September 21, 2017

Calix 800 GigaFamily

Release Notes, R12.2.4
Preface
This document constitutes the release notes for Calix 800 GigaFamily firmware Release 12.2.4, supporting
the following GigaFamily models and operation:
• 800GE GigaCenters: 844GE Auto-Detect AE/GPON* operation (*for E7 GPON R2.4 and
above)
• 800G GigaCenters: 844G and 854G, for E7 GPON ONU operation (E7 R2.4 and above feature
sets).
• 800E GigaCenters: 844E Ethernet Home Gateway.
• 800F GigaCenters: 844F, 844FB, for G.fast ONU operation
• 800G GigaHubs: 812G, 813G, and 818G, for E7 GPON ONU operation (E7 R2.4 and above
feature set).
• 800G GigaPoints: 801G/803G, for E7 GPON ONU operation (E7 R2.4 and above feature set).
These notes provide information regarding functionality in this release. For configuration information, refer
to the appropriate user documentation, available online from My Calix.

Supported Hardware
GigaFamily firmware release 12.2.4 supports operation on the following Calix 800 GigaFamily products:

Product Family Model Family Model Types Model Family Software Image
800GE 844GE
800 GigaCenter 800G 844G/854G
CALIX_800.bin
800E 844E
800 GigaHub 800G 812G/813G/818G
800 GigaCenter 800F 844F/844FB CALIX_844F.bin
800 GigaPoint 800G 801G/803G CALIX_800GP.bin

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GigaFamily Software Release Package

The R12.2.4 software package consists of GigaFamily firmware images, utilities, and Release Notes, as shown.

Release 12.2.4 Software Package

File Name Description

CALX_PS_P0-P2_12.2.4.125.zip Calix 800E/G/GE GigaCenter/GigaHub firmware

CALX_PS_P1_12.2.4.125.zip Calix 800G GigaPoint firmware
CALX_PS_P4_12.2.4.125.zip Calix 800F GigaCenter firmware
800-GigaFamily-ReleaseNotes-R12.2.4.pdf GigaFamily R12.2.4 Release Notes (this document)
Contents of CALX_PS_P0-P2_12.2.4.125.zip
Firmware
Image File Description
Version
800E/G/GE GigaCenter/GigaHub 12.2.4.125
CALIX_800.bin
firmware image
Contents of CALX_PS_P4_12.2.4.125.zip
Firmware
Image File Description
Version
CALIX_844F.bin 800F GigaCenter firmware image 12.2.4.125
Contents of CALX_PS_P1_12.2.4.125.zip
Firmware
Image File Description
Version

CALIX_800GP.bin 800G GigaPoint firmware image 12.2.4.125

Note for 800G GigaFamily models: Make sure that the E7 OLT node is running the appropriate
minimum release or higher when deploying R12.2 on 800G GigaCenters, GigaHubs, and GigaPoints. See
this matrix for details, or refer to the latest Calix E7 Release Notes for more information about E7 GPON
operation.

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What’s New in this Release

GigaFamily Release 12.2.4 introduces the following new features and support:
• RG QoS can now be managed via TR-069 (PREM-21958)
• A new feature in the EWI allows for disabling WPS on the 2.4 and 5 GHz primary SSIDs. In
addition, WPS on all SSIDs can be disabled via Consumer Connect Plus. (PREM-22187)
• Service routing, SIP update/prack and server geo-redundancy has been added in this release. (VXA-
1737, VXA-1755)
• Improvements to the SRV random selection algorithm have been added to this release. (VXA-1890,
VXA-1798)
• An enhancement to the ONT registration behavior has been added pertaining to registration or re-
registration based on whether the ONT is already registered. (VXA-1830)
• In this release, the SIP registration process now uses the random server selection algorithm for
server switching if a failure is detected. (VXA-1740)
• The DNS query function now allows unlimited entries over the previous two records. In addition,
they are stored with priority and weight information. (VXA-1739)
• An UPDATE function has been added in support of certain IMS services. (VXA-1722)
• In this release, the RegID can now be changed after the WAN is attached on an 844E GigaCenter.
(PREM-22136)
GigaFamily Release 12.2.3 introduces the following new features and support:
• None – Release 12.2.3 is a maintenance release only to resolve three known anomalies.
GigaFamily Release 12.2.2 introduces the following new features and support:
• None – Release 12.2.2 is a maintenance release only to resolve three known anomalies.
GigaFamily Release 12.2.1 introduces the following new features and support:
• Management:
o Support for the following features for the 844F/844FB GigaCenters:
 FSC Enable
 DFS Enable
 Control in the EWI for disabling Spanning Tree protocol
GigaFamily Release 12.2.0 introduces the following new features and support:
• Hardware:
o 844F/844FB Optical Network Unit (ONU) G. fast operation
• Management:
o Wireless Multi-SSID support of Layer-2 bridge interfaces with support for High Speed
Internet Services

