Central to the GPON system is the Optical Line Terminal (OLT), the core device responsible for aggregating data streams, managing Optical Network Terminal/Unit (ONT/ONU) devices, and performing application distribution and network management. GPON is an alternative to Ethernet switching in campus networking. Cisco introduces GPON with the Catalyst GPON platform. GPON uses passive optical network (PON) is a fiber-optic access architecture in which a single optical fiber from a central location is shared by multiple end users through one or more passive optical splitters in series (cascaded). A PON network consists exclusively of passive optical components. This prevents electromagnetic interference from external devices and lightning. OLT is the endpoint device for a passive optical network, typically found in data centers or main equipment rooms. It converts optical signals from fiber to electrical signals, forwarding them to a core Ethernet switch.
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