Table of Contents

Introducing DWDM
Global Network Hierarchy
Economic orces
Bandwidth Demand
Competition and Reliability
!"tions for Increasing Carrier #andwidth
Increase the Bit Rate
Increase the Number of Wavelengths
Time-Division ultiple!ing
"#N$T and TD
Wavelength Division ultiple!ing
TD and WD Compared
$dditional Dri%ers in Metro"olitan $rea Networks
%alue of DWD in the etropolitan &rea
Re'uirements in the etropolitan &rea
Why DWDM&
"#N$T with DWD
$nhancing (erformance and Reliability
Networ) anagement Capability
&dditional Benefits
Introducing DWDM
The following discussion provides some bac)ground on why dense wavelength division
multiple!ing *DWD+ is an important innovation in optical networ)s and what benefits
it can provide, We begin with a high-level view of the segments of the global networ)
and the economic forces driving the revolution in fiber optic networ)s, We then e!amine
the differences between traditional time-division multiple!ing *TD+ and wavelength
division multiple!ing *WD+, -inally. we e!plore the advantages of this new
technology,
Global Network Hierarchy
It is the nature of modern communications networ)s to be in a state of ongoing evolution,
-actors such as new applications. changing patterns of usage. and redistribution of
content ma)e the definition of networ)s a wor) in progress, Nevertheless. we can broadly
define the larger entities that ma)e up the global networ) based on variables such as
transport technology. distance. applications. and so on,
#ne way of describing the metropolitan area networ) *&N+ would be to say that it is
neither the long-haul nor the access parts of the networ). but the area that lies between
those two *see -igure /-/+,
igure '(') Global Network Hierarchy
Long-Haul Networks
0ong-haul networ)s are at the core of the global networ), Dominated by a small group of
large transnational and global carriers. long-haul networ)s connect the &Ns, Their
application is transport. so their primary concern is capacity, In many cases these
networ)s. which have traditionally been based on "ynchronous #ptical Networ)
*"#N$T+ or "ynchronous Digital 1ierarchy *"D1+ technology. are e!periencing fiber
e!haust as a result of high bandwidth demand,
Access Networks
&t the other end of the spectrum are the access networ)s, These networ)s are the closest
to the end users. at the edge of the &N, They are characteri2ed by diverse protocols and
infrastructures. and they span a broad spectrum of rates, Customers range from residential
Internet users to large corporations and institutions, The predominance of I( traffic. with
its inherently bursty. asymmetric. and unpredictable nature. presents many challenges.
especially with new real-time applications, &t the same time. these networ)s are re'uired
to continue to support legacy traffic and protocols. such as IB3s $nterprise "ystem
Connection *$"C#N+,
Metropolitan Area Networks
Between these two large and different networ)ing domains lie the &Ns, These
networ)s channel traffic within the metropolitan domain *among businesses. offices. and
metropolitan areas+ and between large long-haul points of presence *(#(s+, The &Ns
have many of the same characteristics as the access networ)s. such as diverse networ)ing
protocols and channel speeds, 0i)e access networ)s. &Ns have been traditionally
"#N$T4"D1 based. using point-to-point or ring topologies with add4drop multiple!ers
*&Ds+,
The &N lies at a critical 5uncture, #n the one hand. it must meet the needs created by
the dynamics of the ever-increasing bandwidth available in long-haul transport networ)s,
#n the other hand. it must address the growing connectivity re'uirements and access
technologies that are resulting in demand for high-speed. customi2ed data services,
Metropolitan and Long-Haul Networks Compared
There is a natural tendency to regard the &N as simply a scaled-down version of the
long-haul networ), It is true that networ)s serving the metropolitan area encompass
shorter distances than in the long-haul transport networ)s, 6pon closer e!amination.
however. these differences are superficial compared to other factors, Networ) shape is
more stable in long-haul. while topologies change fre'uently in the &N, any more
types of services and traffic types must be supported in &Ns. from traditional voice and
leased line services to new applications. including data storage. distributed applications.
and video, The long-haul. by contrast. is about big pipes,
&nother important way in which metropolitan networ)s today differ from trun)-oriented
long haul networ)s is that they encompass a collection of low bit-rate asynchronous and
synchronous transmission e'uipment. short loops. small cross-sections. and a variety of
users with varying bandwidth demands, These fundamental differences between the two
types of networ)s have powerful implications for the re'uirements in the metropolitan
domain, (rotocol and speed transparency. scalability. and dynamic provisioning are at
least as important as capacity. which rules in the long-haul mar)et,
An Alternative View
The preceding brea)down of the global networ) represents a somewhat simplified view,
In reality. the lines between the domains are not always so clear-cut, 0ong-haul and
metropolitan networ)s are sometimes not clearly delineated7 the same holds true for the
access and metropolitan domains,
-urthermore. other views of the global networ) e!ist, #ne. for e!ample. defines the
access networ) as part of. rather than separate from. the &N. while also including
enterprise connectivity in the metropolitan domain, In this view. the metropolitan mar)et
brea)s down as follows8
Core9These are essentially scaled-down long-haul systems, They are considered
the core of the &N. because they interconnect carrier (#(s and do not directly
interface with end users,
etropolitan access9This is the segment between carrier (#(s and access
facilities. which could be e'uipment at customer premises or at an aggregation
point,
$nterprise9This is the part of the networ) dedicated to serving the needs of
enterprises, 6sing owned or leased fiber *or leased fiber capacity+. connectivity is
provided between geographically disparate enterprise sites and for new
applications. such as storage area networ)s *"&Ns+,
Economic orces
&s we enter the twenty-first century. it goes without saying that information services
have permeated society and commerce, Information. while still a tool. has become a
commodity in itself, :et the universal acceptance and ubi'uitous adoption of information
technology systems has strained the bac)bones on which they were built, 1igh demand9
coupled with high usage rates. a deregulated telecommunications environment. and high
availability re'uirements9is rapidly depleting the capacities of fibers that. when
installed /; years ago. were e!pected to suffice for the foreseeable future,
#andwidth Demand
The e!plosion in demand for networ) bandwidth is largely due to the growth in data
traffic. specifically Internet (rotocol *I(+, 0eading service providers report bandwidths
doubling on their bac)bones about every si! to nine months, This is largely in response to
the <;; percent growth per year in Internet traffic. while traditional voice traffic grows at
a compound annual rate of only about /< percent *see -igure /-=+,
igure '(*) Data Traffic !%ertakes +oice Traffic
&t the same time that networ) traffic volume is increasing. the nature of the traffic itself
is becoming more comple!, Traffic carried on a bac)bone can originate as circuit based
*TD voice and fa!+. pac)et based *I(+. or cell based *&T and -rame Relay+, In
addition. there is an increasing proportion of delay sensitive data. such as voice over I(
and streaming video,
In response to this e!plosive growth in bandwidth demand. along with the emergence of
I( as the common foundation for all services. long-haul service providers are moving
away from TD based systems. which were optimi2ed for voice but now prove to be
costly and inefficient, eanwhile. metropolitan networ)s are also e!periencing the
impact of growing congestion. as well as rapidly changing re'uirements that call for
simpler and faster provisioning than is possible with older e'uipment and technologies,
#f )ey importance in the metropolitan area is the growth in storage area networ)s
*"&Ns+. discussed in the >"torage &rea Networ)s> section,
Com"etition and ,eliability
While the demand for bandwidth is driven largely by new data applications. Internet
usage. and the growth in wireless communications. two additional factors come into play8
competition and networ) availability,
The telecommunication sector. long a beneficiary of government regulation. is now a
highly competitive industry, Competition was first introduced into the 6,", long-distance
mar)et in /?@A. and the /??B Telecommunications Reform &ct is now resulting in an
increasingly broad array of new operators, These new carriers are striving to meet the
new demand for additional services and capacity,
There are two main effects on the industry from competition8
$nhanced services are created by newcomers trying to compete with incumbents,
In the metropolitan mar)et. for e!ample. there are broadband wireless and D"0
services to homes and small and medium-si2ed business. high-speed private line
and %(N services to corporations. and transparent 0&N services to enterprise
networ) customers,
New carriers coming onto the scene create new infrastructure so that they do not
have to lease from e!isting operators, 6sing this strategy. they have more control
over provisioning and reliability,
&s telecommunications and data services have become more critical to business
operations. service providers have been re'uired to ensure that their networ)s are fault
tolerant, To meet these re'uirements. providers have had to build bac)up routes. often
using simple /8/ redundancy in ring or point-to-point configurations, &chieving the
re'uired level of reliability. however. means reserving dedicated capacity for failover,
This can double the need for bandwidth on an already strained infrastructure *see -igure
/-<+,
igure '(-) ,eser%ing #andwidth ,educes !%erall Ca"acity
!"tions for Increasing Carrier #andwidth
-aced with the challenge of dramatically increasing capacity while constraining costs.
carriers have two options8 Install new fiber or increase the effective bandwidth of e!isting
fiber,
0aying new fiber is the traditional means used by carriers to e!pand their networ)s,
Deploying new fiber. however. is a costly proposition, It is estimated at about CD;.;;;
per mile. most of which is the cost of permits and construction rather than the fiber itself,
0aying new fiber may ma)e sense only when it is desirable to e!pand the embedded base,
Increasing the effective capacity of e!isting fiber can be accomplished in two ways8
Increase the bit rate of e!isting systems,
Increase the number of wavelengths on a fiber,
Increase the #it ,ate
6sing TD. data is now routinely transmitted at =,E Fbps *#C-A@+ and. increasingly. at
/; Fbps *#C-/?=+7 recent advances have resulted in speeds of A; Fbps *#C-DB@+, The
electronic circuitry that ma)es this possible. however. is comple! and costly. both to
purchase and to maintain, In addition. there are significant technical issues that may
restrict the applicability of this approach, Transmission at #C-/?= over single-mode
*"+ fiber. for e!ample. is /B times more affected by chromatic dispersion than the ne!t
lower aggregate speed. #C-A@, The greater transmission power re'uired by the higher bit
rates also introduces nonlinear effects that can affect waveform 'uality, -inally.
polari2ation mode dispersion. another effect that limits the distance a light pulse can
travel without degradation. is also an issue, These characteristics of light in fiber are
discussed further in the >#ptical -ibers> section,
Increase the Number of Wa%elengths
In this approach. many wavelengths are combined onto a single fiber, 6sing wavelength
division multiple!ing *WD+ technology several wavelengths. or light colors. can
simultaneously multiple! signals of =,E to A; Fbps each over a strand of fiber, Without
having to lay new fiber. the effective capacity of e!isting fiber plant can routinely be
increased by a factor of /B or <=, "ystems with /=@ and /B; wavelengths are in operation
today. with higher density on the hori2on, The specific limits of this technology are not
yet )nown,
Time(Di%ision Multi"le.ing
Time-division multiple!ing *TD+ was invented as a way of ma!imi2ing the amount of
voice traffic that could be carried over a medium, In the telephone networ) before
multiple!ing was invented. each telephone call re'uired its own physical lin), This
proved to be an e!pensive and unscalable solution, 6sing multiple!ing. more than one
telephone call could be put on a single lin),
TD can be e!plained by an analogy to highway traffic, To transport all the traffic from
four tributaries to another city. you can send all the traffic on one lane. providing the
feeding tributaries are fairly serviced and the traffic is synchroni2ed, "o. if each of the
four feeds puts a car onto the trun) highway every four seconds. then the trun) highway
would get a car at the rate of one each second, &s long as the speed of all the cars is
synchroni2ed. there would be no collision, &t the destination the cars can be ta)en off the
highway and fed to the local tributaries by the same synchronous mechanism. in reverse,
This is the principle used in synchronous TD when sending bits over a lin), TD
increases the capacity of the transmission lin) by slicing time into smaller intervals so
that the bits from multiple input sources can be carried on the lin). effectively increasing
the number of bits transmitted per second *see -igure /-A+,
igure '(/) TDM Conce"t
With TD. input sources are serviced in round-robin fashion, Though fair. this method
results in inefficiency. because each time slot is reserved even when there is no data to
send, This problem is mitigated by the statistical multiple!ing used in &synchronous
Transfer ode *&T+, &lthough &T offers better bandwidth utili2ation. there are
practical limits to the speed that can be achieved due to the electronics re'uired for
segmentation and reassembly *"&R+ of &T cells that carry pac)et data,
0!NET and TDM
The telecommunications industry adopted the "ynchronous #ptical Networ) *"#N$T+ or
"ynchronous Digital 1ierarchy *"D1+ standard for optical transport of TD data,
"#N$T. used in North &merica. and "D1. used elsewhere. are two closely related
standards that specify interface parameters. rates. framing formats. multiple!ing methods.
and management for synchronous TD over fiber,
"#N$T4"D1 ta)es n bit streams. multiple!es them. and optically modulates the signal.
sending it out using a light emitting device over fiber with a bit rate e'ual to *incoming
bit rate+ ! n, Thus traffic arriving at the "#N$T multiple!er from four places at =,E Fbps
will go out as a single stream at A ! =,E Fbps. or /; Fbps, This principle is illustrated in
-igure /-E. which shows an increase in the bit rate by a factor of four in time slot T,
igure '(1) 0!NET TDM
The original unit used in multiple!ing telephone calls is BA )bps. which represents one
phone call, Twenty-four *in North &merica+ or thirty-two *outside North &merica+ of
these units are multiple!ed using TD into a higher bit-rate signal with an aggregate
speed of /,EAA bps or =,;A@ bps for transmission over T/ or $/ lines.
respectively,The hierarchy for multiple!ing telephone calls is shown in Table /-/,
Table '(') Telco Multi"le.ing Hierarchy
0ignal #it ,ate +oice 0lots
D"; BA )bps / D";
D"/ /,EAA bps =A D";s
D"= B,</= bps ?B D";s
D"< AA,D<B bps =@ D"/s
These are the basic building bloc)s used by "#N$T4"D1 to multiple! into a standard
hierarchy of speeds. from "T"-/ at E/,@E bps to "T"-/?=4"T-BA at /; Fbps, Table /-
= shows the relationship between the telco signal rates and the most commonly used
levels of the "#N$T4"D1 hierarchy *#C-DB@ is not yet common+,
Table '(*) 0!NET20DH Multi"le.ing Hierarchy
!"tical Carrier 0!NET20DH 0ignal #it ,ate Ca"acity
#C-/ "T"-/ E/,@A bps =@ D"/s or / D"<
#C-< "T"-<4"T-/ /EE,E= bps @A D"/s or < D"<s
#C-/= "T"-/=4"T-A B==,;@ bps <<B D"/s or /= D"<s
#C-A@ "T"-A@4"T-/B =A@@,<= bps /<AA D"/s or A@ D"<s
#C-/?= "T"-/?=4"T-BA ??E<,=@ bps E<D? D"/s or /?= D"<s
-igure /-B depicts this multiple!ing and aggregation hierarchy, 6sing a standard called
virtual tributaries for mapping lower-speed channels into the "T"-/ payload. the =@ D"/
signals can be mapped into the "T"-/ payload. or they can be multiple!ed to D"< with an
/< multiple!er and fit directly into the "T"-/, Note also that &T and 0ayer < traffic.