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o Support for Plug-n-Play Wireless Access Point (WAP) of subtended GigaFamily attached to
“parent” GigaFamily device.
o TR-069 management using IPv6 protocol.
o User initiated Site Scan with Channel “Busyness”
o 844E Support for dual Point-to-Point over Ethernet (PPPoE) sessions
o Updated 5 GHz Wi-Fi radio driver
o Calix Management System (CMS) alarm aggregation for Greenfield deployments (CMS
Release 14.1.471 and above)
o Voice over Internet Protocol) VoIP Support on the 844E GigaCenter in WAP mode
(Embedded Web Interface [EWI] only)
GigaFamily Release 12.1.0 introduces the following new features and support:
• Hardware:
o 818G Power over Ethernet ONU
Note: Release 12.1 does not currently support 844GE ONTs running in AE mode.
• Management:
o Support for 2000 Byte frames (Maximum Transmission Unit – MTU) on 801G/803G
GigaPoint
o Concurrent support of Internet and L2 IPTV on an 844E operating as a Wireless Access
Point (WAP) – Any Port Any Service (APAS)
o Cascading 844E when configured in WAP mode

Resolved in this Release

Resolved in 12.2.4

System
• Resolved: GigaFamily Residential Gateway interface does not continuously send PPPoE LCP echo
requests as expected. (PREM-21664)
• Resolved: On the 844F/FB, the RegID is missing after a reboot (device disassociates from
subscriber in CC+) even though Smart Activate shows the RegID to be present. (PREM-21882)
• Resolved: On the 803G GigaPoint, DHCP traffic continues to flow even after the MAC limit
threshold has been exceeded. (PREM-21889)
• Resolved: GPON GigaCenters running ONT Release 12.2.2 only send 9 of the 10 digits needed for
Remote ONT Activation (RONTA) to the E7. (PREM-22048)
Note: For additional information, refer to Premises SB-17-010 GigaCenters: RegID Issue
• Resolved: The RF signal level and LED signal level indicator are not displaying the actual values.
(PREM-21057, PREM-21921)

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VoIP
• Resolved: For three-way calling initiated by Caller A, if the flash hook minimum is set to 300 ms, a
dial tone is not presented to Caller B. (PREM-20270).
• Resolved: The Voice Message Waiting Indicator continues to flash about every 10 minutes even
though all messages have been cleared. (PREM-22157, PREM-22160)
• Resolved: Attempts to apply port forwarding entries on 844E’s are unsuccessful if Internet
Explorer is in use. (PREM-22070)
• Resolved: On a 3-way call, initiating a flash condition does not produce a dial tone as expected.
(PREM-22133)
• Resolved: Active Ethernet to a Nexus switch has negotiation issues with a Fiberstore SFP module.
(PREM-21961)
• Resolved: On 803G GigaPoint, blind call transfers fail to produce a dial tone after a flash hook has
been executed. (VXA-1933)
• Resolved: RTP statistics for SIP services remain at 0. (VXA-1932)
• Resolved: On occasion, the ONT changes the proxy server address for no apparent reason. (VXA-
1800)
• Resolved: For ONTs that are re-registering, if a “Server Internal Error” is generated, the ONT fails
to properly handle the event. (VXA-1799)
• Resolved: Not all 200 OK messages contain the “Service Route” header information. (VXA-1797)
Wi-Fi
• Resolved: For GigaFamily products, attempts to disable WPS via the TR-069 interface are
unsuccessful.
Note: WPS enable/disable via TR-069 was introduced in ONT R12.2.4 (PREM-22263)
• Resolved: Wi-Fi radios are not automatically restored after an attached UPS battery is fully depleted
and then restored. (PREM-22025)

Resolved in 12.2.2

Power over Ethernet (PoE)

• Resolved: On occasion, the PoE power subsystem of the 818G can take longer than expected to
fully initialize after a reset and cause the unit to panic”. This fix polls for initialization before
bringing the unit into operational status. (PREM-21594)
System
• Resolved: Upon upgrading from 11.1.100 to 11.2.7, QoS rules previously defined are no longer
available. (PREM-21373)
Wi-Fi
• Resolved: After upgrading to ONT R12.2.1.45, both the 2.4 GHz and the 5 GHz radios are disabled by
default (should be enabled). (PREM-21802)

Resolved in 12.2.1

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Embedded Web Interface

• Resolved: On the Status > Devices page, if there are more than two devices in the list, attempts to update
any device except for the 1st one in the list are not possible since the “Select the LAN device:” field is blank.
(PREM-21106)
System
• Resolved: ONU’s reboot after 124 days of up time due to a calculation error in CPU usage.
(PREM-21203)
• Resolved: With LED suppress enabled, after boot-up, LEDs are not suppressed until the RG
service obtains an IP address. (PREM-21249)
• Resolved: The Smart Activate and Factory Reset tabs were erroneously removed from the EWI in
R12.2.0. (PREM-21260)
• Resolved: ONUs running 11.2.7 and above, the WAP MAC is using br0 rather than the required
WAN MAC address. (PREM-21275)
• Resolved: 844G ONU’s may fail an upgrade attempt to Release 12.2.0 due to a lack of available
resources. (PREM-21438)
• Resolved: Upon upgrading to ONU R12.2.0, 844E GigaCenter’s the Ethernet WAN port to stop
negotiating with any 7xxGE ONU. (PREM-21576)
• Resolved: Upon executing a back-up and restore sequence after updating the primary and
secondary DNS settings, the old settings are not restored. (PREM-20768)
• Resolved: The Broadband1 and Broadband2 LEDs on the 844FB G.fast ONU do not behave as
expected. (PREM-21211)
Video Services
• Resolved: Attempts to connect an Arris VAP3400 to an 844G Gig-Ethernet port fail if running on
a bridged video service configuration. (PREM-20603)
VoIP Services
• Resolved: 844F GigaCenters send UDP registration packets to a non-gateway controller IP address
that is provisioned on the ONU. (PREM-21472)
Wi-Fi
• Resolved: Site Scan results reported via the CLI for the 20/40 MHz band on the 5 GHz radio are
actually displaying results for the 80 MHz band. (PREM-20953)
• Resolved: Upon upgrading to 11.2.6, with a GCF based off an 11.1 instance of firmware, if a
Golden Configuration File is intended to disable a Wi-Fi radio, the radio is not disabled. (PREM-
21007)

