Summary

For MSOs ready to take the next step in evolving their cable access networks, Casa’s AxyomTM Virtual CCAP (vCCAP) delivers a web scale solution, cost savings and service flexibility. Like Casa’s award winning C100G, Casa’s vCCAP provides full CCAP functionality allowing MSOs to easily deploy both vCCAP and iCCAP as they migrate their networks. Developed for the cloud from the ground up, the Axyom vCCAP is designed as an open solution that supports full interoperability to 3rd party orchestrators and Distributed Access Architecture (DAA) nodes. Casa makes sure that moving to a virtualized CCAP solution is not painful but is a smooth transition and puts MSOs on the right path.

Casa Systems has been at the forefront of the cable access network evolution for over a decade and continues the leadership our customers expect with the next generation of innovations for cable networks. Today, these networks are undergoing a fundamental technology and architectural shift toward software defined, distributed, virtualized, and converged networks to enable the service agility and operational simplicity providers require. Casa Systems has technologies that can help step up the potential of any broadband network, no matter where it is on the transformation curve.

As Casa showed in a December 2018 whitepaper authored by Kyrio / CableLabs, Intel and Casa, a vCCAP and DAA deployment can deliver 10X more capacity and significant operating cost savings per Service Group while using less space than the original iCCAP solution1. To achieve these savings, it is helpful to have a partner, such as Casa, who can deliver the right steps at the right time.

Casa Systems Axyom™ Virtual CCAP

Product Overview

Figure 1

1 Bringing the Power of Virtualization to Cable Service Providers – Whitepaper. Kyrio / CableLabs, Intel & Casa. December 2018

2Casa Systems Axyom vCCAP

100 Old River Road | Andover, MA 01810 | Tel: 978.688.6706 | www.casa-systems.com

The virtualization of cable network functions and introduction of Software Defined Networking and intelligent orchestration create unprecedented opportunities for MSOs. At the same time, the evolution from hardware- centric to software-centric networks, including the rearchitecture of head end offices into data centers and distribution of access via fiber-deep strategies create new challenges.

In considering virtual CCAP (vCCAP) solutions, service providers should consider the criteria shown below.

1. Does the vCCAP solution support all the functionality one would expect from a state-of-the-art physical CCAP core solution including linear video? Does the vCCAP solution support HFC, DAA and 10G EPON architectures?

2. Is the virtualized software implemented to support open interfaces and future evolution? Can the solution scale seamlessly? Does the solution support standards-based interfaces and virtualization platforms (e.g. Containers with Kubernetes orchestration and CableLabs’ YANG models? Is the solution ready for NFV / SDN environment from day one?

3. Is the solution optimized for performance and scaling in a virtual environment? Virtual performance matters. An inefficient implementation will drive more servers and greater Opex and Capex.

4. Does the solution support the coexistence of both iCCAP and vCCAP to ensure that there is smooth transition?

Casa’s vCCAP solution supports all iCCAP functionality, provides open interfaces, scales seamlessly, delivers leading virtual performance and coexists with iCCAP solutions.

Some of the key features and benefits supported by Casa’s vCCAP include:

Highlights

Full CCAP Functionality from CCAP Experts. Designed to deliver the same functionality as Casa’s award-winning iCCAP.

Smooth Transition. Designed to support the coexistence of iCCAP and vCCAP to allow for a gradual and smooth migration.

Open Interfaces. Axyom vCCAP supports CableLabs’ YANG models that allow 3rd party solutions provision DAA nodes.

Interoperability. The Axyom vCCAP complies with CableLabs standards, including those for interoperability with Distributed Access Architectures. Casa has demonstrated this interoperability at several CableLabs and Excentis events.

Deployment flexibility. Deployable in VMs, containers, or on bare metal, providing the flexibility to meet the needs of different environments.

Cloud native. Implemented using a microservices based design. Network functions composed to support seamless scaling with containers using Kubernetes orchestration.

High Performance. Casa’s VNFs are optimized for a virtual compute environment where they deliver up to 5X throughput per vCPU compared to leading competitors’ stated throughput.

Simplified Operations. Casa’s vCCAP and DAA solutions provide our customers with flexibility, programmability along with simplified operations.

