generates trap messages to an event collector.
An SNMP manager has all WebViewer functionality, plus the following additional operations:
All MGX 8260 functions and features are available at the command line interface. During initial system configuration you can only use the command line interface via the console port. Some configuration tasks can only be performed from the command line interface.
The ALMC and ALMH indicators display the current and historical alarm severity, respectively. Pressing this button clears the historical alarms. For example, if ALMC is yellow and ALMH is red, the CLR button changes the ALMH indication from red to yellow.
ACO—alarm cutoff
You can configure the MGX 8260 to report alarm conditions through contact closures that activate audible or visual alarms. The ACO button stops these alarm indication by releasing the alarm relays.