Resolved in 12.2.0

Data Services
• Resolved: ONTs drop ICMP packet sizes over 1518 MTU when running Layer-2 Data Services (PREM-
19879)

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System
• Resolved: The EWI displays power output on all Power over Ethernet (PoE) ports even though some of
them have nothing connected to them. (PREM-19726)
• Resolved: If Disable on Battery is set to No, services are disabled after 5 minutes of “on battery” runtime.
(PREM-20148)
• Resolved: With IPv6 enabled, a PPPoE Username or password change does not initiate a re-start as
expected. (PREM-19333)
• Resolved: Random ONTs running bridged services off an E7-2 GPON card get stuck in a ranged state and
cannot be changed. (PREM-20333)
• Resolved: Upon initial boot-up, ONTs momentarily respond as host 192.168.1.1 on the LAN side
connection. (PREM-19298)
• Resolved: Incorrect tones are sent when country code Italy (39) is set. (PREM-20500)
• Resolved: ONT reboots unexpectedly when switching from Residential Gateway (RG) to WAP mode.
(PREM-20327)
• Resolved: Even though the supplemental ACS is set to disabled, the supplemental ACS becomes enabled if a
change to the url is attempted (creates multiple unwanted INFORMS and bootstraps). (PREM-20324)
• Resolved: Golden Configuration Files (GCF) can be generated even when a Wide Area Network (WAN)
Link is detected. (PREM-20617)
• Resolved: With IPv6 in use, GigaCenter fails to set the single VLAN to Default without confirming the
proper setting within Consumer Connect Plus first. (PREM-20773)
• Resolved: When upgrading an 844GE GigaCenter to Release 12.1.1, the ONU continuously reboots until the
fiber is disconnected. (PREM-20851)
Voice
• Resolved: The default voice policy profile p-bit value is incorrect (should be 6 as 7 is used for
MGMT.) (PREM-20394, PREM-20412)
• Resolved: The default voice policy profile p-bit value is incorrect (should be 6 as 7 is used for Management.
(PREM-20412)
• Resolved: Upon upgrading from 11.1.130 to 11.2.6, SIP VoIP services fail to come on-line unless a manual
re-boot is executed first. (PREM-21097, PREM-21118)
Wi-Fi
• Resolved: 5 GHz client connections are dropped and STAs can no longer associate with the 5 GHz
AP even though the EWI indicates the radio is on and transmitting. (PREM-20666)
• Resolved: In this release, you cannot disable the primary SSID state on the 2.4 GHz radio however you can
disable the broadcast state. (PREM-20173)
• Resolved: When the ONT is running as a sub-tended WAP, attempts to change the state of the 5 GHz
IPTV SSID are ignored. (PREM-20289)
• Resolved: On the 5 GHz radio, the wireless analyzer page generates an error when initially loading. (PREM-
20168)
• Resolved: When configuring Any Port, Any Service, if Enable and Attach is selected for the 5 GHz IPTV
SSID, this SSID is improperly set to BCAST SSID. (PREM-20716)

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• Resolved: With DFS enabled on the 80 GHz band, channel 116 is not available. (PREM-20933)