Figure 2

• DOCSIS 3.0 / 3.1 & PacketCable

• VOD / SDV / Linear Broadcast

• Video Encryption (PowerKEY, Mediacipher)

• Business Services (L2VPN, L2 MPLS) IPv4 & IPv6

• BGP, ISIS, OSPF, RIP, VRF-lite

• Multicast (PIM, IGMP)

• Policy-Based Routing

• External 1588 v2 Timing

• CLI, SNMP and NETCONF / YANG

• Support for SCTE 55-1 OOB• N+M High Availability• CCAP Cores (DOCSIS, Video, OOB)

can be co-located or distributed• Standard interface between

vCCAP core and distributed access nodes or shelves (Figure 2)

• Software defined access support for HFC, DAA, 10G EPON

• Reduce hub space rack while dramatically increasing aggregate throughput

3Casa Systems Axyom vCCAP

100 Old River Road | Andover, MA 01810 | Tel: 978.688.6706 | www.casa-systems.com

Figure 3

Transitioning the CCAP Core - iCCAP to vCCAP

As Figure 3 below shows, vCCAP can be introduced gradually. The transition of capacity and the migration from iCCAP to vCCAPcan be managed to avoid issues. The commodity x86 based servers running vCCAP software can be located at centralized and / ordistributed locations. This enables a hybrid configuration where both iCCAP and vCCAP can coexist for many years as thenetwork evolves to eventually become full virtualized. The MSO will set the pace of transition.

Figure 4

Casa’s Axyom vCCAP Solution

Casa’s vCCAP solution is implemented uses containers with Kubernetes orchestration as can be seen in Figure 4. UsingKubernetes terminology, vCCAP PODs (a container or group of containers) are deployed.

To support a smooth and gradual transition from iCCAP to vCCAP, vCCAP PODs are deployed on bare metal servers usingKubernetes orchestration. This creates a self-contained system that is suitable for coexistence with existing iCCAP chassis or avCCAP greenfield deployment.

The vCCAP user plane POD can be flexibly configured to handle any number of RPDs and the RPDs can be moved from one userplane to another dynamically. This flexibility supports load distribution. User plane redundancy is supported by a N+M configurationfor the User Plane POD where the standby POD can be connected using a NIC on the existing server or on a different server. A Topof Rack (ToR) switch provides redundant links to the two NICs.

4Casa Systems Axyom vCCAP

100 Old River Road | Andover, MA 01810 | Tel: 978.688.6706 | www.casa-systems.com

Integration of Kubernetes

If the MSO has an existing Kubernetes deployment or is soon evolving to a Kubernetes deployment with multiple Kubernetes PODsrunning other functions then the Casa vCCAP node can be installed directly on the service provider’s existing servers. The allocationof hardware resources between the different PODs will be handled by Kubernetes orchestration.

If a cable service provider chooses to deploy Remote MACPHY (or another Flexible MAC option), DOCSIS MAC control and userplane processing will be performed in the DAA node. However, subscriber management functions will still reside within the vCCAP.Casa’s container based vCCAP architecture is flexible and allows for the disaggregation and reallocation of functions and the futuredeployment of Remote MACPHY.

Axyom vCCAP Programmatic Access

Casa’s Axyom vCCAP supports secure, fast and automated transactions with remote devices, including DAA nodes. Model basedconfiguration allows for a change to be made to one model which is then quickly applied to all relevant devices via authenticatedtransactions. The result is that costs and errors are reduced while speed of execution is improved.

A major benefit of Casa’s Axyom Platform is its support of open standards (Figure 6). For the Axyom vCCAP, this includes the use ofCableLab’s standard-base YANG models to enable interoperability with 3rd party orchestrators and SDN controllers. Also, Casa’s Axyom vCCAP supports OSSI models that allow direct queries of DAA statistics from the database avoiding proprietary SNMP polling and CLI dumps.

Figure 5

Figure 6

5Casa Systems Axyom vCCAP

100 Old River Road | Andover, MA 01810 | Tel: 978.688.6706 | www.casa-systems.com© 2020 Casa Systems vCCAP R2 August 2020

Evolution beyond vCCAP

vCCAP may be the first function that an MSO virtualizes however, over time many other functions will be vritualized. Casa has developed

all of its VNFs using the Axyom Software Platform, a web scale, micro-services based solution that integrates into the ETSI NFV

framework as shown in Figure 7. Figure 7

The Casa’s Axyom Software Platform was built from the ground up using cloud-native design principles. As a result, Axyom VNFs (including the Axyom vCCAP) are optimized for the virtual compute environment on which they will run. The Axyom architecture delivers the following values across all of the mobile, cable and fixed broadband VNFs, Axyom delivers:

- Superior performance

- Maximum Service Flexibility

- Superior Deployment Flexibility

A few years ago, the industry realized that cable and wireless broadband networks were being asked to deliver on a set of requirements

that they were not designed to handle. For example, numerous new traffic flows coming from use cases that are as diverse as the

Internet of Things (IoT),ultrabroadband and Mission Critical Services. The cost, latency, throughput and reliability requirements for each

of these use cases is radically different. The industry’s solution was to develop a new virtualized 5G core network architecture for both

wireless and wireline broadband networks that is services based and provides flexibility to deliver unique logical networks, “slices”. As

can be seen in Figure 8 below, Casa’s vision of a Converged 5G Core network aligns with the industry’s vision of a 5G Core. vCCAP is

probably your starting point but it is important to work with a partner who can not only execute on vCCAP today but has a clear vision of

where networks will evolve.

Figure 8