using pac)et over "#N$T *(#"+. can feed into the "#N$T terminal from switches
e'uipped with "#N$T interfaces,
igure '(3) TDM and 0!NET $ggregation
"#N$T4"D1 does have some drawbac)s, &s with any TD. the notions of priority or
congestion do not e!ist in "#N$T or "D1, &lso. the multiple!ing hierarchy is a rigid
one, When more capacity is needed. a leap to the ne!t multiple must be made. li)ely
resulting in an outlay for more capacity than is initially needed, -or e!ample. the ne!t
incremental step from /; Fbps *"T"-/?=+ TD is A; Fbps *"T"-DB@+, &lso. since the
hierarchy is optimi2ed for voice traffic. there are inherent inefficiencies when carrying
data traffic with "#N$T frames, "ome of these inefficiencies are shown in Table /-<,
DWD. by contrast. can transport any protocol. including "#N$T. without special
encapsulation,
Table '(-) Ethernet in 0!NET Inefficiencies
Ethernet 0!NET20DH #it ,ate Wasted
0ignal #andwidth
/;B&"$-T */; bps+ "T"-/ E/,@EA;
bps
@;,D;?G
/;;B&"$-T */;; bps+ "T"-<4"T-/ /EE,E=;
bps
<E,B??G
/;;;B&"$-T */;;;
bps+
"T"-A@4"T-/B =A@@,<=
bps
E?,@/=G
To summari2e. the demand placed on the transport infrastructure by bandwidth-hungry
applications and the e!plosive growth of the Internet has e!ceeded the limits of
traditional TD, -iber. which once promised seemingly unlimited bandwidth. is being
e!hausted. and the e!pense. comple!ity. and scalability limitations of the "#N$T
infrastructure are becoming increasingly problematic,
Wa%elength Di%ision Multi"le.ing
WD increases the carrying capacity of the physical medium *fiber+ using a completely
different method from TD, WD assigns incoming optical signals to specific
fre'uencies of light *wavelengths. or lambdas+ within a certain fre'uency band, This
multiple!ing closely resembles the way radio stations broadcast on different wavelengths
without interfering with each other *see -igure /-D+, Because each channel is transmitted
at a different fre'uency. we can select from them using a tuner, &nother way to thin)
about WD is that each channel is a different color of light7 several channels then ma)e
up a >rainbow,>
igure '(4) Increasing Ca"acity with WDM
Note The term wavelength is used instead of the term fre'uency to avoid confusion
with other uses of fre'uency, Wavelength is often used interchangeably with lambda
and channel,
In a WD system. each of the wavelengths is launched into the fiber. and the signals are
demultiple!ed at the receiving end, 0i)e TD. the resulting capacity is an aggregate of
the input signals. but WD carries each input signal independently of the others, This
means that each channel has its own dedicated bandwidth7 all signals arrive at the same
time. rather than being bro)en up and carried in time slots,
The difference between WD and dense wavelength division multiple!ing *DWD+ is
fundamentally one of only degree, DWD spaces the wavelengths more closely than
does WD. and therefore has a greater overall capacity,The limits of this spacing are not
precisely )nown. and have probably not been reached. though systems are available in
mid-year =;;; with a capacity of /=@ lambdas on one fiber, DWD has a number of
other notable features. which are discussed in greater detail in the following chapters,
These include the ability to amplify all the wavelengths at once without first converting
them to electrical signals. and the ability to carry signals of different speeds and types
simultaneously and transparently over the fiber *protocol and bit rate independence+,
Note WD and DWD use single-mode fiber to carry multiple lightwaves of
differing fre'uencies, This should not be confused with transmission over multimode
fiber. in which light is launched into the fiber at different angles. resulting in different
>modes> of light, & single wavelength is used in multimode transmission,
TDM and WDM Com"ared
"#N$T TD ta)es synchronous and asynchronous signals and multiple!es them to a
single higher bit rate for transmission at a single wavelength over fiber, "ource signals
may have to be converted from electrical to optical. or from optical to electrical and bac)
to optical before being multiple!ed, WD ta)es multiple optical signals. maps them to
individual wavelengths. and multiple!es the wavelengths over a single fiber, &nother
fundamental difference between the two technologies is that WD can carry multiple
protocols without a common signal format. while "#N$T cannot, "ome of the )ey
differences between TD and WD are graphically illustrated in -igure /-@,
igure '(5) TDM and WDM Interfaces
$dditional Dri%ers in Metro"olitan $rea Networks
Bandwidth. the chief driver in the long-haul mar)et. is also a big driver in metropolitan
area. access. and large enterprise networ)s *see -igure /-?+, In these types of networ)s
additional applications driving demand for bandwidth include storage area networ)s
*"&Ns+. which ma)e possible the serverless office. consolidation of data centers. and
real-time transaction processing bac)up,
igure '(6) High(0"eed Enter"rise W$N #andwidth Migration
There is also rapidly increasing demand on access networ)s. which function primarily to
connect end users over low-speed connections. such as dial-up lines. D"0. cable. and
wireless. to a local (#(, These connections are typically aggregated and carried over a
"#N$T ring. which at some point attaches to a local (#( that serves as an Internet
gateway for long hauls, Now. the growing demand for high-speed services is prompting
service providers to transform the (#( into a dynamic service-delivery center, &s a
result. it is increasingly li)ely that a customer now obtains many high-speed services
directly from the (#(. without ever using the core segment of the Internet,
+alue of DWDM in the Metro"olitan $rea
DWD is the clear winner in the bac)bone, It was first deployed on long-haul routes in a
time of fiber scarcity, Then the e'uipment savings made it the solution of choice for new
long-haul routes. even when ample fiber was available, While DWD can relieve fiber
e!haust in the metropolitan area. its value in this mar)et e!tends beyond this single
advantage, &lternatives for capacity enhancement e!ist. such as pulling new cable and
"#N$T overlays. but DWD can do more, What delivers additional value in the
metropolitan mar)et is DWD3s fast and fle!ible provisioning of protocol- and bit rate-
transparent. data-centric. protected services. along with the ability to offer new and
higher-speed services at less cost,
The need to provision services of varying types in a rapid and efficient manner in
response to the changing demands of customers is a distinguishing characteristic of the
metropolitan networ)s, With "#N$T. which is the foundation of the vast ma5ority of
e!isting &Ns. service provisioning is a lengthy and comple! process, Networ)
planning and analysis. &D provisioning. Digital Crossconnect "ystem *DC"+
reconfiguration. path and circuit verification. and service creation can ta)e several wee)s,
By contrast. with DWD e'uipment in place provisioning new service can be as simple
as turning on another lightwave in an e!isting fiber pair,
(otential providers of DWD-based services in metropolitan areas. where abundant fiber
plant already e!ists or is being built. include incumbent local e!change carriers *I0$Cs+.
competitive local e!change carriers *C0$Cs+. inter-e!change carriers *IHCs+. Internet
service providers *I"(s+. cable companies. private networ) operators. and utility
companies, "uch carriers can often offer new services for less cost than older ones, uch
of the cost savings is due to reducing unnecessary layers of e'uipment. which also lowers
operational costs and simplifies the networ) architecture,
Carriers can create revenue today by providing protocol-transparent. high-speed 0&N
and "&N services to large organi2ations. as well as a mi!ture of lower-speed services
*To)en Ring. -DDI. $thernet+ to smaller organi2ations, In implementing an optical
networ). they are ensuring that they can play in the competitive field of the future,
,e7uirements in the Metro"olitan $rea
The re'uirements in the metropolitan mar)et may differ in some respects from those in
the long-haul networ) mar)et. yet metropolitan networ)s are still 5ust a geographically
distinguished segment of the global networ), What happens in the core must be supported
right to the edge, I(. for e!ample. is the dominant traffic type. so interwor)ing with this
layer is a re'uirement. while not ignoring other traffic *TD+, Networ) management is
now of primary concern. and protection schemes that ensure high availability are a given,
Iey re'uirements for DWD systems in the &N include the following8
ultiprotocol support
"calability
Reliability and availability
#penness *interfaces. networ) management. standard fiber types. electromagnetic
compatibility+
$ase of installation and management
"i2e and power consumption
Cost effectiveness
Why DWDM&
-rom both technical and economic perspectives. the ability to provide potentially
unlimited transmission capacity is the most obvious advantage of DWD technology,
The current investment in fiber plant can not only be preserved. but optimi2ed by a factor
of at least <=, &s demands change. more capacity can be added. either by simple
e'uipment upgrades or by increasing the number of lambdas on the fiber. without
e!pensive upgrades, Capacity can be obtained for the cost of the e'uipment. and e!isting
fiber plant investment is retained,
Bandwidth aside. DWD3s most compelling technical advantages can be summari2ed as
follows8
Transparency9Because DWD is a physical layer architecture. it can
transparently support both TD and data formats such as &T. Figabit $thernet.
$"C#N. and -ibre Channel with open interfaces over a common physical layer,
"calability9DWD can leverage the abundance of dar) fiber in many
metropolitan area and enterprise networ)s to 'uic)ly meet demand for capacity on
point-to-point lin)s and on spans of e!isting "#N$T4"D1 rings,
Dynamic provisioning9-ast. simple. and dynamic provisioning of networ)
connections give providers the ability to provide high-bandwidth services in days
rather than months,
In the following sections we discuss some additional advantages. including migration
from "#N$T and reliability,
0!NET with DWDM
By using DWD as a transport for TD. e!isting "#N$T e'uipment investments can
be preserved, #ften new implementations can eliminate layers of e'uipment, -or
e!ample. "#N$T multiple!ing e'uipment can be avoided altogether by interfacing
directly to DWD e'uipment from &T and pac)et switches. where #C-A@ interfaces
are common *see -igure /-/;+, &dditionally. upgrades do not have to conform to specific
bit rate interfaces. as with "#N$T. where aggregation of tributaries is loc)ed into
specific values,
igure '('8) Direct 0!NET Interfaces from 0witch to DWDM
#ptical signals become attenuated as they travel through fiber and must be periodically
regenerated in core networ)s, In "#N$T4"D1 optical networ)s prior to the introduction
of DWD. each separate fiber carrying a single optical signal. typically at =,E Fbps.
re'uired a separate electrical regenerator every B; to /;; )m *<D to B= mi+, &s additional
fibers were >turned up> in a core networ). the total cost of regenerators could become
very large. because not only the cost of the regenerators themselves. but also the facilities
to house and power them. had to be considered, The need to add regenerators also
increased the time re'uired to light new fibers
The upper part of -igure /-// shows the infrastructure re'uired to transmit at /; Fbps *A
! #C-A@ "R interfaces+ across a span of <B; )m *==< mi+ using "#N$T e'uipment7 the
lower part of the figure shows the infrastructure re'uired for the same capacity using
DWD, While optical amplifiers could be used in the "#N$T case to e!tend the
distance of spans before having to boost signal power. there would still need to be an
amplifier for each fiber, Because with DWD all four signals can be transported on a
single fiber pair *versus four+. fewer pieces of e'uipment are re'uired, $liminating the
e!pense of regenerators *R(TR+ re'uired for each fiber results in considerable savings,
igure '('') DWDM Eliminates ,egenerators
& single optical amplifier can reamplify all the channels on a DWD fiber without
demultiple!ing and processing them individually. with a cost approaching that of a single
regenerator, The optical amplifier merely amplifies the signals7 it does not reshape.
retime or retransmit them as a regenerator does. so the signals may still need to be
regenerated periodically, But depending on system design. signals can now be
transmitted anywhere from B;; to thousands of )ilometers without regeneration,
In addition to dramatically reducing the cost of regenerators. DWD systems greatly
simplify the e!pansion of networ) capacity, The only re'uirement is to install additional
or higher bit-rate interfaces in the DWD systems at either end of the fiber, In some
cases it will only be necessary to increase the number of lambdas on the fiber by
deploying e!isting interfaces. as shown in the upper half of -igure /-/=, The e!isting
optical amplifiers amplify the new channel without additional regenerators, In the case of
adding higher bit-rate interfaces. as shown in the lower half of -igure /-/=. fiber type can
become a consideration, "ee the >#ptical -ibers> section for an overview of types of
optical fibers and their uses,
igure '('*) 9"grading with DWDM
&lthough amplifiers are of great benefit in long-haul transport. they are often unnecessary
in metropolitan networ)s, Where distances between networ) elements are relatively
short. signal strength and integrity can be ade'uate without amplification, But with
&Ns e!panding in deeper into long-haul reaches. amplifiers will become useful,
Enhancing :erformance and ,eliability
Today3s metropolitan and enterprise networ)s support many mission-critical applications
that re'uire high availability. such as billing and accounting on mainframes or client-
server installations in data centers, Continuous bac)ups or reliable decentrali2ed data
processing and storage are essential, These applications. along with disaster recovery and
parallel processing. have high re'uirements for performance and reliability, &s
enterprises out source data services and inter-0&N connectivity. the burden of service
falls on the service provider rather than on the enterprise,
With DWD. the transport networ) is theoretically unconstrained by the speed of
available electronics, There is no need for optical-electrical-optical *#$#+ conversion
when using optical amplifiers. rather than regenerators. on the physical lin), &lthough
not yet prevalent. direct optical interfaces to DWD e'uipment can also eliminate the
need for an #$# function,
While optical amplifiers are a ma5or factor in the ability to e!tend the effective range of
DWD. other factors also come into play, -or e!ample. DWD is sub5ect to dispersion
and nonlinear effects, These effects are further discussed in the >#ptical -ibers> section,
any components. such as the optical add4drop multiple!er *#&D+. are passive and
therefore continue to wor). even if there is a power cut, In addition. these components
tend to have a very high mean time between failures *TB-+, (rotection schemes
implemented on DWD e'uipment and in the networ) designs are at least as robust as
those built into "#N$T, &ll these factors contribute to better performance and lower
maintenance in the optical networ),
Network Management Ca"ability
#ne of the primary advantages offered by "#N$T technology is the capability of the data
communication channel *DCC+, 6sed for operations functions. DCCs ship such things as
alarms. administration data. signal control information. and maintenance messages, When
"#N$T is transported over DWD. DCCs continue to perform these functions between
"#N$T networ) elements, In addition. a DWD system can have its own management
channel for the optical layer, -or out-of-band management. an additional wavelength *for
e!ample. a <<rd wavelength in a <=-wavelength system+ is used as the optical supervisory
channel *#"C+, -or inband management. a small amount of bandwidth *for e!ample. @
)12+ is reserved for management on a per-channel basis,
$dditional #enefits
The shift in the ma)eup of traffic from voice to data has important implications for the
design and operation of carrier networ)s, The introduction of cell-switching technologies
such as &T and -rame Relay demonstrates the limitations of the narrow-band. circuit-
switched networ) design. but the limits of these technologies are being reached, Data is
no longer an add-on to the voice-centric networ). but is central, There are fundamentally
different re'uirements of a data-centric networ)7 two of these are the aggregation model
and the open versus proprietary interfaces,
&ggregation in a voice-centric networ) consists of multiple!ing numerous times onto
transmission facilities and at many points in the networ), &ggregation in a data-centric
networ). by contrast. tends to happen at the edge, With #C-A@ *and higher+ interfaces
readily available on cell and pac)et switches. it becomes possible to eliminate costly
"#N$T multiple!ing and digital cross-connect e'uipment, #C-A@ connections can
interface directly to DWD e'uipment,
-inally. service providers and enterprises can respond more 'uic)ly to changing demands
by allocating bandwidth on demand, The ability to provision services rapidly by
providing wavelength on demand creates new revenue opportunities such as wavelength
leasing *an alternative to leasing of physical lin)s or bit rate-limited tunnels+. disaster
recovery. and optical %(Ns,
(osted8 Tue Dec /? /=8=?8/A ("T =;;;
Copyright /?@?-=;;;JCisco "ystems Inc,
Table of Contents
undamentals of DWDM Technology
E%olution of iber !"tic Transmission
Development of DWD Technology
DWD "ystem -unctions
$nabling Technologies
Com"onents and !"eration
!"tical ibers
1ow -iber Wor)s
ultimode and "ingle-ode -iber
"ingle-ode -iber Designs
Transmission Challenges
&ttenuation
Dispersion
"ummary
;ight 0ources and Detectors
0ight $mitters90$Ds and 0asers
IT6 Frid
0ight Detectors
!"tical $m"lifiers
$rbium-Doped -iber &mplifier
Multi"le.ers and Demulti"le.ers
Techni'ues for ultiple!ing and Demultiple!ing
#ptical &dd4Drop ultiple!ers
Interfaces to DWDM
!"eration of a Trans"onder #ased DWDM 0ystem
undamentals of DWDM Technology
The emergence of DWD is one of the most recent and important phenomena in the
development of fiber optic transmission technology, In the following discussion we
briefly trace the stages of fiber optic technology and the place of DWD in that
development, We then e!amine the functions and components of a DWD system.