Resolved in 12.1.1

Wi-Fi
• Resolved: Multi-User MIMO is not getting set in the ONU if the provisioning request is set from Consumer
Connect Plus. (PREM-16745)
Resolved in 12.1.0
Embedded Web Interface
• Resolved: On GigaFamily devices, if scheduling access is set between 23:45 and midnight, the schedule is not
implemented. (PREM-17915)
• Resolved: In the EWI, WAN broadcast and multicast counters do not increment as expected (always zero).
(PREM-17228)
• Resolved: Issues with the displaying of information on the Devices tab within the RG EWI and the
acceptance of certain character strings have been resolved. (PREM-17904)
• Resolved: Domain Name Service (DNS) information for Wide Area Network (WAN) settings are not
updated in the EWI if a sync configuration with DNS changes is performed via CMS. (PREM-16606)
• Resolved: In the EWI, WAN broadcast and multicast counters do not increment as expected (always zero).
(PREM-17227)
System
• Resolved: Reverse DNS does not work as expected in the traceroute utility. (PREM-12385)
• Resolved: On POE deployments, the short counter does not increase if the power budget is set to 20W or
less. (PREM-20013)
• Resolved: MAC Authentication fails to filter out devices attached to the 5 GHz IPTV SSID. (PREM-18762)
• Resolved: Ping/Traceroute requests on valid primary WAN IPv4 address with IPv4/IPv6 dual stack
configuration fail to respond. (PREM-18045)
• Resolved: GigaHubs experience a slight delay in connecting to the internet (takes over 3 minutes) when
compared with other ONTs. (PREM-17612)
• Resolved: On rare occasions, 844E and 844GE ONT’s re-boot unexpectedly, causing the TR-069 interface
to stop responding.
NOTE: Refer to “Calix Service Bulletin 17-001 P-Series ONUs: Resolving DHCP Host Name Issues on
Client Devices” for additional information on conditions that may cause back-up failures (inability to resolve
host names on certain Roku ONU devices). (PREM-19615)
• Resolved: On the RG, bandwidth displayed on the EWI status page and Consumer Connect Plus reflects
traffic on the Out-of-Band (OOB) TR-069 VLAN instead of the expected High Speed Internet (HSI) VLAN.
(PREM-19208)
• Resolved: PoE priority is not being honored when powered devices are all attached to Class 0 category.
(PREM-19683)
• Resolved: When active static routes are present, the 844E GigaCenter cannot connect to a remote Consumer
Connect Plus session. (PREM-18312)
• Resolved: If the base MAC address ends in “FE”, some of the displayed MAC addresses are not correct.
(PREM-19106)
• Resolved: On the 803G GigaPoint, telnet connections to the VoIP IP-Host are erroneously allowed.
(PREM-19489)

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• Resolved: On GigaPoint products, iphost-0 does not use Active Reservation Protocol (ARP) as expected
after establishing a valid address. (PREM-19488)
VoIP
• Resolved: If a Layer-3 RG HSI service is removed, any IP rules associated with VoIP service are erroneously
removed as well. (PREM-19464)
Wi-Fi
• Resolved: Multi-User MIMO is not getting set in the ONU if the provisioning request is set from Consumer
Connect Plus. (PREM-16745)
• Resolved: Upon rebooting a GigaCenter, if the 2.4 GHz radio is disabled, the 5 GHz radio’s activity pie
chart legends are not displayed. (PREM-15614)

General Notes
Notes in this section are general GigaFamily announcements and alerts about conditions of interest. These notes
apply to 800GE, 800G, 800F, and 800E GigaCenters and 800G GigaHub and GigaPoint models.
Data Services
• The GigaFamily rate limits downstream traffic based on the pbit it receives in the packets from the
network. It uses a downstream rate limiter(s) on a per pbit basis (for example, when two different
services use the same pbit). Policy rules must be put in place on the E7 to make sure the
downstream pbits are set per their provisioning. It is also recommended not to configure the same
pbit values for two services on an 800G ONT if you want to have shaping (PREM-12749)
General Operations
• The following ports are reserved for system use and are excluded from any port forwarding rules:
o 8080, 30005, 30006, 30007
• When configured as a bridged Wireless Access Point (WAP), the web interface of the WAP will no
longer be reachable via the existing (original) IP address. To maintain access to the EWI, retrieve the
new IP address from the upstream home router after entering WAP mode. (PREM-15811)
• When running in WAP mode, only DHCP addressing is supported.
• When implementing Option-121, if a service static route is received on an invalid (not applicable)
interface, the route is rejected. (PREM-13734)
• Certain older Hewlett Packard printers cannot attach to the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi radio using the WPS
feature unless SSID security is disabled. (PREM-15119)
• GigaFamily firmware is a common firmware package for operation on 800G (844G/854G),
800GE (844GE), 800F (844F and 844FB), 800E (844E) GigaCenters, 800G GigaHubs, and 800G
GigaPoints (although the 800G GigaPoint and the 800F GigaCenter use a separate firmware image
from the other models).
• As a general best practice, Calix recommends not downgrading from a newer firmware revision to
an older one as unexpected results can occur. (PREM-14817)

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 800 GigaFamily Release Notes, R12.2.4 Page 10 of 23

• New Calix OUIs (EC:4F:82 & CC:BE:59) were introduced for the Calix 800 GigaFamily, which may
require updates to your back-end systems to support the new OUI. See the bulletin P-Series QT-15-
002 – Working with Multiple Calix OUIs for more details.
• The 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi radio LED blinks in synchronization with the amount of activity. The 5.0 GHz
LED blinks at a constant interval with no change in frequency, as per design. (PREM-10013)
• The 844F/FB 5 GHz Wi-Fi radio currently does not support Fast Channel Select (FCS), but does
support Stable Channel Switch (SCS) on both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz radios. When the Wi-Fi
channel is set to Auto, it will pick what it thinks is the best channel to use on boot-up, but it won’t
change channels dynamically unless there are no associated stations. This is the same behavior as the
legacy 844E 2.4 GHz radio.
• The 844F/FB 5 GHz Wi-Fi radio currently does not support Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS)
channels (channels 52 – 144).
RG System/Services
• In this release, the login credentials for the administrator account vs. the support account cannot be
identical. However, there is no error generated if this is attempted. (PREM-11156)
• When IGMP is enabled in a Layer-2 bridge, the IGMP packets traversing the WAN port are not
reported to the CPU (by design) and hence, WAN IGMP statistics are always zero (PREM-12206)
• When editing primary or supplemental ACS parameters, the periodic inform interval is only updated
after the CPE connects to it. (Not at the same time as the ACS URL is updated). (PREM-13306)
Video
• When configuring Layer-3 video on an 844G with no data services, a static route must be added for
the NTP service if the video service is set to run on Gateway Service 2. If this same video service is
provisioned on Gateway Service 1, a static route is not needed. (PREM-15473)
VoIP
• Updating the country code via the SIP configuration file is not supported. Instead, update the
country code attribute present in the SIP-GW profile. (PREM-13952)
Wi-Fi
• Per FCC rules, the 5 GHz Site Scan feature becomes non-functional when DFS is enabled on
844F/844FB GigaCenters.
• Note: Site Scan does function properly with DFS enabled on 800G/E/GE GigaFamily devices.
(PREM-21567)
• On the Wireless Analyzer page of the EWI, the Curr Data Rate (Mbps) column refers to Downstream rates
only. (PREM-20925).
• When using the WPS feature, it is necessary to initiate the pairing request at the STA first and then starting
the WPS function at the GigaCenter. (PREM-12151)

