Access Hardware & Vendor Plugins
Hardware NMS Prime can provision, and how it is provisioned. Devices marked are field-proven; others can be added on request. For the full DOCSIS certification list see CableLabs certification.
Vendor plugins are optional. For FTTH, DSL and WiFi, NMS Prime provisions speed generically through a BNG / BRAS router and RADIUS — independent of the OLT, DSLAM or access vendor. Vendor plugins are added only when you want deeper control of the OLT itself (ONT registration, service profiles, optical monitoring).
1. Generic approach — speed via BNG + RADIUS (default)
The access node (OLT / Active Ethernet switch / DSLAM / AP) serves every subscriber with a default maximum profile. Bandwidth is then shaped centrally on the BNG / BRAS router, which asks RADIUS for the subscriber’s rate limits at dial-in. Nothing vendor-specific is required.
# | Step | What happens |
|---|---|---|
1 | Tariff defines the speed | A QoS profile (downstream / upstream in Mbit/s) is attached to the product and contract, and inherited by the subscriber device |
2 | Customer dials in | CPE establishes a PPPoE session (or IPoE with DHCP Option 82 relay information) |
3 | BNG asks RADIUS | The BNG (registered in NMS Prime as a network gateway of type BRAS) authenticates the session against NMS Prime’s RADIUS database |
4 | RADIUS returns the rate limits | Reply attributes for the subscriber’s QoS group (e.g. WISPr bandwidth, Ascend rates, Cisco QoS policies) plus session defaults and IP pool |
5 | BNG enforces & accounts | Traffic shaping on the BNG; RADIUS accounting gives session and bandwidth visibility. Tariff changes and disconnects are pushed live (CoA / Disconnect) |
Architecture details: FTTH internal coding implementation.
Technology | Speed control | Vendor plugin needed? |
|---|---|---|
FTTH (GPON / Active Ethernet) | BNG + RADIUS | NO optional for OLT control |
DSL (DSLAM) | BNG + RADIUS | NO |
WiFi / hotspot | BNG + RADIUS (WISPr bandwidth attributes) | NO |
DOCSIS (cable) | Speed in the DOCSIS config file (DHCP + TFTP), not RADIUS | NO standards-based |
Why generic beats OLT CLI scripting. Pushing speeds onto the OLT via telnet/SSH/SNMP means: a separate implementation per architecture (GPON, Active Ethernet, DSL, WiFi), vendor-specific commands that make an OLT swap painful, ONU→OLT port mapping knowledge in the support team, and config race conditions when engineers and the provisioning system write at the same time. One BNG + RADIUS path avoids all four.
2. Vendor plugins — deeper OLT control (optional)
Where you want NMS Prime to manage the access node itself, install a vendor app. Typical added capability:
ONT / ONU lifecycle — register, activate, and remove subscriber terminals on the OLT from the customer record (serial number, fiber name, frame/slot/port)
Line & service profiles — assign VLANs, GEM ports, service ports, and OLT-side bandwidth templates per tariff
OLT-side enforcement — bandwidth at layer 2 on the OLT, alongside or instead of BNG shaping
Optical monitoring — Rx/Tx power, temperature, and ONT status pulled from the platform
Vendor app | Platform | Interface | Adds beyond RADIUS |
|---|---|---|---|
APP Prime Altiplano | RESTCONF intents | ONT and L2-user intents, speed profiles, optical metrics | |
APP Prime Calix | Calix SMx | REST API | Subscriber, ONT and service creation on the OLT |
APP Prime Zyxel | ZyXEL OLT | SNMP | ONT template assignment and status polling |
APP Prime SmartOnt | Huawei MA5800 family | CLI automation | ONT add/remove, line + service profiles, traffic tables, service ports |
Vendor apps are licensed as Prime apps — see All applications (A–Z / catalog) and Commercial.
3. DOCSIS / CMTS
Provisioning via DHCP + TFTP config files; speed comes from the DOCSIS configuration, so no BNG or vendor plugin is involved.
Vendor | Devices | Status |
|---|---|---|
Cisco | uBR7225, uBR7246, uBR10k, ASR1000, uBR7200 | |
Casa Systems | C2200, C1G, C3200, C100G | |
Arris | C1000, C3, C4, E6000 | |
Sumavision / Topvision | CC8800-D-U2 (DEV 6811), CC8800-F-U2 (DEV 6871) | |
Motorola | BSR 6400, BSR 2000 series, BSR64000 | |
Blonder Tongue | Communication Station | |
C9 Networks | CMTS products | |
Coaxial Networks | IRIS CMTS | |
ChongQing JingHong | JH-HE2080 | |
Damery | OPAL DOCSIS 2.0 CMTS series | |
Daphne | JADE series CMTS products |
4. FTTH / GPON – OLT
Any OLT works with the generic BNG + RADIUS path. Highlighted vendors additionally have a Prime app for OLT-level control.
Vendor | Devices / platform | Status | OLT control app |
|---|---|---|---|
Nokia | Altiplano Access Controller | ||
ZyXEL | IES4204, OLT1404A, OLT1408A | ||
Huawei | MA5800-X2, X7, X15, X17 | ||
Calix | Access platforms (SMx) | BETA | |
ZTE | C320 | — generic BNG + RADIUS | |
Genexis | FTTH platforms | — generic BNG + RADIUS |
5. DSL / DSLAM
DSLAM forwards PPPoE; speed is shaped on the BNG via RADIUS. CPE settings can additionally be managed over TR-069.
Vendor | Devices | Status |
|---|---|---|
KeyMile | MileGate series | |
NSN | hiX5608 |
6. WiFi & BNG routers
These devices act as the BNG / RADIUS client that enforces subscriber bandwidth for FTTH, DSL and WiFi.
Vendor | Devices / role | Status |
|---|---|---|
Cisco | ASR series (BNG / BRAS) | |
MikroTik | CCR1036, CCR2004 (BNG), WiFi | |
Ubiquiti | EdgeRouter (BNG), WiFi APs |
7. Related
FTTH internal coding implementation — PPPoE / BNG / RADIUS architecture and dial-in workflow
OS Provisioning · Prime Product (tariffs and QoS)