including the enabling technologies. and conclude with a high-level description of the
operation of a DWD system,
E%olution of iber !"tic Transmission
The reality of fiber optic transmission had been e!perimentally proven in the nineteenth
century. but the technology began to advance rapidly in the second half of the twentieth
century with the invention of the fiberscope. which found applications in industry and
medicine. such as in laparoscopic surgery,
&fter the viability of transmitting light over fiber had been established. the ne!t step in
the development of fiber optics was to find a light source that would be sufficiently
powerful and narrow, The light-emitting diode *0$D+ and the laser diode proved capable
of meeting these re'uirements, 0asers went through several generations in the /?B;s.
culminating with the semiconductor lasers that are most widely used in fiber optics today,
0ight has an information-carrying capacity /;.;;; times greater than the highest radio
fre'uencies, &dditional advantages of fiber over copper include the ability to carry
signals over long distances. low error rates. immunity to electrical interference. security.
and light weight,
&ware of these characteristics. researchers in the mid-/?B;s proposed that optical fiber
might be a suitable transmission medium, There was an obstacle. however. and that was
the loss of signal strength. or attenuation. seen in the glass they were wor)ing with,
-inally. in /?D;. Corning produced the first communication-grade fibers, With
attenuation less than =; decibels per )ilometer *dB4)m+. this purified glass fiber e!ceeded
the threshold for ma)ing fiber optics a viable technology,
Innovation at first proceeded slowly. as private and government monopolies that ran the
telephone companies were cautious, &TKT first standardi2ed transmission at D"< speed
*AE bps+ for multimode fibers, "oon thereafter. single-mode fibers were shown to be
capable of transmission rates /; times that of the older type. as well as spans of <= )m
*=; mi+, In the early /?@;s. CI. followed by "print. adopted single-mode fibers for its
long-distance networ) in the 6,",
-urther developments in fiber optics are closely tied to the use of the specific regions on
the optical spectrum where optical attenuation is low, These regions. called windows. lie
between areas of high absorption, The earliest systems were developed to operate around
@E; nm. the first window in silica-based optical fiber, & second window *" band+. at
/</; nm. soon proved to be superior because of its lower attenuation. followed by a third
window *C band+ at /EE; nm with an even lower optical loss, Today. a fourth window *0
band+ near /B=E nm is under development and early deployment, These four windows are
shown relative to the electromagnetic spectrum in -igure =-/,
igure *(') Wa%elength ,egions
De%elo"ment of DWDM Technology
$arly WD began in the late /?@;s using the two widely spaced wavelengths in the
/</; nm and /EE; nm *or @E; nm and /</; nm+ regions. sometimes called wideband
WM, -igure =-= shows an e!ample of this simple form of WD, Notice that one of the
fiber pair is used to transmit and one is used to receive, This is the most efficient
arrangement and the one most found in DWD systems,
igure *(*) WDM with Two Channels
The early /??;s saw a second generation of WD. sometimes called narrowband WM!
in which two to eight channels were used, These channels were now spaced at an interval
of about A;; F12 in the /EE;-nm window, By the mid-/??;s. dense WD *DWD+
systems were emerging with /B to A; channels and spacing from /;; to =;; F12, By the
late /??;s DWD systems had evolved to the point where they were capable of BA to
/B; parallel channels. densely pac)ed at E; or even =E F12 intervals,
&s -igure =-< shows. the progression of the technology can be seen as an increase in the
number of wavelengths accompanied by a decrease in the spacing of the wavelengths,
&long with increased density of wavelengths. systems also advanced in their fle!ibility of
configuration. through add-drop functions. and management capabilities,
igure *(-) E%olution of DWDM
Increases in channel density resulting from DWD technology have had a dramatic
impact on the carrying capacity of fiber, In /??E. when the first /; Fbps systems were
demonstrated. the rate of increase in capacity went from a linear multiple of four every
four years to four every year *see -igure =-A+,
igure *(/) Growth in iber Ca"acity
DWDM 0ystem unctions
&t its core. DWD involves a small number of physical-layer functions, These are
depicted in -igure =-E. which shows a DWD schematic for four channels, $ach optical
channel occupies its own wavelength,
Note Wavelength is e!pressed *usually in nanometers+ as an absolute point on the
electromagnetic spectrum, The effective light at a given wavelength is confined
narrowly around its central wavelength,
igure *(1) DWDM unctional 0chematic
The system performs the following main functions8
Fenerating the signal9The source. a solid-state laser. must provide stable light
within a specific. narrow bandwidth that carries the digital data. modulated as an
analog signal,
Combining the signals9odern DWD systems employ multiple!ers to
combine the signals, There is some inherent loss associated with multiple!ing and
demultiple!ing, This loss is dependent upon the number of channels but can be
mitigated with optical amplifiers. which boost all the wavelengths at once without
electrical conversion,
Transmitting the signals9The effects of crosstal) and optical signal degradation
or loss must be rec)oned with in fiber optic transmission, These effects can be
minimi2ed by controlling variables such as channel spacings. wavelength
tolerance. and laser power levels, #ver a transmission lin). the signal may need to
be optically amplified,
"eparating the received signals9&t the receiving end. the multiple!ed signals
must be separated out, &lthough this tas) would appear to be simply the opposite
of combining the signals. it is actually more technically difficult,
Receiving the signals9The demultiple!ed signal is received by a photodetector,
In addition to these functions. a DWD system must also be e'uipped with client-side
interfaces to receive the input signal, This function is performed by transponders *see the
>Interfaces to DWD> section+, #n the DWD side are interfaces to the optical fiber
that lin)s DWD systems,
Enabling Technologies
#ptical networ)ing. unli)e "#N$T4"D1. does not rely on electrical data processing, &s
such. its development is more closely tied to optics than to electronics, In its early form.
as described previously. WD was capable of carrying signals over two widely spaced
wavelengths. and for a relatively short distance, To move beyond this initial state. WD
needed both improvements in e!isting technologies and invention of new technologies,
Improvements in optical filters and narrowband lasers enabled DWD to combine more
than two signal wavelengths on a fiber, The invention of the flat-gain optical amplifier.
coupled in line with the transmitting fiber to boost the optical signal. dramatically
increased the viability of DWD systems by greatly e!tending the transmission distance,
#ther technologies that have been important in the development of DWD include
improved optical fiber with lower loss and better optical transmission characteristics.
$D-&s. and devices such as fiber Bragg gratings used in optical add4drop multiple!ers,
Com"onents and !"eration
DWD is a core technology in an optical transport networ), The essential components of
DWD can be classified by their place in the system as follows8
#n the transmit side. lasers with precise. stable wavelengths
#n the lin). optical fiber that e!hibits low loss and transmission performance in
the relevant wavelength spectra. in addition to flat-gain optical amplifiers to boost
the signal on longer spans
#n the receive side. photodetectors and optical demultiple!ers using thin film
filters or diffractive elements
#ptical add4drop multiple!ers and optical cross-connect components
These and other components. along with their underlying technologies. are discussed in
the following sections, While much of this information. particularly the pros and cons of
various competing technologies. may be of more importance to a system designer than to
an end user or networ) designer. it may also be of interest to other readers, Note as well
that this is summary information and is not intended to be complete or authoritative, -or
in-depth information on components and underlying technologies. refer to the sources
cited in the >&dditional Reading> section,
!"tical ibers
The following discussion of DWD components and technologies includes a refresher
on optical fibers. with emphasis on their application for DWD, Bac)ground
information on sub5ects such as the properties of light and optical theory can be found in
many readily available printed sources and online. for e!ample. in the tutorial at
http844www,vislab,usyd,edu,au4photonics4fibres4inde!,html,
How iber Works
The main 5ob of optical fibers is to guide lightwaves with a minimum of attenuation *loss
of signal+, #ptical fibers are composed of fine threads of glass in layers. called the core
and cladding. that can transmit light at about two-thirds the speed of light in a vacuum,
Though admittedly an oversimplification. the transmission of light in optical fiber is
commonly e!plained using the principle of total internal re"lection, With this
phenomenon. /;; percent of light that stri)es a surface is reflected, By contrast. a mirror
reflects about ?; percent of the light that stri)es it,
0ight is either reflected *it bounces bac)+ or refracted *its angle is altered while passing
through a different medium+ depending upon the angle of incidence *the angle at which
light stri)es the interface between an optically denser and optically thinner material+,
Total internal reflection happens when the following conditions are met8
Beams pass from a more dense to a less dense material, The difference between
the optical density of a given material and a vacuum is the material3s refractive
inde!,
The incident angle is less than the critical angle, The critical angle is the
ma!imum angle of incidence at which light stops being refracted and is instead
totally reflected,
The principle of total internal reflection within a fiber core is illustrated in -igure =-B,
The core has a higher refractive inde! than the cladding. allowing the beam that stri)es
that surface at less than the critical angle to be reflected, The second beam does not meet
the critical angle re'uirement and is refracted,
igure *(3) :rinci"le of Total Internal ,eflection
L
&n optical fiber consists of two different types of highly pure. solid glass *silica+9the
core and the cladding9that are mi!ed with specific elements. called dopants. to ad5ust
their refractive indices, The difference between the refractive indices of the two materials
causes most of the transmitted light to bounce off the cladding and stay within the core,
The critical angle re'uirement is met by controlling the angle at which the light is
in5ected into the fiber, Two or more layers of protective coating around the cladding
ensure that the glass can be handled without damage,
Multimode and 0ingle(Mode iber
There are two general categories of optical fiber in use today. multimode fiber and single-
mode fiber, ultimode. the first type of fiber to be commerciali2ed. has a larger core than
single-mode fiber, It gets its name from the fact that numerous modes. or light rays. can
be carried simultaneously through the waveguide, -igure =-D shows an e!ample of light
transmitted in the first type of multimode fiber. called step-inde#, "tep-inde! refers to the
fact that there is a uniform inde! of refraction throughout the core7 thus there is a step in
the refractive inde! where the core and cladding interface, Notice that the two modes
must travel different distances to arrive at their destinations, This disparity between the
times that the light rays arrive is called modal dispersion, This phenomenon results in
poor signal 'uality at the receiving end and ultimately limits the transmission distance,
This is why multimode fiber is not used in wide-area applications,
igure *(4) ,eflected ;ight in 0te"(Inde. Multimode iber
To compensate for the dispersion drawbac) of step-inde! multimode fiber. graded-inde!
fiber was invented, $raded-inde# refers to the fact that the refractive inde! of the core is
graded9it gradually decreases from the center of the core outward, The higher refraction
at the center of the core slows the speed of some light rays. allowing all the rays to reach
their destination at about the same time and reducing modal dispersion,
The second general type of fiber. single-mode. has a much smaller core that allows only
one mode of light at a time through the core *see -igure =-@+, &s a result. the fidelity of
the signal is better retained over longer distances. and modal dispersion is greatly
reduced, These factors attribute to a higher bandwidth capacity than multimode fibers are
capable of, -or its large information-carrying capacity and low intrinsic loss. single-mode
fibers are preferred for longer distance and higher bandwidth applications. including
DWD,
igure *(5) ,eflected ;ight in 0ingle(Mode iber
0ingle(Mode iber Designs
Designs of single-mode fiber have evolved over several decades, The three principle
types and their IT6-T specifications are8
Non-dispersion-shifted fiber *ND"-+. F,BE=
Dispersion-shifted fiber *D"-+. F,BE<
Non-2ero dispersion-shifted fiber *NM-D"-+. F,BEE
&s discussed earlier. and shown in -igure =-/. there are four windows within the infrared
spectrum that have been e!ploited for fiber transmission, The first window. near @E; nm.
was used almost e!clusively for short-range. multimode applications, Non-dispersion-
shifted fibers. commonly called standard single-mode *"+ fibers. were designed for use
in the second window. near /</; nm, To optimi2e the fiber3s performance in this
window. the fiber was designed so that chromatic dispersion would be close to 2ero near
the /</;-nm wavelength
&s optical fiber use became more common and the needs for greater bandwidth and
distance increased. a third window. near /EE; nm. was e!ploited for single-mode
transmission, The third window. or C band. offered two advantages8 it had much lower
attenuation. and its operating fre'uency was the same as that of the new erbium-doped
fiber amplifiers *$D-&s+, 1owever. its dispersion characteristics were severely limiting,
This was overcome to a certain e!tent by using narrower linewidth and higher power
lasers, But because the third window had lower attenuation than the /</;-nm window.
manufacturers came up with the dispersion-shifted fiber design. which moved the 2ero-
dispersion point to the /EE;-nm region, &lthough this solution now meant that the lowest
optical attenuation and the 2ero-dispersion points coincided in the /EE;-nm window. it
turned out that there are destructive nonlinearities in optical fiber near the 2ero-dispersion
point for which there is no effective compensation, Because of this limitation. these fibers
are not suitable for DWD applications,
The third type. non-2ero dispersion-shifted fiber. is designed specifically to meet the
needs of DWD applications, The aim of this design is to ma)e the dispersion low in the
/EE;-nm region. but not 2ero, This strategy effectively introduces a controlled amount of
dispersion. which counters nonlinear effects such as four-wave mi!ing *see the >#ther
Nonlinear $ffects> section+ that can hinder the performance of DWD systems,
Transmission Challenges
Transmission of light in optical fiber presents several challenges that must be dealt with,
These fall into the following three broad categories8
&ttenuation9decay of signal strength. or loss of light power. as the signal
propagates through the fiber
Chromatic dispersion9spreading of light pulses as they travel down the fiber
Nonlinearities9cumulative effects from the interaction of light with the material
through which it travels. resulting in changes in the lightwave and interactions
between lightwaves
$ach of these effects has several causes. not all of which affect DWD, The discussion
in the following sections addresses those causes that are relevant to DWD,
$ttenuation
&ttenuation in optical fiber is caused by intrinsic factors. primarily scattering and
absorption. and by e!trinsic factors. including stress from the manufacturing process. the
environment. and physical bending, The most common form of scattering. %a&leigh
scattering. is caused by small variations in the density of glass as it cools, These
variations are smaller than the wavelengths used and therefore act as scattering ob5ects
*see -igure =-?+, "cattering affects short wavelengths more than long wavelengths and
limits the use of wavelengths below @;; nm,
igure *(6) ,ayleigh 0cattering
&ttenuation due to absorption is caused by the intrinsic properties of the material itself.