Changes in Behavior
Effective with GigaFamily firmware release R11.1.90, support for the “Port Map” field in the Application
Forwarding page has been discontinued. (PREM-15501)

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For additional information, refer to P-Series Service Bulletin 16-002 GigaFamily ONTS: Removal of “Port Map” field on the
Application Forwarding page.

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 800 GigaFamily Release Notes, R12.2.4 Page 12 of 23

Operational Notes – 844E GigaCenter

The 844E GigaCenter is optimized for residential and single subscriber applications that require high
performance LAN, wireless data and IPTV services at Layer-2 and Layer-3, with the added ability of
offering supplemental voice interfaces to the subscriber. While the 844E GigaCenter takes advantage of the
carrier class wireless capabilities and services capable within the home network there are operational
differences that need to be understood. The use cases for the 844E assume the unit is subtended from
another provisionable access device such as a GPON or AE ONT, or DSL or Cable Modem. Traditional
access type features such as in-band management, bandwidth provisioning, and Layer-2 security features
such as MACFF and IP Source Verify are not supported. The outline below provides an overview of the
844E operational differences relative to Calix fiber access solutions.
Access Provisioning for Brownfield Sites
In the case of existing deployments where there is existing wiring to STBs in Half/Full-Bridge mode and
you choose not to move the wiring to the 844E, there are cases where certain tag actions cannot be applied
to a single ONT. This is true if Half/Full-Bridge exists on a 700GE since only one classification rule is
allowed (must be homogeneous) for the video service. In other words, you could not have a match
untagged/OUI for your directly attached STBs on the 700GE and match tagged for the Video Service on
the 844E. Thus, if you would like to leave the existing STBs wired to the 700GE and support the ability to
subtend additional STBs from the 844E, the data service on the 844E would then be required to be tagged
and the video service would then be untagged.
Serviceability
The 844E GigaCenter operates independently of any access endpoint’s management channel. As such, there
is no provisioning, diagnostics or fault management support using CMS. All configuration, provisioning,
residential gateway and voice management is done using the local EWI or Compass.
800E Firmware Upgrade Process
Calix 800E GigaCenters ship with basic operating firmware installed, but must be upgraded to the latest
GigaCenter firmware for practical operation. You can upgrade firmware locally (via a PC connection to the
GigaCenter EWI), or remotely via the Compass Consumer CONNECT Plus application. The typical process
to upgrade 844E firmware consists of the following high-level steps:
1. Download the latest firmware package (ZIP file) from the Calix Software Center.
2. Unzip the release package on your PC, and then follow one of the upgrade options:
• Local upgrade: Connect the PC locally to the 844E GigaCenter and perform the firmware
upgrade. Refer to the 844E GigaCenter Service Provider’s Guide for instructions.
• Remote upgrade: Upload the firmware file(s) into Consumer Connect Plus. You can create
workflows to upgrade the first unit, and to automatically upgrade additional units upon initial check-in
to Consumer Connect Plus. For detailed instructions, please refer to the Consumer Connect Plus User Guide.

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Layer-2 Bridged Services

The 844E default mode of operation is Layer-3 RG mode with all LAN and wireless interfaces associated
with a single routed interface. Provisioning the Layer -2 bridged interfaces requires using the local EWI,
download of an RG configuration file, or via Compass mechanized interface. When managed using
Compass, the solution allows for auto-download of a subscriber RG CFG file. When operating in un-
managed mode, a RG CFG file can be uploaded using the EWI interface. Since there is no ONT concept as
part of the 844E, it does not support GPON OMCI file transfer of an RG profile or AE Release 3.1
support of TFTP download of an RG profile.
Small Business Layer-2 Services
The 844E is designed for residential applications. It does not support Layer-2 functions such as TLS and
administration of Layer-2 control protocols such as BPDU tunnel/discard. As with the current release of
844G and 854G GigaCenters, the 844E has the following exceptions that limit their support of small
business use cases:
• Does not support Compass provisioning of Layer-2 business services.
• No support of IP multicast transparency; traffic is block at the device level
• P-bit promotion or DSCP to P-bit mapping based on unique traffic class or service is not supported
• No support of downstream or upstream bandwidth profiles

