Today we are pleased to announce the release of the Flexible MAC Architecture (FMA) library of specifications. Along with the FMA System specification, we are also releasing the FMA MAC Manager Interface (MMI) and the FMA PacketCable Aggregator Interface (PAI) specs. This is the culmination of thousands of hours of work across the cable industry, on a global scale.
The FMA project is a part of the larger Distributed Access Architecture program at CableLabs. This program includes Remote PHY (R-PHY) as well as other projects like DOCSIS 4.0, Coherent Optics and others. FMA defines the standardization of the complete disaggregation of the CCAP management, control and data planes. The specification provides standard interfaces between OSS/NMS/Orchestration and the FMA management and control planes as well as a standard interface abstraction layer to cable access equipment. All of this allows for vendor independence and equipment interoperability.
As a part of the suite of technologies that support the 10G platform, FMA is a key disaggregated access network architecture that supports DOCSIS 4.0 requirements to achieve downstream speeds up to 10 Gbps and upstream speeds up to 6 Gbps. The FMA technology is complementary to the R-PHY technology and together complete a toolset of disaggregated technologies to support an operator’s next-generation data services.
Figure 1: FMA & R-PHY Architecture
FMA specification work started in late 2017 and was described in a February, 2018 video blog post. When this project kicked off at the behest of the cable industry, CableLabs and its partner vendors worked with an operator steering committee to define the scope of the project that set the wheels in motion for the development of the specification and issued release today.
What’s Next For FMA
The issuance of the specification is the initial step in a comprehensive process in order for CableLabs vendor partners to develop products and ultimately for operators to deploy those products and provide 10G services. We will continue to develop the specifications and it is our plan to begin FMA in-depth interoperability events in 2021.
If you would like to participate in the FMA working group activities, please make your request via workinggroups@cablelabs.com.