the impurities in the glass. and any atomic defects in the glass, These impurities absorb
the optical energy. causing the light to become dimmer *see -igure =-/;+, While Rayleigh
scattering is important at shorter wavelengths. intrinsic absorption is an issue at longer
wavelengths and increases dramatically above /D;; nm, 1owever. absorption due to
water pea)s introduced in the fiber manufacturing process are being eliminated in some
new fiber types,
igure *('8) $bsor"tion
The primary factors affecting attenuation in optical fibers are the length of the fiber and
the wavelength of the light, -igure =-// shows the loss in decibels per )ilometer *dB4)m+
by wavelength from Rayleigh scattering. intrinsic absorption. and total attenuation from
all causes,
igure *('') Total $ttenuation Cur%e
&ttenuation in fiber is compensated primarily through the use of optical amplifiers. as
described in the >#ptical &mplifiers> section,
Dis"ersion
Dispersion is the spreading of light pulses as they travel down optical fiber, Dispersion
results in distortion of the signal *see -igure =-/=+. which limits the bandwidth of the
fiber,
igure *('*) :rinci"le of Dis"ersion
Two general types of dispersion affect DWD systems, #ne of these effects. chromatic
dispersion. is linear while the other. polari2ation mode dispersion *(D+. is nonlinear,
Chromatic Dispersion
Chromatic dispersion occurs because different wavelengths propagate at different speeds,
The effect of chromatic dispersion increases as the s'uare of the bit rate, In single-mode
fiber. chromatic dispersion has two components. material dispersion and waveguide
dispersion,
aterial dispersion occurs when wavelengths travel at different speeds through the
material, & light source. no matter how narrow. emits several wavelengths within a
range, Thus. when this range of wavelengths travels through a medium. each individual
wavelength arrives at a different time,
The second component of chromatic dispersion. waveguide dispersion. occurs because of
the different refractive indices of the core and the cladding of fiber, The effective
refractive inde! varies with wavelength as follows8
&t short wavelengths. the light is well confined within the core, Thus the effective
refractive inde! is close to the refractive inde! of the core material,
&t medium wavelengths. the light spreads slightly into the cladding, This
decreases the effective refractive inde!,
&t long wavelengths. much of the light spreads into the cladding, This brings the
effective refractive inde! very close to that of the cladding,
This result of the phenomenon of waveguide dispersion is a propagation delay in one or
more of the wavelengths relative to others,
Total chromatic dispersion. along with its components. is plotted by wavelength in -igure
=-/< for dispersion-shifted fiber, -or non-dispersion-shifted fiber. the 2ero dispersion
wavelength is /</; nm,
igure *('-) Chromatic Dis"ersion
Though chromatic dispersion is generally not an issue at speeds below #C-A@. it does
increase with higher bit rates due to the spectral width re'uired, New types of 2ero-
dispersion-shifted fibers greatly reduce these effects, The phenomenon can also be
mitigated with dispersion compensators,
Polarization Mode Dispersion
ost single-mode fibers support two perpendicular polari2ation modes. a vertical one and
a hori2ontal one, Because these polari2ation states are not maintained. there occurs an
interaction between the pulses that results is a smearing of the signal,
(olari2ation mode dispersion *(D+ is caused by ovality of the fiber shape as a result of
the manufacturing process or from e!ternal stressors, Because stress can vary over time.
(D. unli)e chromatic dispersion. is sub5ect to change over time, (D is generally not a
problem at speeds below #C-/?=,
Other Nonlinear Effects
In addition to (D. there are other nonlinear effects, Because nonlinear effects tend to
manifest themselves when optical power is very high. they become important in DWD,
0inear effects such as attenuation and dispersion can be compensated. but nonlinear
effects accumulate, They are the fundamental limiting mechanisms to the amount of data
that can be transmitted in optical fiber, The most important types of nonlinear effects are
stimulated Brillouin scattering. stimulated Raman scattering. self-phase modulation. and
four-wave mi!ing, In DWD. four-wave mi!ing is most critical of these types,
-our-wave mi!ing is caused by the nonlinear nature of the refractive inde! of the optical
fiber, Nonlinear interactions among different DWD channels creates sidebands that can
cause interchannel interference, In -igure =-/A three fre'uencies interact to product a
fourth fre'uency. resulting in cross-tal) and signal-to-noise degradation,
igure *('/) our(Wa%e Mi.ing
The effect of four-wave mi!ing is to limit the channel capacity of a DWD system,
-our-wave mi!ing cannot be filtered out. either optically or electrically. and increases
with the length of the fiber, Due to its propensity for four-wave-mi!ing. D"- is
unsuitable for WD applications, This prompted the invention of NM-D"-. which ta)es
advantage of the fact that a small amount of chromatic dispersion can be used to mitigate
four-wave mi!ing,
0ummary
In the long-distance networ). the ma5ority of embedded fiber is standard single-mode
*F,BE=+ with high dispersion in the /EE;-nm window. which limits the distance for #C-
/?= transmission, Dispersion can be mitigated to some e!tent. and at some cost. using
dispersion compensators, Non-2ero dispersion-shifted fiber can be deployed for #C-/?=
transport. but higher optical power introduces nonlinear effects,
In the short-haul networ). (D and nonlinear effects are not so critical as they are in
long-haul systems. where higher speeds *#C-/?= and higher+ are more common, DWD
systems using optical signals of =,E Fbps or less are not sub5ect to these nonlinear effects
at short distances,
The ma5or types of single-mode fibers and their application can be summari2ed as
follows8
Non-dispersion-shifted fiber *standard " fiber+9accounts for greater than ?E
percent of deployed plant7 suitable for TD *single-channel+ use in the /</;-nm
region or DWD use in the /EE;-nm region *with dispersion compensators+, This
type of fiber can also support /; Figabit $thernet standard at distances over <;;
meters,
Dispersion-shifted fiber9suitable for TD use in the /EE;-nm region. but
unsuitable for DWD in this region,
Non-2ero dispersion-shifted fiber9good for both TD and DWD use in the
/EE;-nm region,
Newer generation fibers9includes types that allow the energy to travel further
into the cladding. creating a small amount of dispersion to counter four-wave
mi!ing. and dispersion-flattened fibers. which permit use of wavelengths farther
from the optimum wavelength without pulse spreading,
Note &s bit rates increase to A; Fbps and beyond. the interdependence between
system design and fiber design will become increasingly important for strategic
planning,
;ight 0ources and Detectors
0ight emitters and light detectors are active devices at opposite ends of an optical
transmission system, 0ight sources. or light emitters. are transmit-side devices that
convert electrical signals to light pulses, The process of this conversion. or modulation.
can be accomplished by e!ternally modulating a continuous wave of light or by using a
device that can generate modulated light directly, 0ight detectors perform the opposite
function of light emitters, They are receive-side opto-electronic devices that convert light
pulses into electrical signals,
;ight Emitters<;EDs and ;asers
The light source used in the design of a system is an important consideration because it
can be one of the most costly elements, Its characteristics are often a strong limiting
factor in the final performance of the optical lin), 0ight emitting devices used in optical
transmission must be compact. monochromatic. stable. and long-lasting,
Note onochromatic is a relative term7 in practice there are only light sources within
a certain range, "tability of a light source is a measure of how constant its intensity and
wavelength are,
Two general types of light emitting devices are used in optical transmission. light-
emitting diodes *0$Ds+ and laser diodes. or semiconductor lasers, 0$Ds are relatively
slow devices. suitable for use at speeds of less than / Fbps. they e!hibit a relatively wide
spectrum width. and they transmit light in a relatively wide cone, These ine!pensive
devices are often used in multimode fiber communications, "emiconductor lasers. on the
other hand. have performance characteristics better suited to single-mode fiber
applications,
-igure =-/E shows the general principles of launching laser light into fiber, The laser
diode chip emits light in one direction to be focused by the lens onto the fiber and in the
other direction onto a photodiode, The photodiode. which is angled to reduce bac)
reflections into the laser cavity. provides a way of monitoring the output of the lasers and
providing feedbac) so that ad5ustments can be made,
igure *('1) Ty"ical ;aser Design
Re'uirements for lasers include precise wavelength. narrow spectrum width. sufficient
power. and control of chirp *the change in fre'uency of a signal over time+,
"emiconductor lasers satisfy nicely the first three re'uirements, Chirp. however. can be
affected by the means used to modulate the signal,
In directly modulated lasers. the modulation of the light to represent the digital data is
done internally, With e!ternal modulation. the modulation is done by an e!ternal device,
When semiconductor lasers are directly modulated. chirp can become a limiting factor at
high bit rates *above /; Fbps+, $!ternal modulation. on the other hand. helps to limit
chirp, The e!ternal modulation scheme is depicted in -igure =-/B,
igure *('3) E.ternal Modulation of a ;aser
Two types of semiconductor lasers are widely used. monolithic -abry-(erot lasers. and
distributed feedbac) *D-B+ lasers, The latter type is particularly well suited for DWD
applications. as it emits a nearly monochromatic light. is capable of high speeds. has a
favorable signal-to-noise ratio. and has superior linearity, D-B lasers also have center
fre'uencies in the region around /</; nm. and from /E=; to /EBE nm, The latter
wavelength range is compatible with $D-&s, There are many other types and subtypes of
lasers, Narrow spectrum tunable lasers are available. but their tuning range is limited to
appro!imately /;;-=;; F12, 6nder development are wider spectrum tunable lasers.
which will be important in dynamically switched optical networ)s,
IT9 Grid
Cooled D-B lasers are available in precisely selected wavelengths, The IT6 draft
standard F,B?= defines a laser grid for point-to-point WD systems based on /;;-F12
wavelength spacings with a center wavelength of /EE<,E= nm *see Table =-/+,
Table *(') IT9 Grid
re7uency
=TH>
'
?
Wa%elength
=nm
*
?
re7uency
=TH>?
Wa%elength
=nm?
re7uency
=TH>?
Wa%elength
=nm?
/?B,/ /E=@,DD /BA,B /EA;,EB /?<,/ /EE=,E=
/?B,; /E=?,EE /?A,E /EA/,<E /?<,; /EE<,<<
/?E,? /E<;,<< /?A,A /EA=,/A /?=,? /EEA,/<
/?E,@ /E</,/= /?A,< /EA=,?A /?E,@ /EEA,?A
/?E,D /E</,? /?A,= /EA<,D< /?=,D /EEE,DE
/?E,B /E<=,B@ /?A,/ /EAA,E< /?=,B /EEB,EB
/?E,E /E<<,AD /?A,; /EAE,<= /?E,E /EED,<B
/?E,A /E<A,=E /?<,? /EAB,/= /?=,A /EE@,/D
/?E,< /E<E,;A /?<,@ /EAB,?= /?=,< /EE@,?@
/?E,= /E<E,@= /?<,D /EAD,D= /?=,= /EE?,D?
/?E,/ /E<B,B/ /?<,B /EA@,E/ /?=,/ /EB;,B/
/?E,; /E<D,A; /?<,E /EA?,<= /?=,; /EB/,A=
/?A,? /E<@,/? /?=,A /EE;,/= /?/,? /EB=,=<
/?A,@ /E<@,?@ /?<,< /EE;,?= /?/,@ /EB<,;E
/?A,D /E<?,DD /?<,= /EE/,D= /?/,D /EB<,@B
/
T12 N terahert2
=
nm N nanometer
While this grid defines a standard. users are free to use the wavelengths in arbitrary ways
and to choose from any part of the spectrum, In addition. manufacturers can deviate from
the grid by e!tending the upper and lower bounds or by spacing the wavelengths more
closely. typically at E; F12. to double the number of channels, The closer the spacing.
the more channel crosstal) results, In addition. the impact of some fiber nonlinearities.
such as -W. increases, "pacing at E; F12 also limits the ma!imum data rate per
wavelength to /; Fbps, The implications of the fle!ibility in implementation are twofold8
There is no guarantee of compatibility between two end systems from different vendors.
and there e!ists a design trade-off in the spacing of wavelengths between number of
channels and ma!imum bit rate,
;ight Detectors
#n the receive end. it is necessary to recover the signals transmitted at different
wavelengths on the fiber, Because photodetectors are by nature wideband devices. the
optical signals are demultiple!ed before reaching the detector,
Two types of photodetectors are widely deployed. the positive-intrinsic-negative *(IN+
photodiode and the avalanche photodiode *&(D+, (IN photodiodes wor) on principles
similar to. but in the reverse of. 0$Ds, That is. light is absorbed rather than emitted. and
photons are converted to electrons in a /8/ relationship, &(Ds are similar devices to (IN
photodiodes. but provide gain through an amplification process8 #ne photon acting on the
device releases many electrons, (IN photodiodes have many advantages. including low
cost and reliability. but &(Ds have higher receive sensitivity and accuracy, 1owever.