Operational Notes – 844G/854G GigaCenter,

800G GigaHubs, and 800G GigaPoints
Keep the following considerations in mind when deploying 800G GigaCenters, GigaHubs, and GigaPoints
in your network. These considerations are intended to help clarify behavior differences or changes with the
GigaCenter as compared to previously available behaviors with the Calix 700GE ONTs and 836GE RSGs.
800G Firmware Upgrade Process
• The Calix 800G GigaCenters, GigaHubs, and GigaPoints do not ship with an operational firmware
image installed for E7 GPON operation, nor is the firmware bundled with the E7 software by
default. (GigaFamily units ship with only a manufacturing image that supports ONT ranging and
discovery by the E7 OLT. Each Giga-ONU must receive its operational firmware from the E7 OLT
once attached to the PON). GigaFamily firmware is available for download from the Calix Software
Center. The firmware must be loaded onto an FTP server with network connectivity to the E7. The
E7 retrieves the Giga-ONU operational firmware image from the FTP server and pushes it down to
attached Giga-ONU for operation.
The typical process to install or upgrade firmware on a GigaFamily ONU consists of the following high-
level steps:
1. Contact the Calix Technical Assistance Center (TAC) to obtain access to the latest R11.1 firmware.
2. Download the release package ZIP file from the Calix Software Center to your PC.
3. Unzip the release package and load the contents onto an FTP server accessible by the E7 OLT.
4. Retrieve the firmware from the FTP server to the E7 OLT.

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Note: This step requires accessing the E7 system that will host the GigaFamily ONU.
a) Activate the new GigaFamily firmware on the E7.
b) Commit the release as the default version.
5. Connect a GigaFamily ONU to the E7 GPON network. The E7 transfers the firmware to the
ONU, which resets and comes up using the new operational firmware.
For detailed upgrade instructions, please refer to the Calix E7 GPON ONT Software Upgrade Guide.
Home Gateway
On 844G/854G GigaCenters, downloading of SIP Configuration Files is supported only via OMCI. TFTP
download (SIP RMT option) is not supported on GigaCenter products.
When provisioning TR-069 managed voice services, make sure the following is true:
• The 844G/854G GigaCenter is running in external mode
• Only tagged VLAN interfaces can be used
• This VLAN will be dedicated voice traffic only
• IGMP and NAT must be disabled
• A p-bit value for voice traffic must be configured to ensure appropriate QoS.
Data Services
• Changing the CoS (class of service) of an existing service does not work dynamically. For this to take
effect, the service must be removed and added or disable/enable the port. (PREM-10133)
• In a HSI Layer-2 VLAN per service (N:1) model, QoS prioritization using the TC/GEM is not
currently supported on GigaCenter deployments. Provisioning of multiple services using the same
traffic class, with shared bandwidth is supported.
• HSI is supported with MTU packet sizes of 2000 byte frames on GigaPoint products (Currently not
supported on GigaCenter or GigaHub). (PREM-8700)
• Upstream broadcast packet limiters are pre-set to 200 packets/second and are not provisionable on
the GigaCenter.
• Traditional Layer-2 only MDU use case is not supported.
• Layer-2 hardware/line-rate forwarding occurs only when valid 5-tuple flows are detected. The 5-
tuple is comprised of:
o Source IP
o Destination IP (Dest-IP)
o IP protocol
o Source port number
o Destination port number
• Other flows may be subject to lower performance forwarding in the software.
• TLS (MEF E-LAN and E-LINE) is currently not supported in this release.
• Layer-2 Control Protocol filtering is not supported in this release.

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Embedded Web Interface

In this release, the Wireless Access Point (WAP) feature displayed in the Quick Start > Configure Wireless
network page of the EWI is not supported. Calix recommends leaving this feature disabled in this release.
Support for this feature is targeted for a release soon.
System
GigaCenters DHCP reservation feature was initially defaulted to ON to accommodate older Media Room
set-top box behaviors. These same set-top boxes have recently eliminated the need to monitor DHCP
reservation status and thus the GigaCenter firmware now defaults to OFF to be consistent with P-Series RG
data model. (PREM-10894)
For GigaCenter products, the Smart Activate re-direct url (http://192.168.1.1/smartActivate.html) is no
longer functional (originally implemented in 700GE ONTs and 836GE RSGs). To launch Smart Activate
for GigaCenters, type in the url: http://192.168.100.100. (PREM-10262)

The elapsed time for a new GigaCenter image to be downloaded is 2-3 minutes. This is an increase relative
to 700GE ONTs and the 836GE RSG (1-2 minutes to upgrade image).
The elapsed time for a GigaCenter reboot is 3-4 minutes (700GE ONTs will reboot in 1-2 minutes).
Video Services
• AGC cannot be disabled via OMCI in this release.
• Optical power levels are not reported and as such, threshold alarms are not functional.
VoIP
• In this release, there is no support for simultaneous TDM and VoIP instances on the same
GigaCenter.
• 844G/854G GigaCenters do not support Ground Start signaling for voice ports in this release.
Wi-Fi
• In this release, country codes for international carriers have been added for the 5 GHz radio set-up.
For the 2.4 GHz radio, “X1” is available as an EU country code. (PREM-9926)

