OTN / DWDM Transport Platform – APX-OTN-2U
Product Overview
The Apex APX-OTN-2U is a compact 2U OTN and DWDM transport platform for edge and access sites where rack space is limited but carrier-grade protection is still required. It brings optical add and drop, electrical cross-connection and service scheduling into a shallow two-unit shelf.
The 2U chassis provides two universal service slots, each carrying up to 200G with inter-card electrical cross-connect and 1+1 control, plus four WDM and amplifier slots, two power slots and one system interface slot. That combination lets a single shelf terminate client traffic, add wavelengths and amplify the line side without extra rack units.
Line-side interfaces include OTU2, OTU2e, OTU4 and OTUC2, and client-side access covers GE/FE, 10GE LAN/WAN, 40GE, 100GE, STM-1/4/16/64 and OC-3/12/48/192. Super FEC keeps long 100G and 200G spans free of intermediate regeneration.
Key Features
- Compact 2U shelf for edge and access sites
- Two universal service slots, each up to 200G
- Inter-card electrical cross-connect between service slots
- Four WDM and amplifier slots in the same chassis
- Line-side OTU2, OTU2e, OTU4 and OTUC2 interfaces
- Client-side GE/FE, 10GE LAN/WAN, 40GE and 100GE service ports
- SDH and SONET access from STM-1/4/16/64 and OC-3/12/48/192
- Integrated optical add/drop and multi-granular scheduling
- G.709 and G.798 compliant OTN framing and performance monitoring
- SNMP management with an in-band optical supervisory channel over GCC0/1/2
Technical Specifications
| Specification | Detail |
|---|
| Part Number | APX-OTN-2U |
| Brand | Apex |
| Chassis Height | 2U |
| Universal Service Slots | 2 slots, up to 200G per slot with inter-card electrical cross-connect |
| WDM and Amplifier Slots | 4 |
| Power Slots | 2, 1+1 redundant |
| System Interface Slots | 1 |
| Per-Wavelength Rates | 10G, 100G, 200G |
| Line-Side Interfaces | OTU2, OTU2e, OTU4, OTUC2 |
| Client-Side Interfaces | GE/FE, 10GE LAN/WAN, 40GE, 100GE, STM-1/4/16/64, OC-3/12/48/192, OTU2/2e/3/4 |
| FEC | Super FEC for long-reach 100G and 200G channels |
| Network Management | SNMP with in-band optical supervisory channel (GCC0/1/2) |
| Operating Temperature | 0 to 40 degC |
| Operating Humidity | 10 to 90 percent, non-condensing |
| Power Input | DC -40 to -72V, or AC 100-240V 47-63Hz |
Available Configurations
APX-OTN-2U Edge Chassis
The 2U shelf is the smallest member of the platform family. Two universal service slots carry up to 200G each with inter-card electrical cross-connect and 1+1 control, while four WDM and amplifier slots, two power slots and one system interface slot complete the shelf. It uses the same cards and management as the 5U and 10U chassis.
Service Card Families
- 200G coherent muxponder card
- 100G coherent muxponder card
- 10G muxponder card
- 10G transponder card
- 40-channel and 80-channel DWDM multiplexer and demultiplexer cards
- EDFA amplifier card
- OLP 1+1 optical line protection card
Applications
Carrier Core and Metro Transport
ISP Backbone and Aggregation
Data Center Interconnect
Private and Industry Networks
Compatibility
Interoperable with major optical transport and networking platforms. Client-side pluggable interfaces follow mainstream MSA specifications, and the OTN line side conforms to ITU-T G.709 and G.798, so the platforms integrate into mixed-vendor transport networks and existing management systems.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the APX-OTN-2U used for?
It is a compact 2U OTN and DWDM platform for edge and access sites that still need carrier-grade optical transport, adding wavelengths and amplification in a two-unit shelf.
How much capacity does each service slot carry?
Each of the two universal service slots carries up to 200G, with inter-card electrical cross-connect between them.
Can the 2U shelf be used without a separate amplifier?
Yes. Four WDM and amplifier slots live in the same chassis, so amplification and wavelength multiplexing can be added without extra rack units.
Can cards be shared with larger chassis?
Yes. The 2U uses the same service-card families and network management as the 5U and 10U chassis, so cards and spares can be pooled across sites.
How is the platform managed?
Management runs over SNMP with an in-band optical supervisory channel using the GCC0/1/2 overhead bytes.
Why Choose Apex
- Two-unit footprint for sites with limited rack space
- Two 200G universal service slots with inter-card cross-connect
- WDM and amplifier slots inside the same chassis
- Shared cards and management across the platform family