&(Ds are more e!pensive than (IN photodiodes. they can have very high current
re'uirements. and they are temperature sensitive,
!"tical $m"lifiers
Due to attenuation. there are limits to how long a fiber segment can propagate a signal
with integrity before it has to be regenerated, Before the arrival of optical amplifiers
*#&s+. there had to be a repeater for every signal transmitted. as discussed earlier and
shown in -igure /-//, The #& has made it possible to amplify all the wavelengths at
once and without optical-electrical-optical *#$#+ conversion, Besides being used on
optical lin)s. optical amplifiers also can be used to boost signal power after multiple!ing
or before demultiple!ing. both of which can introduce loss into the system,
Erbium(Do"ed iber $m"lifier
By ma)ing it possible to carry the large loads that DWD is capable of transmitting over
long distances. the $D-& was a )ey enabling technology, &t the same time. it has been a
driving force in the development of other networ) elements and technologies,
$rbium is a rare-earth element that. when e!cited. emits light around /,EA micrometers9
the low-loss wavelength for optical fibers used in DWD, -igure =-/D shows a
simplified diagram of an $D-&, & wea) signal enters the erbium-doped fiber. into which
light at ?@; nm or /A@; nm is in5ected using a pump laser, This in5ected light stimulates
the erbium atoms to release their stored energy as additional /EE;-nm light, &s this
process continues down the fiber. the signal grows stronger, The spontaneous emissions
in the $D-& also add noise to the signal7 this determines the noise figure of an $D-&,
igure *('4) Erbium(Do"ed iber $m"lifier Design
The )ey performance parameters of optical amplifiers are gain. gain flatness. noise level.
and output power, $D-&s are typically capable of gains of <; dB or more and output
power of O/D dB or more, The target parameters when selecting an $D-&. however. are
low noise and flat gain, Fain should be flat because all signals must be amplified
uniformly, While the signal gain provided with $D-& technology is inherently
wavelength-dependent. it can be corrected with gain flattening filters, "uch filters are
often built into modern $D-&s,
0ow noise is a re'uirement because noise. along with signal. is amplified, Because this
effect is cumulative. and cannot be filtered out. the signal-to-noise ratio is an ultimate
limiting factor in the number of amplifiers that can be concatenated and. therefore. the
length of a single fiber lin), In practice. signals can travel for up to /=; )m *DA mi+
between amplifiers, &t longer distances of B;; to /;;; )m *<D= to B=; mi+ the signal
must be regenerated, That is because the optical amplifier merely amplifies the signals
and does not perform the <R functions *reshape. retime. retransmit+, $D-&s are available
for the C-band and the 0-band,
Multi"le.ers and Demulti"le.ers
Because DWD systems send signals from several sources over a single fiber. they must
include some means to combine the incoming signals, This is done with a multiple!er.
which ta)es optical wavelengths from multiple fibers and converges them into one beam,
&t the receiving end the system must be able to separate out the components of the light
so that they can be discreetly detected, Demultiple!ers perform this function by
separating the received beam into its wavelength components and coupling them to
individual fibers, Demultiple!ing must be done before the light is detected. because
photodetectors are inherently broadband devices that cannot selectively detect a single
wavelength,
In a unidirectional system *see -igure =-/@+. there is a multiple!er at the sending end and
a demultiple!er at the receiving end, Two system would be re'uired at each end for
bidirectional communication. and two separate fibers would be needed,
igure *('5) Multi"le.ing and Demulti"le.ing in a 9nidirectional 0ystem
In a bidirectional system. there is a multiple!er4demultiple!er at each end *see -igure =-
/?+ and communication is over a single fiber. with different wavelengths used for each
direction,
igure *('6) Multi"le.ing and Demulti"le.ing in a #idirectional 0ystem
ultiple!ers and demultiple!ers can be either passive or active in design, (assive designs
are based on prisms. diffraction gratings. or filters. while active designs combine passive
devices with tunable filters, The primary challenges in these devices is to minimi2e cross-
tal) and ma!imi2e channel separation, Cross-tal) is a measure of how well the channels
are separated. while channel separation refers to the ability to distinguish each
wavelength,
Techni7ues for Multi"le.ing and Demulti"le.ing
& simple form of multiple!ing or demultiple!ing of light can be done using a prism,
-igure =-=; demonstrates the demultiple!ing case, & parallel beam of polychromatic
light impinges on a prism surface7 each component wavelength is refracted differently,
This is the >rainbow> effect, In the output light. each wavelength is separated from the
ne!t by an angle, & lens then focuses each wavelength to the point where it needs to enter
a fiber, The same components can be used in reverse to multiple! different wavelengths
onto one fiber,
igure *(*8) :rism ,efraction Demulti"le.ing
&nother technology is based on the principles of diffraction and of optical interference,
When a polychromatic light source impinges on a diffraction grating *see -igure =-=/+.
each wavelength is diffracted at a different angle and therefore to a different point in
space, 6sing a lens. these wavelengths can be focused onto individual fibers,
igure *(*') Wa%eguide Grating Diffraction
&rrayed waveguide gratings *&WFs+ are also based on diffraction principles, &n &WF
device. sometimes called an optical waveguide router or waveguide grating router.
consists of an array of curved-channel waveguides with a fi!ed difference in the path
length between ad5acent channels *see -igure =-==+, The waveguides are connected to
cavities at the input and output, When the light enters the input cavity. it is diffracted and
enters the waveguide array, There the optical length difference of each waveguide
introduces phase delays in the output cavity. where an array of fibers is coupled, The
process results in different wavelengths having ma!imal interference at different
locations. which correspond to the output ports,
igure *(**) $rrayed Wa%eguide Grating
& different technology uses interference filters in devices called thin "ilm "ilters or
multila&er inter"erence "ilters, By positioning filters. consisting of thin films. in the
optical path. wavelengths can be sorted out *demultiple!ed+, The property of each filter is
such that it transmits one wavelength while reflecting others, By cascading these devices.
many wavelengths can be demultiple!ed *see -igure =-=<+,
igure *(*-) Multilayer Interference ilters
#f these designs. the &WF and thin film interference filters are gaining prominence,
-ilters offer good stability and isolation between channels at moderate cost. but with a
high insertion loss, &WFs are polari2ation-dependent *which can be compensated+. and
they e!hibit a flat spectral response and low insertion loss, & potential drawbac) is that
they are temperature sensitive such that they may not be practical in all environments,
Their big advantage is that they can be designed to perform multiple!ing and
demultiple!ing operations simultaneously, &WFs are also better for large channel
counts. where the use of cascaded thin film filters is impractical,
!"tical $dd2Dro" Multi"le.ers
Between multiple!ing and demultiple!ing points in a DWD system. as shown in -igure
=-/@. there is an area in which multiple wavelengths e!ist, It is often desirable to be able
to remove or insert one or more wavelengths at some point along this span, &n optical
add4drop multiple!er *#&D+ performs this function, Rather than combining or
separating all wavelengths. the #&D can remove some while passing others on,
#&Ds are a )ey part of moving toward the goal of all-optical networ)s,
#&Ds are similar in many respects to "#N$T &D. e!cept that only optical
wavelengths are added and dropped. and no conversion of the signal from optical to
electrical ta)es place, -igure =-=A is a schematic representation of the add-drop process,
This e!ample includes both pre- and post-amplification7 these components that may or
may not be present in an #&D. depending upon its design,
igure *(*/) 0electi%ely ,emo%ing and $dding Wa%elengths
There are two general types of #&Ds, The first generation is a fi!ed device that is
physically configured to drop specific predetermined wavelengths while adding others,
The second generation is reconfigurable and capable of dynamically selecting which
wavelengths are added and dropped,
Thin-film filters have emerged as the technology of choice for #&Ds in current
metropolitan DWD systems because of their low cost and stability, -or the emerging
second generation of #&Ds. other technologies. such as tunable fiber gratings and
circulators. will come into prominence,
Interfaces to DWDM
ost DWD systems support standard "#N$T4"D1 short-reach optical interfaces to
which any "#N$T4"D1 compliant client device can attach, In today3s long-haul WD
systems. this is most often an #C-A@c4"T-/Bc interface operating at the /</;-nm
wavelength, In addition. other interfaces important in metropolitan area and access
networ)s are commonly supported8 $thernet *including -ast $thernet and Figabit
$thernet+. $"C#N. "ysple! Timer and "ysple! Coupling -acility 0in)s. and -ibre
Channel, The new /; Figabit $thernet standard is supported using a very short reach
*%"R+ #C-/?= interface over fiber between /; Figabit $thernet and DWD
e'uipment,
#n the client side there can be "#N$T4"D1 terminals or &Ds. &T switches. or
routers, By converting incoming optical signals into the precise IT6-standard
wavelengths to be multiple!ed. transponders are currently a )ey determinant of the
openness of DWD systems,
Within the DWD system a transponder converts the client optical signal from bac) to
an electrical signal and performs the <R functions *see -igure =-=E+, This electrical signal
is then used to drive the WD laser, $ach transponder within the system converts its
client3s signal to a slightly different wavelength, The wavelengths from all of the
transponders in the system are then optically multiple!ed, In the receive direction of the
DWD system. the reverse process ta)es place, Individual wavelengths are filtered from
the multiple!ed fiber and fed to individual transponders. which convert the signal to
electrical and drive a standard interface to the client,
igure *(*1) Trans"onder unctions
-uture designs include passive interfaces. which accept the IT6-compliant light directly
from an attached switch or router with an optical interface,
!"eration of a Trans"onder #ased DWDM 0ystem
-igure =-=B shows the end-to-end operation of a unidirectional DWD system,
igure *(*3) @$natomy of a DWDM 0ystem
The following steps describe the system shown in -igure =-=B8
/, The transponder accepts input in the form of standard single-mode or
multimode laser, The input can come from different physical media and different
protocols and traffic types,
=, The wavelength of each input signal is mapped to a DWD wavelength,
<, DWD wavelengths from the transponder are multiple!ed into a single optical
signal and launched into the fiber, The system might also include the ability to
accept direct optical signals to the multiple!er7 such signals could come. for
e!ample. from a satellite node,
A, & post-amplifier boosts the strength of the optical signal as it leaves the system
*optional+,
E, #ptical amplifiers are used along the fiber span as needed *optional+,
B, & pre-amplifier boosts the signal before it enters the end system *optional+,
D, The incoming signal is demultiple!ed into individual DWD lambdas *or
wavelengths+,
@, The individual DWD lambdas are mapped to the re'uired output type *for
e!ample. #C-A@ single-mode fiber+ and sent out through the transponder,
(osted8 Tue Dec /? /A8<A8/? ("T =;;;
Copyright /?@?-=;;;JCisco "ystems Inc,
Table of Contents
DWDM in Metro"olitan $rea Networks
Technologies in the Metro"olitan Market
"#N$T4"D1
&T
Figabit $thernet
I(
-ibre Channel
Dynamic (ac)et Transport
-DDI
"upport for 0egacy Traffic
$""lications and 0er%ices in the M$N
"torage &rea Networ)s
igration from "#N$T4"D1
To"ologies and :rotection 0chemes for DWDM
(oint-to-(oint Topologies
Ring Topologies
esh Topologies
:ractical Considerations in De"loying DWDM
#ptical (ower Budget
Interoperability Issues
uture of DWDM
DWDM in Metro"olitan $rea Networks
The long distances made possible by advances in technologies such as optical amplifiers.
dispersion compensators. and new fiber types. resulted in the initial deployment of
DWD technology in the long-haul transoceanic and terrestrial networ)s, #nce these
technologies became commercially viable in the long-haul mar)et. it was the ne!t logical
step to deploy them in the metropolitan area and. eventually. in the access networ)s using
hybrid architectures of fiber and coa!ial media,
We begin the following discussion by considering the main transport and networ)
technologies used in metropolitan networ)s, We then briefly e!plore some of the
potential applications for DWD in these networ)s and e!amine the topologies that can
be deployed, We continue by e!amining the protection mechanisms and schemes that are
available to ensure reliability. and we conclude with a loo) at the future of optical
networ)ing,
Technologies in the Metro"olitan Market
Numerous technologies for transport and encapsulation of data have been advocated in
the metropolitan mar)et, & characteristic of these networ)s. as noted earlier. is that they
are called upon to support a variety of older and new traffic types and rates, #verall.
however. there is a trend toward using a common optical layer for transporting digital
data,
0!NET20DH
"#N$T4"D1 has been the foundation for &Ns over the last decade. serving as the
fundamental transport layer for both TD-based circuit switched networ) and most
overlay data networ)s, While "#N$T4"D1 has evolved into a very resilient technology.
it remains fairly e!pensive to implement, Inherent inefficiencies in adapting data services
to the voice-optimi2ed hierarchy and an infle!ible multiple!ing hierarchy remain
problematic, ore importantly. capacity scaling limitations9#C-DB@ may be the
practical limit of "#N$T4"D19and unresponsiveness to bursty I( traffic ma)e any
TD-based technology a poor choice for the future,
$TM
any service providers favor &T because it can encapsulate different protocols and
traffic types into a common format for transmission over a "#N$T infrastructure,
eanwhile the data networ)ing world. which is overwhelmingly I(-oriented. favors
pac)et over "#N$T *(#"+. which obviates the costly &T intermediate layer,
&dvancements in I(. combined with the scaling capacity of gigabit and multigigabit
routers. ma)e it possible to envisage an I(-based networ) that is well suited for carrying
primarily data traffic. and secondarily voice,
Nevertheless &T remains strong in the metropolitan area, It can accommodate higher
speed line interfaces and provide managed virtual circuit services while offering traffic
management capabilities, Thus &T edge devices are commonly used to terminate
traffic. including %oI(. D"0. and -rame Relay,
Gigabit Ethernet
Figabit $thernet *F$+ is a proven technology for easy migration from and integration
into traditional $thernet, It is relatively ine!pensive compared to other technologies that
offer the same transmission rate. but does not provide 'uality of service *Po"+ or fault
tolerance on its own, When confined to point-to-point topologies. collisions and carrier
sense multiple access *C"&+ are not of concern. resulting in more effective use of the
full bandwidth, Because the optical physical layer can support much longer distances
than traditional Category E cable. Figabit $thernet over fiber */;;;B&"$-0H. for
e!ample+ can be e!tended into the wide-area realm using DWD,
The latest advancement in $thernet technology. /; Figabit $thernet. is being driven by a
need to interconnect $thernet 0&Ns operating at /;. /;;. or /;;; bps, Ten Figabit
$thernet can be used for aggregating slower access lin)s. in the bac)bone networ)s. and
for W&N access, 6sing /EE;-nm serial lasers. distances of A; to @; )m *=E to E; mi+ are
possible with /; Figabit $thernet over standard " fiber, With such technology. service
providers can build simple $thernet networ)s over dar) fiber without "#N$T or &T
and provision high-speed /;4/;;4/;;; bps services at very low cost, In addition. a very
short reach *%"R+ #C-/?= interface can be used to connect /; Figabit $thernet to
DWD e'uipment over fiber,
$thernet offers the technical advantages of a proven. adaptable. reliable. and
uncomplicated technology, Implementations are standard and interoperable. and cost is
much less than "#N$T or &T, &rchitecturally. $thernet3s advantage is its emerging
potential to serve as a scalable. end-to-end solution, Networ) management can also be
improved by using $thernet across the &N and W&N,
I:
Clearly. as traditional circuit-switched services migrate to I( networ)s and data grows.
networ)s must evolve to accommodate the traffic, 1owever. I( may need to become as
comple! as &T to replace its functionality, Thus. both &T and I( are candidates for
transport directly over DWD, In either case. the result is simplified networ)
infrastructure. lower cost due to fewer networ) elements and less fiber. open interfaces.