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 800 GigaFamily Release Notes, R12.2.4 Page 16 of 23

Known Anomalies
Known anomalies in this release, with workarounds if identified.
Table Abbreviations
GC GigaCenter
GH GigaHub
GP GigaPoint
Embedded Web Interface
Applies to
Defect 800GE 800F 800E 800 818G 800G 800G
Number Description GC GC GC G GC GH GH GP
DSCP to P-bit option (radio
button) is erroneously displayed
PREM-20960    
on the 800G EWI when
configuring a new WAN service.
Performance Monitoring
Applies to
Defect 800GE 800F 800E 800 818G 800G 800G
Number Description GC GC GC G GC GH GH GP
Transmitted but dropped packets
are not incrementing as expected
PREM-20171     
on both 2.4 GHz & 5 GHz
radios.
On the 2.4 GHz radio,
PREM-19856 Interference Air Time results are     
inaccurate.
System
Applies to
Defect 800GE 800F 800E 800 818G 800G 800G
Number Description GC GC GC G GC GH GH GP
The Channel change history log
contains inaccurate entries
PREM-21710 
(reason shown is inconsistent
with actual reason).
ONTs randomly report
PREM-21310 erroneous ONT missing alarms    
on the E7.
If you are logged into the EWI
when upgrading, you need to
close the tab in the browser or
PREM-20626 restart the browser and re-login       
after unit has upgraded to
12.2.0.

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Applies to
Defect 800GE 800F 800E 800 818G 800G 800G
Number Description GC GC GC G GC GH GH GP
The last item on the Wi-Fi MAC
PREM-20754 Authentication table cannot be 
PREM-22037 deleted.
Provisioning of separate
Management (CC+) and Data
PREM-22035 (HSI only) VLANs does not 
work as expected.
Static IP WAP addresses revert
PREM-19926 to DHCP addressing following 
a reboot.
Too many frames are being
dropped if the meter loop
PREM-19970 length is set to 400 on 844F/FB 
or 801F/FB.
When applying SIP and H.248
provisioning changes, the ONU
may need to be rebooted for the
PREM-20062 provisioning to be applied if the 
DNS server is not available at
the time the provisioning is
applied.
An incorrect VLAN is being
PREM-20350 reported through ME311. 

When running in WAP mode

and an Any Port, Any Service
(APAS) service is provisioned,
PREM-20818 the EWI allows an association 
between the Ethernet ports to a
Residential Gateway Layer-2
service (should be prohibited).
When running in WAP mode,
APAS services have issues with
PREM-21369 SSID associations between 
multiple WAN ports.
ONTs reboot when fragmented
PREM-21440 m-cast packets are received. 

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Applies to
Defect 800GE 800F 800E 800 818G 800G 800G
Number Description GC GC GC G GC GH GH GP
ONT fails to send the
PREM-21705 Connected Line ID to the   
associated telephone.
Upon boot-up, GigaPoints
cannot be activated if ONT
PREM-21879 Release 12.1.1.45 is the active 
firmware.
The broadband LED does not
behave as expected if the CPE
PREM-19322 detects a gfast signal but failed 
to connect.
IPv4 traffic is not forwarded to
the IPv6 tunnel if DST IP is
PREM-19920 using a different address than    
“br0”.
When a port forwarding rule is
present, a connection is refused
PREM-20268 if the server is started with a    
port that isn’t the first port in
the range.

OMCI information is
PREM-20652 erroneously displayed. 

When provisioning LLDP on an

818G, an “internal error”
PREM-20934 message is displayed if OMCI is 
PREM-21749 selected for the management
owner.

Port forwarding rules created by

PREM-21004 a Support user are not displayed    
for an Admin user.

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Applies to
Defect 800GE 800F 800E 800 818G 800G 800G
Number Description GC GC GC G GC GH GH GP
PREM-21187 If the first WAN interface is
IPv6 only, the DNS is
incorrectly set to Static IP and
Primary/Secondary DNS is null     
on the Quick Start/Connect to
Internet screen.
PREM-21334 DNS addresses that do not
meet the required IP address
syntax “x.x.x.x” are accepted 
without generating an error.
PREM-21528 Upon upgrading from ONT
11.2.6.84 to 11.2.7.71, the ONT
dis-associates with the 
subscriber in Consumer
Connect Plus.
PREM-21572
In the IGMP Event Log, the
NUM_SRC field is always 0. 

PREM-22026 For HTTPS sites, some of the

higher-level strength security
options between two SSL     
endpoints have yet to be
implemented.
Video
Applies to

Defect 800G 800F 800E 800 818G 800G 800G

Number Description E GC GC GC G GC GH GH GP

PREM-21544 The RF receive level is incorrectly

reported following a warm reboot
even though video services 
continue to function.

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VoIP
Applies to

Defect 800G 800F 800E 800 818G 800G 800G

Number Description E GC GC GC G GC GH GH GP

PREM-20251 Incorrect tones are sent if the

PREM-20306 Country Code is set to Italy in the

SIP Gateway profile.

PREM-20724 On the line features section of

the voice provisioning page, if
Admin Status is clicked, the    
Admin Status switches to
disabled.

