GI debuts HFC management lifeline >BY SHIRA McCARTHY, Associate Editor-News

Getting a jump start on the Western Cable Show, General Instrument introduced a suite of value-added network support services for broadband network operators last week.

At the core of the NETadvantage package is GI's NETsentry, LIFEnet and Lifeline management systems, which can be used alone or integrated into a systemwide solution.

NETsentry is a modular, centralized hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) network software solution that provides an end-to-end overview of the network. The simple network management protocol-based solution enables the network operator to perform fault, security, configuration and performance management for all equipment in the HFC network, including the headend, fiber nodes, RF distribution and power supplies.

For more in-depth monitoring of various aspects of the network, GI has developed LIFEnet, which provides status monitoring and control for headend equipment, and Lifeline, a Windows NT-based outside plant monitoring system.

GI adds further value to its network management solutions with Focus, a software offering from Communications Information Software. Focus collects and uses data about fiber and equipment to create a relational database for network setup.

In addition to its hardware and software tools, GI is offering a range of technical consulting services.

Such support services are particularly valuable to telcos, which approach their HFC broadband networks with the same mindset as they do their regulated twisted pair telephony networks, said Harry Tankin, director of the NETadvantage solutions group.

GI will officially unveil the NETadvantage product and service package at the Western Cable Show next month but has already named a customer. Time Warner Cable will use the LIFEnet headend management software and other NETadvantage professional services for an upgrade of its Manhattan network. The company is also using GI's OmniStar fiber optic headend platform, StarGate optical node products and Starline actives and passives.