increased fle!ibility. and stability, The 'uestion is. in which format will I( travel over an
optical networ)8 I( over &T over "#N$T. I( over "#N$T *as (#"+. or I( over
Figabit $thernet or /; Figabit $thernetQ *"ee -igure <-/,+
igure -(') Data ;ink and Network :rotocols o%er the !"tical ;ayer
ibre Channel
-ibre Channel is the predominant data lin) technology used in storage area networ)s
*"&Ns+, "ee the >"torage &rea Networ)s> section, -ibre Channel is an economical
replacement for the "mall Computer "ystem Interface *"C"I+ protocol as a high-speed
interface for applications such as data bac)up. recovery. and mirroring, -ibre Channel
interfaces are available at /;; Bps today7 =;; Bps interfaces should be available in
the near future. and A;; Bps interfaces are in testing,
Note By convention. transfer rates for storage are specified in megabytes per second
*Bps+,
-ibre Channel comes without the very short distance limitations of "C"I7 it also avoids
the termination restrictions of "C"I because each node acts as an optical repeater, -ibre
Channel can be implemented in a point-to-point. arbitrated loop. or mesh topology using
a switch, &s shown in -igure <-/. -ibre Channel. li)e other protocols. can be carried
directly over the optical layer using DWD,
Dynamic :acket Trans"ort
Dynamic (ac)et Transport *D(T+ is a Cisco protocol that provides an alternative to
"#N$T for more efficient transport of data in ring architectures, D(T supports basic
pac)et processing. fairness. multicasting. Intelligent (rotection "witching *I("+. topology
discovery. &ddress Resolution (rotocol *&R(+. routing. and networ) management, D(T
can run over dar) fiber. "#N$T. or WD,
D(T3s chief advantage over "#N$T is its ability to reuse bandwidth that would have
otherwise been lost, Bandwidth is consumed only on traversed segments. and multiple
nodes can transmit concurrently,
D(T is based on bidirectional counter rotating rings *see -igure <-=+, (ac)ets are
transported on both rings in concatenated payload. while control messages are carried in
the opposite direction from data,
igure -(*) D:T ,ing $rchitecture
DDI
-DDI is at this point a legacy technology, 1aving served a need at one time. it has been
replaced by more advanced technologies, &lthough -DDI is capable of scaling to the
metropolitan area. it is also a shared media technology with a relatively low capacity by
current standards, This limitation. along with falling availability of -DDI interfaces on
networ) e'uipment. is causing -DDI to be replaced by Figabit $thernet. or &T,
Nevertheless. it is also a protocol that can be transparently transported over the optical
layer using DWD,
0u""ort for ;egacy Traffic
In spite of the disproportionate growth of data traffic versus voice. legacy traffic won3t
suddenly vanish, Networ)s must support diverse low speed connections in addition to
newer. higher speed data connection, Thus DWD must be complimented by electrical
*TD4-D+ multiple!ing to ensure efficient use of lightwaves, &t the same time. legacy
traffic must be augmented with high-capacity data transport without impacting efficient
I( transport,
-or I"(s. the situation is different8 &ll of their traffic is I(, I"(s need rapid build-out of
networ)s and favor pac)et-over-lightwave or Figabit $thernet. rather than &T or
"#N$T, #ther re'uirements of this mar)et include load sharing strategies for resilience.
leverage of dar) fiber. and simpler datacom-li)e management,
$""lications and 0er%ices in the M$N
The metropolitan networ) mar)et is being driven by demand for new application services
and the introduction of high speed access, Ta)en together. these forces are creating a
bottlenec) in the &N,
New applications include e-commerce transactions. pac)eti2ed voice. and streaming
multimedia, New services. primarily to the enterprise. include interconnecting and
consolidating data centers. transparent e!tension of the 0&N across the &N by
connecting geographically disparate locations using wavelengths over dar) fiber. a trend
towards "&N architecture. the server-less office. real-time transactions bac)up. and high-
speed disaster recovery, -or service providers. new services include support for access
technologies such as D"0. cable. and wireless *which still re'uires a land-based transport
infrastructure+ and wavelength leasing or wavelength-on-demand,
Two of the most important applications for DWD technology in the &N are in the
areas of "&Ns and "#N$T migration,
0torage $rea Networks
"torage area networ)s *"&Ns+ represent the latest stage in the evolution of mass data
storage for enterprises and other large institutions, In host-centric environments. storage.
as well as applications. was centrali2ed and centrally managed, With the advent of
client4server environments. information that was previously centrali2ed became
distributed across the networ), The management problems created by this
decentrali2ation are addressed in two principal ways8 networ) attached storage *N&"+.
where storage devices are directly attached to the 0&N. and "&Ns,
Composed of servers. storage devices *tapes. dis) arrays+. and networ) devices
*multiple!ers. hubs. routers. switches. and so on+. a "&N constitutes an entirely separate
networ) from the 0&N *see -igure <-<+, &s a separate networ). the "&N can relieve
bottlenec)s in the 0&N by providing the resources for applications such as data
mirroring. transaction processing. and bac)up and restoration,
igure -(-) 0$N $rchitecture
& number of types of interfaces have been used to connect servers to devices in a "&N,
The most prevalent is IB3s $nterprise "ystem C#Nnection *$"C#N+. a /D-Bps half-
duple! protocol over fiber,
-ibre Channel. on which IB3s -IC#N is based. is also fre'uently employed in "&Ns
and has a much higher capacity than $"C#N *see the >-ibre Channel> section,+ Both
technologies. however. have significant distance limitations, -or e!ample. the standard
ma!imum distance without repeaters is around < )m */,? mi+ for half duple! $"C#N and
around /; )m *B,= mi+ for full duple! /;;-Bps -ibre Channel, There is performance
degradation as distances increase beyond these numbers,
This distance limitation can be overcome by transporting data between one or more
enterprise locations and one or more "&Ns over the optical layer using DWD, In
-igure <-A. for e!ample. the distance separating the enterprise location and the "&N sites
can be greatly e!tended, &ccess to the ring is by way of >satellite> #&Ds with -ibre
Channel or $"C#N interfaces at each "&N location *one of these could provide data
mirroring+, These interfaces can also support "ysple! Timer and "ysple! Coupling 0in)
interfaces. used in IB environments for distributing loads across the members of a
server comple!,
igure -(/) 0$N $ccess o%er the !"tical ;ayer
In addition to overcoming distance limitations. DWD can also reduce fiber
re'uirements in "&Ns, Both $"C#N and -IC#N re'uire a pair of fibers for every
channel, By multiple!ing these channels over DWD transport. significant savings can
be reali2ed,
Migration from 0!NET20DH
&s a transport technology. "#N$T is an >agnostic> protocol that can transport all traffic
types. while providing interoperability. protection schemes. networ) management. and
support for a TD hierarchy, &lthough "#N$T may continue to be the interface
standard and transport protocol of choice well into the foreseeable future. upgrading it is
e!pensive. as line-rate specific networ) elements are re'uired at each point of traffic
ingress or egress,
6sing DWD to increase the capacity of embedded fiber. while preserving "#N$T
infrastructure. offers an alternative to e!pensive "#N$T upgrades, igration from
"#N$T to DWD may in fact be the single most important application in the near term,
In general. this migration begins by replacing bac)bones with DWD. then moves
toward the edges of the networ),
In one common scenario. bandwidth on a "#N$T ring can be increased greatly by
replacing "#N$T &Ds with DWD e'uipment, In the e!ample shown in -igure <-E.
there are three options for upgrading the ring8
Replace or upgrade the e'uipment7 for e!ample. from #C-A@ to #C-/?=,
Install a new ring on new or e!isting fiber,
Install one or more new rings by deploying DWD,
igure -(1) Migrating the 0!NET ,ing to DWDM<#efore
The third option is shown in -igure <-B, By using DWD to increase the capacity of the
e!isting ring. one fiber can essentially act as many,
igure -(3) Migrating the 0!NET ,ing to DWDM<irst 0tage
In a second type of scenario. DWD can be used to remove an entire class of e'uipment.
the "#N$T &Ds, This change. which might constitute a second phase of "#N$T
migration. allows routers and other devices to bypass "#N$T e'uipment and interface
directly to DWD. while simplifying traffic from I(4&T4"#N$T to (#" to eventually
I( directly over the optical layer *see -igure <-D+,
igure -(4) Migrating the 0!NET ,ing to DWDM<0econd 0tage
In this phase of migration. end user sites are served by #&Ds rather than "#N$T
&Ds, In this way DWD rings and mesh networ)s can eliminate the increased cost
and comple!ity of introducing more "#N$T elements into the networ) to meet demand,
The advantage here for carriers is the ability to offer bit-rate-independent services.
freeing them from the D"/4D"<4#C-n framewor), "uch a scheme would also allow
enterprise 0&N access to be e!tended across the &N or W&N without a "#N$T
infrastructure,
& further advantage in migrating from "#N$T to the optical layer is that protection and
restoration becomes less susceptible to failure of electronic components7 a common
survivability platform for all networ) services is created. including those without built-in
protection,
To"ologies and :rotection 0chemes for DWDM
Networ) architectures are based on many factors. including types of applications and
protocols. distances. usage and access patterns. and legacy networ) topologies, In the
metropolitan mar)et. for e!ample. point-to-point topologies might be used for connecting
enterprise locations. ring topologies for connecting inter-office facilities *I#-s+ and for
residential access. and mesh topologies might be used for inter-(#( connections and
connections to the long-haul bac)bone, In effect. the optical layer must be capable of
supporting many topologies and. because of unpredictable developments in this area.
those topologies must be fle!ible,
Today. the main topologies in deployment are point-to-point and ring, With point-to-
point lin)s over DWD between large enterprise sites. there needs only to be a customer
premise device for converting application traffic to specific wavelengths and
multiple!ing, Carriers with linear-ring topologies can evolve toward full rings based on
#&Ds, &s configurable optical cross-connects and switches become more common.
these point-to-point and ring networ)s will be interconnected into meshes. transforming
optical metropolitan networ)s into fully fle!ible platforms,
:oint(to(:oint To"ologies
(oint-to-point topologies can be implemented with or without #&D, These networ)s
are characteri2ed by ultra-high channel speeds */; to A; Fbps+. high signal integrity and
reliability. and fast path restoration, In long-haul networ)s. the distance between
transmitter and receiver can be several hundred )ilometers. and the number of amplifiers
re'uired between endpoints is typically less than /;, In the &N. amplifiers are often not
needed,
(rotection in point-to-point topologies can be provided in a couple of ways, In first
generation e'uipment. redundancy is at the system level, (arallel lin)s connect redundant
systems at either end, "witchover in case of failure is the responsibility of the client
e'uipment *a switch or router. for e!ample+. while the DWD systems themselves 5ust
provide capacity,
In second generation e'uipment. redundancy is at the card level, (arallel lin)s connect
single systems at either end that contain redundant transponders. multiple!ers. and C(6s,
1ere protection has migrated to the DWD e'uipment. with switching decisions under
local control, #ne type of implementation. for e!ample. uses a / O / protection scheme
based on "#N$T &utomatic (rotection "witching *&("+, "ee -igure <-@,
igure -(5) :oint(to(:oint $rchitecture
,ing To"ologies
Rings are the most common architecture found in metropolitan areas and span a few tens
of )ilometers, The fiber ring might contain as few as four wavelength channels. and
typically fewer nodes than channels, Bit rate is in the range of B== bps to /; Fbps per
channel,
Ring configurations can be deployed with one or more DWD systems. supporting any-
to-any traffic. or they can have a hub station and one or more #&D nodes. or satellites
*see -igure <-?+, &t the hub node traffic originates. is terminated and managed. and
connectivity with other networ)s is established, &t the #&D nodes. one or more
wavelengths is dropped off and added. while the others pass through transparently
*e!press channels+, In this way. ring architectures allow nodes on the ring to provide
access to networ) elements such as routers. switches. or servers by adding or dropping
wavelength channels in the optical domain, With increase in number of #&Ds.
however. the signal is sub5ect to loss and amplification can be re'uired,
igure -(6) DWDM Hub and 0atellite ,ing $rchitecture
Candidate networ)s for DWD application in the metropolitan area are often already
based on "#N$T ring structures with / O / fiber protection, Thus protection schemes
such as path protection *path protection+ or Bidirectional 0ine "witched Ring *B0"R+ can
be reused for DWD implementations,-igure <-/; shows a path protection scheme with
two fibers, 1ere. hub and nodes send on two counter-rotating rings. but the same fiber is
normally being used by all e'uipment to receive the signal7 hence the name
unidirectional, If the wor)ing ring should fail. the receiving e'uipment switches to the
other pair, &lthough this provides full redundancy to the path. no bandwidth reuse is
possible. as the redundant fiber must always be ready to carry the wor)ing traffic, This
scheme is most commonly used in access networ)s,
igure -('8) 9:0, :rotection on a DWDM ,ing
#ther protection schemes. such as Bidirectional 0ine "witched Ring *B0"R+. allow
traffic to travel from the sending to the receiving node by the most direct route, Because
of this. B0"R is considered preferable for core "#N$T networ)s. especially when
implemented with four fibers. which offers complete redundancy,
Mesh To"ologies
esh architectures are the future of optical networ)s, &s networ)s evolve. rings and
point-to-point architectures will still have a place. but mesh will be the most robust
topology, This development will be enabled by the introduction of configurable optical
cross-connects and switches that will in some cases replace and in other cases supplement
fi!ed DWD devices,
-rom a design standpoint. there is a graceful evolutionary path available from point-to-
point to mesh topologies, By beginning with point-to-point lin)s. e'uipped with #&D
nodes at the outset for fle!ibility. and subse'uently interconnecting them. the networ)
can evolve into a mesh without a complete redesign, &dditionally. mesh and ring
topologies can be 5oined by point-to-point lin)s *see -igure <-//+,
igure -('') MeshA :oint(to(:ointA and ,ing $rchitectures
DWD mesh networ)s. consisting of interconnected all-optical nodes. will re'uire the
ne!t generation of protection, Where previous protection schemes relied upon
redundancy at the system. card. or fiber level. redundancy will now migrate to the
wavelength level, This means. among other things. that a data channel might change
wavelengths as it ma)es its way through the networ). due either to routing or to a switch
in wavelength because of a fault, The situation is analogous to that of a virtual circuit
through an &T cloud. which can e!perience changes in its virtual path identifier
*%(I+4virtual channel identifier *%CI+ values at switching points, In optical networ)s. this
concept is sometimes called a light path,
esh networ)s will therefore re'uire a high degree of intelligence to perform the
functions of protection and bandwidth management. including fiber and wavelength
switching, The benefits in fle!ibility and efficiency. however. are potentially great, -iber
usage. which can be low in ring solutions because of the re'uirement for protection fibers
on each ring. can be improved in a mesh design, (rotection and restoration can be based
on shared paths. thereby re'uiring fewer fiber pairs for the same amount of traffic and not
wasting unused wavelengths,
-inally. mesh networ)s will be highly dependent upon software for management, &
protocol based on ultiprotocol 0abel "witching *(0"+ is under development to
support routed paths through an all-optical networ), In addition. networ) management
will re'uire an as-yet unstandardi2ed channel to carry messages among the networ)
elements,
:ractical Considerations in De"loying DWDM
In deploying a DWD-based networ) there are some considerations that will affect one3s
choice of vendor. e'uipment type. design. and so on, "ome of these 'uestions are as
follows8
Is the DWD system compatible with e!isting fiber plantQ
&s discussed in the >#ptical -ibers> section. some types of older fiber are not
suitable for DWD use. while newer types. such as NM-D"-. are optimi2ed for
DWD, "tandard " fiber *F, BE=+. which currently accounts for the ma5ority of
installed fiber. can support DWD in the metropolitan area, If new fiber must be
laid. a type should be chosen that will allow for future growth. particularly as
DWD systems e!pand into new wavelength regions and higher bit rates,
What is my migration and provisioning strategyQ
Because DWD is capable of supporting massive growth in bandwidth demands
over time without for)lift upgrades. it represents a long-term investment, &s
discussed in the >esh Topologies> section. both point-to-point and ring
topologies can serve as foundations for future growth into mesh topologies,
(lanning should allow for fle!ible additions of nodes. such as #&Ds. to meet
the changing demands of customers and usage,
What networ) management tools can I useQ
& comprehensive networ) management tool will be needed for provisioning.