Wi-Fi
Applies to

Defect 800G 800F 800E 800 818G 800G 800G

Number Description E GC GC GC G GC GH GH GP
PREM-21712 Under high traffic load and with
DFS enabled, channel changes
are not executed when radar 
induced channel change
conditions exist.
PREM-21713 Device will not re-enter DFS
channel options after radar 
induced switch of DFS channels.
PREM-21711 After a radar detected channel
change, a degraded PHY rate has 
been detected.
PREM-21408 For the 5GHz radio, the EWI
incorrectly allows enabling MU-
MIMO when in 802.11n only 
mode. MU-MIMO is an 802.11ac
feature and is disabled by default
PREM-20522 Radio SiteScan data is not
returned if DFS is enabled. 
PREM-20672 Channel utilization on a per-STA
basis does not function as    
expected on the 5 GHz radio.

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Applies to

Defect 800G 800F 800E 800 818G 800G 800G

Number Description E GC GC GC G GC GH GH GP

PREM-21839 The 5 GHz radio fails to evaluate

channels 52-64 for Stable 
Channel Switch (SCS) processing.
PREM-21896 2.4 and 5 GHz APAS VLANs
can be configured using identical      
SSID VLAN IDs.
PREM-20769 On the Quick Start tab, selecting
Configure Wireless Network 
“OFF” has no affect.
PREM-21213 If the security type on the
Wireless tab is set to WPA2-
P/TKIP, the encryption type is      
incorrectly displayed.
PREM-21772 5 GHz information on the
Wireless Analyzer page is
displayed even though the ONT 
does not support 5 GHz (813G)

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Calix Management Interfaces for the GigaFamily

Common management options for the Calix GigaFamily include:
• Consumer Connect Plus – The Compass suite of cloud software applications from Calix provides
total visibility, command, and control of the subscriber broadband experience. The Consumer
Connect Plus application gives service providers’ NetOps and Service/Support personnel an easy
and comprehensive web management interface for remotely configuring and troubleshooting Calix
GigaCenters, providing features such as device auto-discovery and plug-n-play service management.
Integrated into the powerful cloud-based Compass central ecosystem (Command Center),
Consumer Connect Plus gives service providers the intelligence and tools to simplify, manage, and
monetize their subscribers’ broadband experience.
• RG Embedded Web Interface (EWI) – Calix CPE that support Home Gateway operation
(including 800 GigaFamily models) host a local HTML-based graphical user interface that runs on a
standard Web browser, which is used for configuring Home Gateway functionality. Access requires
local TCP/IP connectivity to the GigaFamily device.
In addition to common GigaFamily management options above, Calix 800G GigaCenters, GigaHubs, and
GigaPoints on E7 GPON networks can be managed via the E7 management interface or CMS management
system.
• E7 Embedded Web Interface (EWI) – Embedded HTML-based graphical user interface that runs
on a standard Web browser. Requires TCP/IP connectivity to the E7 OLT.
• E7 Command Line Interface (CLI) – Embedded, menu driven command line interface. Requires
a Telnet, SSH, or RS-232 console connection to the E7 OLT for access.
• Calix Management System (CMS) – Graphical user interface (GUI) based element management
system. The CMS client desktop version runs on a Windows PC, or a Solaris or Linux workstation.
Managing 800G GigaFamily ONUs requires CMS R13.1 or higher. Managing 800GE GigaFamily
ONUs requires CMS R14.1.101 or higher.

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Related Documentation
You can access all Calix GigaFamily user documentation online from the Calix Documentation Library at
https://www.calix.com/my-calix/doc-library.html.

Calix Technical Assistance Center

The Calix Technical Assistance Center (TAC) provides 24x7 coverage (24 hours a day, 7 days a week).
Normal business hours are 5:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time, Monday through Friday (not including
Calix-designated holidays), during which time you can contact the Calix TAC immediately by phone, web, or
email. Outside normal business hours, phone calls to the TAC are met with an immediate response time for
critical and major issues.

Online Support
You can create and manage technical support cases online from the Calix Service Station. To access the
Calix Service Station, log in to the Calix Resource Center and then click the Service Station button to:
• Submit a new technical support case, or check/update the status of existing cases.
• Review product orders, including ship dates and tracking information.

Calix TAC Contact Information

Online Support (Calix Service Station): My Calix
Phone: 877-766-3500 (toll free) or 707-766-3500 (direct)

Calix Severity Definitions

Critical: A network, node, or key circuit is down or there is a critical impact to business operations. Calix
and the Customer will work around the clock (24x7) to resolve the problem.

Major: Operation of a network, node or critical circuit is severely degraded, or significant aspects of the
Customer’s business operation are being negatively impacted by unacceptable network performance. Calix
and the Customer will commit full-time resources during normal business hours to resolve the problem. A
plan will be developed for appropriate after-hour actions.

Minor: System operations are impaired, but with minimal performance impact. Calix and the Customer will
commit resources during normal business hours to resolve the problem.

Information Request: Customer requires information or assistance on Calix product capabilities,

installation, operation, administration or configuration. There should be little or no impact to the
Customer’s business operation. Calix and the Customer are willing to provide appropriate resources during
normal business hours to provide information or assistance as requested.

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