FS GPON Solution for University All-Optical Upgrade

With the rapid construction of smart campuses, university networks are experiencing unprecedented growth. An increasing number of devices are connecting to campus networks. However, existing network infrastructure often falls short of meeting the needs of students and staff. Limited budgets and complex network architectures make comprehensive upgrades challenging.

Given these challenges, it is crucial to adopt an all-optical university network solution that offers high ROI, high bandwidth, and easy maintenance.

Four Major Challenges Faced by University Network Construction

Limited Budget for Network Upgrades

In higher education, network upgrades face significant challenges due to limited budgets. Universities rely mainly on tuition fees, government grants, and private donations for funding. However, much of this funding is typically allocated to higher-priority projects such as acquiring educational resources and research equipment.

Comprehensive campus network upgrades often require purchasing substantial network equipment, leading to high initial construction costs. Additionally, the long-term management and maintenance of the network, along with ongoing updates and equipment upgrades, demand continuous financial investment.

Surging Demand for High Bandwidth

In today's higher education environment, students and faculty rely not only on traditional methods of learning and teaching but also on multiple devices for online studying, research, and management tasks. Each student may have laptops, tablets, and smartphones for their educational, entertainment, and social needs.

Additionally, campus networks must accommodate various other devices like video surveillance, access control, and campus management systems. The explosive growth in the number of these devices and their diverse demands on network bandwidth and stability pose significant challenges for campus networks.

Shortage of Technicians for Network O&M

The network within university campuses is inherently complex, yet the available maintenance personnel are often limited. As the number of network elements on campus grows, so does the number of management nodes, leading to an exponential increase in the difficulty of manual maintenance.

Moreover, modern campus networks typically need to support a wide range of applications and services, further complicating network configuration and management due to diverse application demands. This situation poses greater challenges to already strained maintenance resources.

Increasing Risks of Network Security

In campus networks, there is a large amount of sensitive data such as personal information of students and staff, academic research data, etc. If network devices lack effective security mechanisms or are improperly configured, it can lead to vulnerabilities such as data leaks and network attacks that are difficult to prevent. Additionally, there is a general lack of cybersecurity awareness among faculty and students on campus, which may inadvertently lead to issues such as password leaks and unsafe internet practices, thereby exacerbating network security risks.

FS All-Optical University Campus Network Solution

FS fully understands the pain points and challenges in building a university network and is dedicated to finding solutions. Therefore, we have introduced a passive GPON solution. The scheme employs a point-to-multipoint (P2MP) network architecture with a fully passive Optical Distribution Network (ODN). It replaces expensive copper cabling with fiber optic communication, supporting diversified network services and future network expansion.

In the central office, FS provides high-density OLT equipment for data transmission and management; On the user side, FS offers compact and lightweight desktop ONUs to provide network services to end devices. PLC splitters serve as a bridge between the OLT and ONU, distributing a single signal from the OLT to multiple ONUs. This enables efficient distribution of optical signals.

High-Density OLT Device

The FS GPON OLT supports up to 1.25Gbps upstream and 2.5Gbps downstream rates, meeting the daily upload, download, and teaching needs of students and staff on campus. It supports QoS to improve traffic control, providing different priorities for various applications, users, or data streams to reduce data loss and network latency.

Additionally, each PON port on the OLT can support up to 128 ONUs, with a single OLT capable of supporting over 2000 ONUs, enabling centralized management of FS ONUs. Through the visual web UI, IT administrators can check the equipment status in real-time, either on-site or remotely, thus reducing the complexity of network maintenance. FS currently offers 1U OLTs, 9U Chassis OLTs, and OLT interface boards. We also provide customization options for OLTs.

Multi-type Ports ONU Device

The FS ONU includes various port types such as PON, LAN, and USB ports. This intelligent home gateway is designed for multi-service converged networks, incorporating wireless and voice functions to meet the specific needs of broadband network construction. Its compact, lightweight desktop design makes it plug-and-play and easy to deploy. In addition to visual web UI management, it supports the TR-069 network management protocol, enabling remote service provisioning, maintenance, and management.

Common Products in FS GPON Solution

FS GPON Solution Creates a Cost-effective and Reliable Campus Network

Passive GPON Solution: Significant Cost Savings

The passive GPON solution uses a passive ODN network and replaces costly copper wiring with fiber optic cabling. This approach reduces initial construction costs by 30-40% and conserves energy, enhancing efficiency and promoting environmental sustainability. By utilizing an all-optical network solution, FS OLT devices can partially replace some aggregation switches to some extent. This reduction in equipment usage further decreases energy consumption and equipment costs.

Additionally, passive equipment has a lower failure rate and supports remote management, allowing network configuration and troubleshooting to be conducted online. This reduces the need for on-site maintenance and lowers long-term operational costs.

Wireless+Wired: Ultra-fast Bandwidth Network

Wi-Fi 6 standard FS ONU devices support high-density, 24/7 network access, reducing latency significantly. Paired with FS GPON OLT, which offers up to 1.25Gbps upstream and 2.5Gbps downstream bandwidth, they meet the everyday internet needs of end users and enable stable, efficient data transmission. Additionally, the network can achieve coverage of up to 20km between device nodes, ensuring consistent network quality across the entire campus.

Notably, PON network technology is highly scalable and supports future upgrades to higher-speed PON networks such as XG(S)-PON and NG-PON. This flexibility allows for the addition of new nodes as needed, effectively accommodating the network development plans.

Visualized Management: Enabling Efficient Operations

Thanks to the visual WebUI management, maintenance personnel can effortlessly monitor the status of OLT and ONU device ports, key data, and alerts. This enables real-time visualization and precise fault localization, simplifying maintenance processes. In the network architecture, the FS OLT is centrally deployed and uniformly manages all FS ONUs, with a single OLT capable of overseeing over 2000 ONUs, which reduces management complexity. Consequently, the university does not need to hire a large number of maintenance staff to ensure the network's normal operation. This reduction in staffing requirements alleviates the workload and management pressure on the maintenance team, ultimately enhancing the overall efficiency and stability of network maintenance.

Security Protocols: Ensuring Network Safety

The GPON network provided by this solution supports 802.1x authentication and AES128 downstream encryption. These features enhance network security by preventing data tampering and unauthorized access, thereby protecting the information of students and staff and creating a secure and reliable network environment. Additionally, the FS ONUs support the TR-069 network management protocol, which enables service providers to remotely manage and configure internet access devices. This means network operators can monitor, manage, and optimize devices from afar without needing to visit the user's location, ensuring the network remains safe and reliable.

Conclusion

The high-ROI FS GPON solution effectively builds a high-bandwidth, low-latency, efficient, and secure campus network within a limited budget, addressing the specific network challenges faced by universities. Moreover, FS's client base spans the globe, including renowned brands, to whom we provide professional solution design and services. If you are struggling with campus network setup or have questions about building other types of networks, don't hesitate to contact us!