performance monitoring. fault identification and isolation. and remedial action,
"uch a tool should be standards-based *"N(. for e!ample+ and be able to
interoperate with the e!isting operating system,
What is my strategy for protection and restorationQ
Designing a protection strategy is a comple! process that must ta)e into account
many variables, There are hard failures *e'uipment failures. such as laser or
photodetector. and fiber brea)s+ and soft failures such as signal degradation *for
e!ample. unacceptable B$R+, The former must be addressed through redundancy
at the device. component. or fiber level, The latter must be addressed by the
system through intelligent wavelength management, (rotection and survivability
strategies depend upon service type. system. and networ) architectures, In many
networ)s. they also depend on the transport protocol,
Two additional and important considerations are calculation of the optical power budget
and interoperability,
!"tical :ower #udget
#ptical power budgets. or lin) loss budgets. are a critical part of planning an optical
networ), %endors must provide guidelines. or engineering rules. to use for their
e'uipment, In general. there are many factors that can result in optical signal loss, The
most obvious of these is the distance of the fiber itself7 this tends to be the most important
factor in long-haul transport, In &Ns. the number of access nodes. such as #&Ds. is
generally the most significant contributor to optical loss,
The )ey to precise optical power budget calculation is to get an accurate reading on the
fiber using an optical time domain reflectometer *#TDR+, 6sing an #TDR. you can
obtain the following information about a span8
0ength of the fiber
&ttenuation in dB of the whole lin). as well as the attenuation of separate sections
of the fiber *if any+
&ttenuation characteristics of the fiber itself
0ocations of connectors. 5oints. and faults in the cable
The goal in calculating optical loss is to ensure that the total loss does not e!ceed the
span budget, The following are typical values for the main elements in a span8
Connector splice loss9This is ;,= dB if the connectors are modern single-mode
connectors from the same vendor, If the manufacturers of the two connectors
*halves of the connection+ are different. then the average loss is ;,<E dB,
-iber loss9This is about ;,=E dB4)m due to attenuation,
-iber aging9This is about = dB over the life of the system,
Because optical power loss *or gain+ is measured in a logarithmic value. decibels *dBs+.
the combined effect of all contributing elements can be calculated using simple addition,
&ssume a span budget of =E dBm *a dBm is the signal power level in relation to one
milliwatt+. we can ma)e the following addition8
total system loss O *fiber length R,=E+ O fiber aging margin O connector4splice
losses
If the sum is less than =E. then we are within the span budget, If not. then some changes
must be made, This might include adding an amplifier or reducing the number of loss-
inducing elements on the span, -iber conditioning. which includes resplicing fiber.
connector cleaning. and so on. may also be re'uired to reduce loss,
It is also important to ensure that the client side or tributary e'uipment does not overdrive
the local receive laser of the DWD e'uipment, This means that the client or tributary
e'uipment must operate within the specifications of the DWD client interface,
&lthough it is generally not an issue at the distances used in the &N. remember that
optical amplifiers boost the entire input. including noise, Thus over time the signal-to-
noise ratio becomes so high that a clear signal can no longer be detected at the receiving
end, &t this point regenerators must be used to perform the <R functions,
Intero"erability Issues
Because DWD uses specific wavelengths for transmission. the wavelengths used must
be the same on either end of any given connection, Toward this end. the IT6 has
standardi2ed on a grid with spacings of /;; F12 *see Table =-/+, 1owever. vendors may
use wider spacing. sometimes at =;; F12. or narrower, In addition. different vendors
who do use the same grid may not use the same lambda numbering scheme, That is.
lambda / on vendor &3s e'uipment may be assigned a different wavelength from lambda
/ on vendor B3s e'uipment, 1ence. it is important to be aware of the potential
interoperability problems posed by different grid alignments,
#ther interoperability issues include power levels. inter- and intra-channel isolation.
(D tolerances. and fiber types, &ll these contribute to the challenges of transmission
between different systems at
0ayer /,
uture of DWDM
DWD will continue to provide the bandwidth for large amounts of data, In fact. the
capacity of systems will grow as technologies advance that allow closer spacing. and
therefore higher numbers. of wavelengths, But DWD is also moving beyond transport
to become the basis of all-optical networ)ing with wavelength provisioning and mesh-
based protection, "witching at the photonic layer will enable this evolution. as will the
routing protocols that allow light paths to traverse the networ) in much the same way as
virtual circuits do today,
These and other advances are converging such that an all-optical infrastructure can be
envisioned, -igure <-/= shows an e!ample of such an infrastructure. using mesh. ring.
and point-to-point topologies at the optical layer to support the needs of enterprise.
metropolitan access. and metropolitan core networ)s,
igure -('*) Ne.t Generation Metro"olitan !"tical Network
(osted8 Tue Dec /? /=8=@8E= ("T =;;;
Copyright /?@?-=;;;JCisco "ystems Inc,
Table of Contents
DWDM in Metro"olitan $rea Networks
Technologies in the Metro"olitan Market
"#N$T4"D1
&T
Figabit $thernet
I(
-ibre Channel
Dynamic (ac)et Transport
-DDI
"upport for 0egacy Traffic
$""lications and 0er%ices in the M$N
"torage &rea Networ)s
igration from "#N$T4"D1
To"ologies and :rotection 0chemes for DWDM
(oint-to-(oint Topologies
Ring Topologies
esh Topologies
:ractical Considerations in De"loying DWDM
#ptical (ower Budget
Interoperability Issues
uture of DWDM
DWDM in Metro"olitan $rea Networks
The long distances made possible by advances in technologies such as optical amplifiers.
dispersion compensators. and new fiber types. resulted in the initial deployment of
DWD technology in the long-haul transoceanic and terrestrial networ)s, #nce these
technologies became commercially viable in the long-haul mar)et. it was the ne!t logical
step to deploy them in the metropolitan area and. eventually. in the access networ)s using
hybrid architectures of fiber and coa!ial media,
We begin the following discussion by considering the main transport and networ)
technologies used in metropolitan networ)s, We then briefly e!plore some of the
potential applications for DWD in these networ)s and e!amine the topologies that can
be deployed, We continue by e!amining the protection mechanisms and schemes that are
available to ensure reliability. and we conclude with a loo) at the future of optical
networ)ing,
Technologies in the Metro"olitan Market
Numerous technologies for transport and encapsulation of data have been advocated in
the metropolitan mar)et, & characteristic of these networ)s. as noted earlier. is that they
are called upon to support a variety of older and new traffic types and rates, #verall.
however. there is a trend toward using a common optical layer for transporting digital
data,
0!NET20DH
"#N$T4"D1 has been the foundation for &Ns over the last decade. serving as the
fundamental transport layer for both TD-based circuit switched networ) and most
overlay data networ)s, While "#N$T4"D1 has evolved into a very resilient technology.
it remains fairly e!pensive to implement, Inherent inefficiencies in adapting data services
to the voice-optimi2ed hierarchy and an infle!ible multiple!ing hierarchy remain
problematic, ore importantly. capacity scaling limitations9#C-DB@ may be the
practical limit of "#N$T4"D19and unresponsiveness to bursty I( traffic ma)e any
TD-based technology a poor choice for the future,
$TM
any service providers favor &T because it can encapsulate different protocols and
traffic types into a common format for transmission over a "#N$T infrastructure,
eanwhile the data networ)ing world. which is overwhelmingly I(-oriented. favors
pac)et over "#N$T *(#"+. which obviates the costly &T intermediate layer,
&dvancements in I(. combined with the scaling capacity of gigabit and multigigabit
routers. ma)e it possible to envisage an I(-based networ) that is well suited for carrying
primarily data traffic. and secondarily voice,
Nevertheless &T remains strong in the metropolitan area, It can accommodate higher
speed line interfaces and provide managed virtual circuit services while offering traffic
management capabilities, Thus &T edge devices are commonly used to terminate
traffic. including %oI(. D"0. and -rame Relay,
Gigabit Ethernet
Figabit $thernet *F$+ is a proven technology for easy migration from and integration
into traditional $thernet, It is relatively ine!pensive compared to other technologies that
offer the same transmission rate. but does not provide 'uality of service *Po"+ or fault
tolerance on its own, When confined to point-to-point topologies. collisions and carrier
sense multiple access *C"&+ are not of concern. resulting in more effective use of the
full bandwidth, Because the optical physical layer can support much longer distances
than traditional Category E cable. Figabit $thernet over fiber */;;;B&"$-0H. for
e!ample+ can be e!tended into the wide-area realm using DWD,
The latest advancement in $thernet technology. /; Figabit $thernet. is being driven by a
need to interconnect $thernet 0&Ns operating at /;. /;;. or /;;; bps, Ten Figabit
$thernet can be used for aggregating slower access lin)s. in the bac)bone networ)s. and
for W&N access, 6sing /EE;-nm serial lasers. distances of A; to @; )m *=E to E; mi+ are
possible with /; Figabit $thernet over standard " fiber, With such technology. service
providers can build simple $thernet networ)s over dar) fiber without "#N$T or &T
and provision high-speed /;4/;;4/;;; bps services at very low cost, In addition. a very
short reach *%"R+ #C-/?= interface can be used to connect /; Figabit $thernet to
DWD e'uipment over fiber,
$thernet offers the technical advantages of a proven. adaptable. reliable. and
uncomplicated technology, Implementations are standard and interoperable. and cost is
much less than "#N$T or &T, &rchitecturally. $thernet3s advantage is its emerging
potential to serve as a scalable. end-to-end solution, Networ) management can also be
improved by using $thernet across the &N and W&N,
I:
Clearly. as traditional circuit-switched services migrate to I( networ)s and data grows.
networ)s must evolve to accommodate the traffic, 1owever. I( may need to become as
comple! as &T to replace its functionality, Thus. both &T and I( are candidates for
transport directly over DWD, In either case. the result is simplified networ)
infrastructure. lower cost due to fewer networ) elements and less fiber. open interfaces.
increased fle!ibility. and stability, The 'uestion is. in which format will I( travel over an
optical networ)8 I( over &T over "#N$T. I( over "#N$T *as (#"+. or I( over
Figabit $thernet or /; Figabit $thernetQ *"ee -igure <-/,+
igure -(') Data ;ink and Network :rotocols o%er the !"tical ;ayer
ibre Channel
-ibre Channel is the predominant data lin) technology used in storage area networ)s
*"&Ns+, "ee the >"torage &rea Networ)s> section, -ibre Channel is an economical
replacement for the "mall Computer "ystem Interface *"C"I+ protocol as a high-speed
interface for applications such as data bac)up. recovery. and mirroring, -ibre Channel
interfaces are available at /;; Bps today7 =;; Bps interfaces should be available in
the near future. and A;; Bps interfaces are in testing,
Note By convention. transfer rates for storage are specified in megabytes per second
*Bps+,
-ibre Channel comes without the very short distance limitations of "C"I7 it also avoids
the termination restrictions of "C"I because each node acts as an optical repeater, -ibre
Channel can be implemented in a point-to-point. arbitrated loop. or mesh topology using
a switch, &s shown in -igure <-/. -ibre Channel. li)e other protocols. can be carried
directly over the optical layer using DWD,
Dynamic :acket Trans"ort
Dynamic (ac)et Transport *D(T+ is a Cisco protocol that provides an alternative to
"#N$T for more efficient transport of data in ring architectures, D(T supports basic
pac)et processing. fairness. multicasting. Intelligent (rotection "witching *I("+. topology
discovery. &ddress Resolution (rotocol *&R(+. routing. and networ) management, D(T
can run over dar) fiber. "#N$T. or WD,
D(T3s chief advantage over "#N$T is its ability to reuse bandwidth that would have
otherwise been lost, Bandwidth is consumed only on traversed segments. and multiple
nodes can transmit concurrently,
D(T is based on bidirectional counter rotating rings *see -igure <-=+, (ac)ets are
transported on both rings in concatenated payload. while control messages are carried in
the opposite direction from data,
igure -(*) D:T ,ing $rchitecture
DDI
-DDI is at this point a legacy technology, 1aving served a need at one time. it has been
replaced by more advanced technologies, &lthough -DDI is capable of scaling to the
metropolitan area. it is also a shared media technology with a relatively low capacity by
current standards, This limitation. along with falling availability of -DDI interfaces on
networ) e'uipment. is causing -DDI to be replaced by Figabit $thernet. or &T,
Nevertheless. it is also a protocol that can be transparently transported over the optical
layer using DWD,
0u""ort for ;egacy Traffic
In spite of the disproportionate growth of data traffic versus voice. legacy traffic won3t
suddenly vanish, Networ)s must support diverse low speed connections in addition to
newer. higher speed data connection, Thus DWD must be complimented by electrical
*TD4-D+ multiple!ing to ensure efficient use of lightwaves, &t the same time. legacy
traffic must be augmented with high-capacity data transport without impacting efficient
I( transport,
-or I"(s. the situation is different8 &ll of their traffic is I(, I"(s need rapid build-out of
networ)s and favor pac)et-over-lightwave or Figabit $thernet. rather than &T or
"#N$T, #ther re'uirements of this mar)et include load sharing strategies for resilience.
leverage of dar) fiber. and simpler datacom-li)e management,
$""lications and 0er%ices in the M$N
The metropolitan networ) mar)et is being driven by demand for new application services
and the introduction of high speed access, Ta)en together. these forces are creating a
bottlenec) in the &N,
New applications include e-commerce transactions. pac)eti2ed voice. and streaming
multimedia, New services. primarily to the enterprise. include interconnecting and
consolidating data centers. transparent e!tension of the 0&N across the &N by
connecting geographically disparate locations using wavelengths over dar) fiber. a trend
towards "&N architecture. the server-less office. real-time transactions bac)up. and high-
speed disaster recovery, -or service providers. new services include support for access
technologies such as D"0. cable. and wireless *which still re'uires a land-based transport
infrastructure+ and wavelength leasing or wavelength-on-demand,
Two of the most important applications for DWD technology in the &N are in the
areas of "&Ns and "#N$T migration,
0torage $rea Networks
"torage area networ)s *"&Ns+ represent the latest stage in the evolution of mass data
storage for enterprises and other large institutions, In host-centric environments. storage.
as well as applications. was centrali2ed and centrally managed, With the advent of
client4server environments. information that was previously centrali2ed became
distributed across the networ), The management problems created by this
decentrali2ation are addressed in two principal ways8 networ) attached storage *N&"+.
