Harris Stratex Networks has announced a new upgrade to the Eclipse advanced nodal wireless networking platform, which extends capacity support for Super-PDH and SDH/SONET TDM backbone and high capacity Layer 2 Gigabit Ethernet applications, while optimising frequency resources by supporting co-channel operation in channel bandwidths up to 56MHz.
With the release of the new RAC 4X Radio Access Card, very-high-capacity Eclipse links can now be engineered to take advantage of the recent changes by the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) to enable single 56MHz channel operation in the lower 6GHz to 13GHz bands. The RAC 4X enables up to 4xSTM1/OC3 links, using a single 56MHz RF channel and both antenna polarizations.
The new RAC 4X also claims to increase the range of Super-PDH capacities supported by Eclipse. Super-PDH was introduced by Harris Stratex Networks in 2004 to enable more cost-effective backhaul networks that support nodal network architectures with software-scalable capacity migration.
The RAC 4X also enables Eclipse support for carrier Ethernet transport at speeds up to 1.2Gbps, in just two 50MHz or 56MHz RF channels, utilizing Harris Stratex Network's Layer 2 features such as Link Aggregation and Patent-Pending RWPR