[LINK] FTTH CPE authentication - and can the end user switch adapters?

[Fernando Cassia]

On Mon, Dec 20, 2010 at 2:42 AM, Fernando Cassia <fcassia at gmail.com> wrote:

> ...so, given Australia´s fibre backbone (NBN) experience, perhaps some
> of you have some clue about what the authentication system is used for
> these FTTH services?.

Apologies, I should have Googled. This Huawei white paper explains it
all, the key info is in the three paragraphs below (I´m copying FYI
and to close this thread):

------
In a traditional DSLAM, a single port maps one user. In contrast, the
main feature of PON technology is that one PON port is able to support
multiple users. But how do operators accurately identify a user and
how do they enable the diversified configurations for multiple users?
To solve these two issues, the terminal must be correctly located. In
this case, Huawei provides two solutions: SN mode and key mode.

When a user subscribes under SN mode, the terminal SN provided to the
user is input into the OSS OS and then delivered to the OLT through
the NMS. After the user's terminal is powered on, the SN will
automatically be found, become registered to the OLT, and report to
the base. The OLT then compares the information about the SN reported
by the ONU. After the authentication, the related configurations are
delivered. In this mode, the SN must be input to the OSS OS before its
service provisioning. When the ONU is replaced, the configuration data
must be modified. The service provisioning and configuration data are
bound to the ONU to ensure security for all users.

For key modes, a key (the MAC address of the user) is assigned to the
terminal and is then delivered to OLT through the NMS. After the ONU
is powered on, it is required to input the key on a webpage. After the
key is authenticated by OLT, the configuration will be delivered. The
main difference between the key mode and SN mode is that in the key
mode, the terminal is not associated with the user. This means that
once the ONU is replaced, the configuration data of the device in the
central office does not need modifications.
------

Source:
http://www.huawei.com/articles_papers2/simpleres.do?id=1622&type=technology

Again, sorry for the noise. I hope this question/answer helps someone.

FC