where storage devices are directly attached to the 0&N. and "&Ns,
Composed of servers. storage devices *tapes. dis) arrays+. and networ) devices
*multiple!ers. hubs. routers. switches. and so on+. a "&N constitutes an entirely separate
networ) from the 0&N *see -igure <-<+, &s a separate networ). the "&N can relieve
bottlenec)s in the 0&N by providing the resources for applications such as data
mirroring. transaction processing. and bac)up and restoration,
igure -(-) 0$N $rchitecture
& number of types of interfaces have been used to connect servers to devices in a "&N,
The most prevalent is IB3s $nterprise "ystem C#Nnection *$"C#N+. a /D-Bps half-
duple! protocol over fiber,
-ibre Channel. on which IB3s -IC#N is based. is also fre'uently employed in "&Ns
and has a much higher capacity than $"C#N *see the >-ibre Channel> section,+ Both
technologies. however. have significant distance limitations, -or e!ample. the standard
ma!imum distance without repeaters is around < )m */,? mi+ for half duple! $"C#N and
around /; )m *B,= mi+ for full duple! /;;-Bps -ibre Channel, There is performance
degradation as distances increase beyond these numbers,
This distance limitation can be overcome by transporting data between one or more
enterprise locations and one or more "&Ns over the optical layer using DWD, In
-igure <-A. for e!ample. the distance separating the enterprise location and the "&N sites
can be greatly e!tended, &ccess to the ring is by way of >satellite> #&Ds with -ibre
Channel or $"C#N interfaces at each "&N location *one of these could provide data
mirroring+, These interfaces can also support "ysple! Timer and "ysple! Coupling 0in)
interfaces. used in IB environments for distributing loads across the members of a
server comple!,
igure -(/) 0$N $ccess o%er the !"tical ;ayer
In addition to overcoming distance limitations. DWD can also reduce fiber
re'uirements in "&Ns, Both $"C#N and -IC#N re'uire a pair of fibers for every
channel, By multiple!ing these channels over DWD transport. significant savings can
be reali2ed,
Migration from 0!NET20DH
&s a transport technology. "#N$T is an >agnostic> protocol that can transport all traffic
types. while providing interoperability. protection schemes. networ) management. and
support for a TD hierarchy, &lthough "#N$T may continue to be the interface
standard and transport protocol of choice well into the foreseeable future. upgrading it is
e!pensive. as line-rate specific networ) elements are re'uired at each point of traffic
ingress or egress,
6sing DWD to increase the capacity of embedded fiber. while preserving "#N$T
infrastructure. offers an alternative to e!pensive "#N$T upgrades, igration from
"#N$T to DWD may in fact be the single most important application in the near term,
In general. this migration begins by replacing bac)bones with DWD. then moves
toward the edges of the networ),
In one common scenario. bandwidth on a "#N$T ring can be increased greatly by
replacing "#N$T &Ds with DWD e'uipment, In the e!ample shown in -igure <-E.
there are three options for upgrading the ring8
Replace or upgrade the e'uipment7 for e!ample. from #C-A@ to #C-/?=,
Install a new ring on new or e!isting fiber,
Install one or more new rings by deploying DWD,
igure -(1) Migrating the 0!NET ,ing to DWDM<#efore
The third option is shown in -igure <-B, By using DWD to increase the capacity of the
e!isting ring. one fiber can essentially act as many,
igure -(3) Migrating the 0!NET ,ing to DWDM<irst 0tage
In a second type of scenario. DWD can be used to remove an entire class of e'uipment.
the "#N$T &Ds, This change. which might constitute a second phase of "#N$T
migration. allows routers and other devices to bypass "#N$T e'uipment and interface
directly to DWD. while simplifying traffic from I(4&T4"#N$T to (#" to eventually
I( directly over the optical layer *see -igure <-D+,
igure -(4) Migrating the 0!NET ,ing to DWDM<0econd 0tage
In this phase of migration. end user sites are served by #&Ds rather than "#N$T
&Ds, In this way DWD rings and mesh networ)s can eliminate the increased cost
and comple!ity of introducing more "#N$T elements into the networ) to meet demand,
The advantage here for carriers is the ability to offer bit-rate-independent services.
freeing them from the D"/4D"<4#C-n framewor), "uch a scheme would also allow
enterprise 0&N access to be e!tended across the &N or W&N without a "#N$T
infrastructure,
& further advantage in migrating from "#N$T to the optical layer is that protection and
restoration becomes less susceptible to failure of electronic components7 a common
survivability platform for all networ) services is created. including those without built-in
protection,
To"ologies and :rotection 0chemes for DWDM
Networ) architectures are based on many factors. including types of applications and
protocols. distances. usage and access patterns. and legacy networ) topologies, In the
metropolitan mar)et. for e!ample. point-to-point topologies might be used for connecting
enterprise locations. ring topologies for connecting inter-office facilities *I#-s+ and for
residential access. and mesh topologies might be used for inter-(#( connections and
connections to the long-haul bac)bone, In effect. the optical layer must be capable of
supporting many topologies and. because of unpredictable developments in this area.
those topologies must be fle!ible,
Today. the main topologies in deployment are point-to-point and ring, With point-to-
point lin)s over DWD between large enterprise sites. there needs only to be a customer
premise device for converting application traffic to specific wavelengths and
multiple!ing, Carriers with linear-ring topologies can evolve toward full rings based on
#&Ds, &s configurable optical cross-connects and switches become more common.
these point-to-point and ring networ)s will be interconnected into meshes. transforming
optical metropolitan networ)s into fully fle!ible platforms,
:oint(to(:oint To"ologies
(oint-to-point topologies can be implemented with or without #&D, These networ)s
are characteri2ed by ultra-high channel speeds */; to A; Fbps+. high signal integrity and
reliability. and fast path restoration, In long-haul networ)s. the distance between
transmitter and receiver can be several hundred )ilometers. and the number of amplifiers
re'uired between endpoints is typically less than /;, In the &N. amplifiers are often not
needed,
(rotection in point-to-point topologies can be provided in a couple of ways, In first
generation e'uipment. redundancy is at the system level, (arallel lin)s connect redundant
systems at either end, "witchover in case of failure is the responsibility of the client
e'uipment *a switch or router. for e!ample+. while the DWD systems themselves 5ust
provide capacity,
In second generation e'uipment. redundancy is at the card level, (arallel lin)s connect
single systems at either end that contain redundant transponders. multiple!ers. and C(6s,
1ere protection has migrated to the DWD e'uipment. with switching decisions under
local control, #ne type of implementation. for e!ample. uses a / O / protection scheme
based on "#N$T &utomatic (rotection "witching *&("+, "ee -igure <-@,
igure -(5) :oint(to(:oint $rchitecture
,ing To"ologies
Rings are the most common architecture found in metropolitan areas and span a few tens
of )ilometers, The fiber ring might contain as few as four wavelength channels. and
typically fewer nodes than channels, Bit rate is in the range of B== bps to /; Fbps per
channel,
Ring configurations can be deployed with one or more DWD systems. supporting any-
to-any traffic. or they can have a hub station and one or more #&D nodes. or satellites
*see -igure <-?+, &t the hub node traffic originates. is terminated and managed. and
connectivity with other networ)s is established, &t the #&D nodes. one or more
wavelengths is dropped off and added. while the others pass through transparently
*e!press channels+, In this way. ring architectures allow nodes on the ring to provide
access to networ) elements such as routers. switches. or servers by adding or dropping
wavelength channels in the optical domain, With increase in number of #&Ds.
however. the signal is sub5ect to loss and amplification can be re'uired,
igure -(6) DWDM Hub and 0atellite ,ing $rchitecture
Candidate networ)s for DWD application in the metropolitan area are often already
based on "#N$T ring structures with / O / fiber protection, Thus protection schemes
such as path protection *path protection+ or Bidirectional 0ine "witched Ring *B0"R+ can
be reused for DWD implementations,-igure <-/; shows a path protection scheme with
two fibers, 1ere. hub and nodes send on two counter-rotating rings. but the same fiber is
normally being used by all e'uipment to receive the signal7 hence the name
unidirectional, If the wor)ing ring should fail. the receiving e'uipment switches to the
other pair, &lthough this provides full redundancy to the path. no bandwidth reuse is
possible. as the redundant fiber must always be ready to carry the wor)ing traffic, This
scheme is most commonly used in access networ)s,
igure -('8) 9:0, :rotection on a DWDM ,ing
#ther protection schemes. such as Bidirectional 0ine "witched Ring *B0"R+. allow
traffic to travel from the sending to the receiving node by the most direct route, Because
of this. B0"R is considered preferable for core "#N$T networ)s. especially when
implemented with four fibers. which offers complete redundancy,
Mesh To"ologies
esh architectures are the future of optical networ)s, &s networ)s evolve. rings and
point-to-point architectures will still have a place. but mesh will be the most robust
topology, This development will be enabled by the introduction of configurable optical
cross-connects and switches that will in some cases replace and in other cases supplement
fi!ed DWD devices,
-rom a design standpoint. there is a graceful evolutionary path available from point-to-
point to mesh topologies, By beginning with point-to-point lin)s. e'uipped with #&D
nodes at the outset for fle!ibility. and subse'uently interconnecting them. the networ)
can evolve into a mesh without a complete redesign, &dditionally. mesh and ring
topologies can be 5oined by point-to-point lin)s *see -igure <-//+,
igure -('') MeshA :oint(to(:ointA and ,ing $rchitectures
DWD mesh networ)s. consisting of interconnected all-optical nodes. will re'uire the
ne!t generation of protection, Where previous protection schemes relied upon
redundancy at the system. card. or fiber level. redundancy will now migrate to the
wavelength level, This means. among other things. that a data channel might change
wavelengths as it ma)es its way through the networ). due either to routing or to a switch
in wavelength because of a fault, The situation is analogous to that of a virtual circuit
through an &T cloud. which can e!perience changes in its virtual path identifier
*%(I+4virtual channel identifier *%CI+ values at switching points, In optical networ)s. this
concept is sometimes called a light path,
esh networ)s will therefore re'uire a high degree of intelligence to perform the
functions of protection and bandwidth management. including fiber and wavelength
switching, The benefits in fle!ibility and efficiency. however. are potentially great, -iber
usage. which can be low in ring solutions because of the re'uirement for protection fibers
on each ring. can be improved in a mesh design, (rotection and restoration can be based
on shared paths. thereby re'uiring fewer fiber pairs for the same amount of traffic and not
wasting unused wavelengths,
-inally. mesh networ)s will be highly dependent upon software for management, &
protocol based on ultiprotocol 0abel "witching *(0"+ is under development to
support routed paths through an all-optical networ), In addition. networ) management
will re'uire an as-yet unstandardi2ed channel to carry messages among the networ)
elements,
:ractical Considerations in De"loying DWDM
In deploying a DWD-based networ) there are some considerations that will affect one3s
choice of vendor. e'uipment type. design. and so on, "ome of these 'uestions are as
follows8
Is the DWD system compatible with e!isting fiber plantQ
&s discussed in the >#ptical -ibers> section. some types of older fiber are not
suitable for DWD use. while newer types. such as NM-D"-. are optimi2ed for
DWD, "tandard " fiber *F, BE=+. which currently accounts for the ma5ority of
installed fiber. can support DWD in the metropolitan area, If new fiber must be
laid. a type should be chosen that will allow for future growth. particularly as
DWD systems e!pand into new wavelength regions and higher bit rates,
What is my migration and provisioning strategyQ
Because DWD is capable of supporting massive growth in bandwidth demands
over time without for)lift upgrades. it represents a long-term investment, &s
discussed in the >esh Topologies> section. both point-to-point and ring
topologies can serve as foundations for future growth into mesh topologies,
(lanning should allow for fle!ible additions of nodes. such as #&Ds. to meet
the changing demands of customers and usage,
What networ) management tools can I useQ
& comprehensive networ) management tool will be needed for provisioning.
performance monitoring. fault identification and isolation. and remedial action,
"uch a tool should be standards-based *"N(. for e!ample+ and be able to
interoperate with the e!isting operating system,
What is my strategy for protection and restorationQ
Designing a protection strategy is a comple! process that must ta)e into account
many variables, There are hard failures *e'uipment failures. such as laser or
photodetector. and fiber brea)s+ and soft failures such as signal degradation *for
e!ample. unacceptable B$R+, The former must be addressed through redundancy
at the device. component. or fiber level, The latter must be addressed by the
system through intelligent wavelength management, (rotection and survivability
strategies depend upon service type. system. and networ) architectures, In many
networ)s. they also depend on the transport protocol,
Two additional and important considerations are calculation of the optical power budget
and interoperability,
!"tical :ower #udget
#ptical power budgets. or lin) loss budgets. are a critical part of planning an optical
networ), %endors must provide guidelines. or engineering rules. to use for their
e'uipment, In general. there are many factors that can result in optical signal loss, The
most obvious of these is the distance of the fiber itself7 this tends to be the most important
factor in long-haul transport, In &Ns. the number of access nodes. such as #&Ds. is
generally the most significant contributor to optical loss,
The )ey to precise optical power budget calculation is to get an accurate reading on the
fiber using an optical time domain reflectometer *#TDR+, 6sing an #TDR. you can
obtain the following information about a span8
0ength of the fiber
&ttenuation in dB of the whole lin). as well as the attenuation of separate sections
of the fiber *if any+
&ttenuation characteristics of the fiber itself
0ocations of connectors. 5oints. and faults in the cable
The goal in calculating optical loss is to ensure that the total loss does not e!ceed the
span budget, The following are typical values for the main elements in a span8
Connector splice loss9This is ;,= dB if the connectors are modern single-mode
connectors from the same vendor, If the manufacturers of the two connectors
*halves of the connection+ are different. then the average loss is ;,<E dB,
-iber loss9This is about ;,=E dB4)m due to attenuation,
-iber aging9This is about = dB over the life of the system,
Because optical power loss *or gain+ is measured in a logarithmic value. decibels *dBs+.
the combined effect of all contributing elements can be calculated using simple addition,
&ssume a span budget of =E dBm *a dBm is the signal power level in relation to one
milliwatt+. we can ma)e the following addition8
total system loss O *fiber length R,=E+ O fiber aging margin O connector4splice
losses
If the sum is less than =E. then we are within the span budget, If not. then some changes
must be made, This might include adding an amplifier or reducing the number of loss-
inducing elements on the span, -iber conditioning. which includes resplicing fiber.
connector cleaning. and so on. may also be re'uired to reduce loss,
It is also important to ensure that the client side or tributary e'uipment does not overdrive
the local receive laser of the DWD e'uipment, This means that the client or tributary
e'uipment must operate within the specifications of the DWD client interface,
&lthough it is generally not an issue at the distances used in the &N. remember that
optical amplifiers boost the entire input. including noise, Thus over time the signal-to-
noise ratio becomes so high that a clear signal can no longer be detected at the receiving
end, &t this point regenerators must be used to perform the <R functions,
Intero"erability Issues
Because DWD uses specific wavelengths for transmission. the wavelengths used must
be the same on either end of any given connection, Toward this end. the IT6 has
standardi2ed on a grid with spacings of /;; F12 *see Table =-/+, 1owever. vendors may
use wider spacing. sometimes at =;; F12. or narrower, In addition. different vendors
who do use the same grid may not use the same lambda numbering scheme, That is.
lambda / on vendor &3s e'uipment may be assigned a different wavelength from lambda
/ on vendor B3s e'uipment, 1ence. it is important to be aware of the potential
interoperability problems posed by different grid alignments,
#ther interoperability issues include power levels. inter- and intra-channel isolation.
(D tolerances. and fiber types, &ll these contribute to the challenges of transmission
between different systems at
0ayer /,
uture of DWDM
DWD will continue to provide the bandwidth for large amounts of data, In fact. the
capacity of systems will grow as technologies advance that allow closer spacing. and
therefore higher numbers. of wavelengths, But DWD is also moving beyond transport
to become the basis of all-optical networ)ing with wavelength provisioning and mesh-
based protection, "witching at the photonic layer will enable this evolution. as will the
routing protocols that allow light paths to traverse the networ) in much the same way as
virtual circuits do today,
These and other advances are converging such that an all-optical infrastructure can be
envisioned, -igure <-/= shows an e!ample of such an infrastructure. using mesh. ring.
and point-to-point topologies at the optical layer to support the needs of enterprise.
metropolitan access. and metropolitan core networ)s,
igure -('*) Ne.t Generation Metro"olitan !"tical Network
(osted8 Tue Dec /? /=8=@8E= ("T =;;;
Copyright /?@?-=;;;JCisco "ystems Inc,