Consumer electronics

Transcription

Issue 1 | September 2013
Consumer electronics:
the next frontier for optical communications?
p12
The Year in 12 Stories p8
Is silicon photonics an industry game-changer? p14
Guiding Europe through the FTTH funding maze p16
The dawn of collaborative multi-layer networking p18
Space division multiplexed systems using few mode fibre p20
European industry, are we ready! p22
Evolution of signal quality analyzers to multilevel signal generation p24
100G makes waves in the metro p26
Spectral manipulation and analysis for advanced optical communications systems p28
Software-defined optical networks p29
Reducing operating expense in fibre access networks p30
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heart of Silicon Valley where you know you’ll be in the
center of all of the high tech action, to manufacturing
Visit Finisar at
ECOC Booth #203
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Contents
In this issue
ECOC 2013 Exhibition
Official Sponsors
Message from the Sponsor
Industry News
4-6
The Year in 12 Stories
ECOC Exhibition 2013
Official Media Partners
®
™
®
™
4
8
Consumer electronics: the next frontier for optical communications?
By Pauline Rigby
12
Is silicon photonics an industry game-changer?
By Roy Rubenstein, Gazettabyte
14
Guiding Europe through the FTTH funding maze
By Hartwig Tauber, FTTH
16
The dawn of collaborative multi-layer networking
By Ori Gerstel, CISCO
18
Space division multiplexed systems using few mode fibre - EU project MODE-GAP
By Dr Ian Giles, MODE-GAP
20
European industry, are we ready!
By Carlos Lee, EPIC
22
Evolution of signal quality analyzers to multilevel signal generation
By Alessandro Messina, Anritsu
24
100G makes waves in the metro
By Pauline Rigby
26
Spectral manipulation and analysis for advanced optical communication systems
By Simon Poole, Finisar
28
Software-defined optical networks
- Transforming the optical Layer into a programmable resource
By Jorg-Peter Elbers, ADVA
29
Reducing operating expense in fibre access networks
By Max Penfold, UTEL
30
Optical Connections is published by
Endorsed by
NEXUS MEDIA EVENTS LTD
Suite 5, Building 60, Churchill Square, Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent ME19 4YU United Kingdom
t: +44 (0) 1732 752 125 | f: +44 (0) 1732 752 130
Optical Connections 2013 | www.opticalconnectionsnews.com | 3
Sponsored by:
Message from Sponsor
Message from the Sponsor
Anritsu are once again focusing on ECOC as the major European Optics Exhibition, and honoured to
continuously be one of the sponsors of the show. In 2013 we continue to see technology convergence
of the Telecomms Industry and the Computing Industry, with common push to innovation.
By Alessandro Messina
W
hile investigating new
solutions to move beyond
the 100Gbps transmission
rate, all of the Industry big players
and Standardization Committees,
and also the technology evolution,
are now focusing not only on speed
increase but also, and with apparent
higher priority, on reduced power
consumption, size and cost, for any
next to come networking solution.
Three technologies are involved
and directly influencing the
chances for the Information and
Telecommunication Industry to
be able to move forward with a
greener, more efficient, and higher
speed networking system: Silicon
Photonics, Integrated Optics and
Modulation Techniques. Most of the
big players in network equipment,
and new players from the Silicon
Industry, are now investing in
researching these areas, and
building roadmaps to a future
of lower power consumption,
increased integration allowing
more transmission ports in less
space, and reduced costs. In the
Test and Measurement arena, this
evolution requires new intelligent
test solutions to support research,
development, production and
deployment operations.
Anritsu recently renewed and
improved its most representative
and leading R&D test platform, the
MP1800 Signal Quality Analyser,
adding new intelligent features,
such as Automatic Emphasis
configuration, Jitter Analysis with J2/
J9, Pulse Amplitude Modulations,
High
Speed
Multichannel
Synchronous Transmission for
testing complex modulations, thus
supporting advanced research
for high transmission speeds, at
and beyond 400Gbps. Many key
customers, working with Silicon
Photonics, very high speed signals,
and in the Data Centers and Storage
world, have adopted MP1800 as
their reference test solution.
In the 100Gbps market segment,
Network links deployment has now
started, and Anritsu’s MD1260A
40/100GE Analyzer provides a
market unique Synchronous MultiUnit testing solution which allows
easy and exhaustive network load
simulation and testing, including
support for MPLS-TP, IPv4 and IPv6,
Sweep Ping, ARP/GARP and FEC/
GMP Analysis
While looking forward to the
next generation of higher speed
equipment, Operators, Carriers and
ISPs are all investing in bringing
fibers and high speed access to the
end users. Finally, large investment
plans are being established or
already in place for more optical
fibers deployments.
Same
as
in
R&D
and
Manufacturing, in the area of Optical
Fibre Networks, PONs and FTTx
services, Test and Measurement
companies are required to bring
not only technical improvements
but also intelligence in each
test solution, to ease the job for
engineers in field.
For this purpose, Anritsu is glad to
show a range of new test solutions:
• Wifi and Bluetooth connectivity,
and Automatic Macrobend Test
Function, on the “micro-OTDR”
series, with exclusive PON
Selective Power Meter, as part of
the revolutionary Network Master
platform
• The “just released - first time
on show” new Automated
Connector Graphical Analysis
Function, based on IEC 613003-35 standard
• The “just released - first time on
show” new Fiber Visualizer Tool
on the Access Master OTDR
• The “just released - first time on
show” new 1490nm wavelength
testing in Triple and Quad
wavelengths modules for the
Access Master OTDR
All these solutions have been
developed to help and support
Operators and Installers who are
concerned about ROI, and to reduce
installation and maintenance costs
of optical fibre networks.
Alessandro Messina
EMEA Wireline Marketing
& Business Development
Director, Anritsu
INDUSTRY NEWS
Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute
and ID Photonics enhance modular
multi-terabit solution
Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute’s
and ID Photonics’ Multi-Terabit test
solution for multi-format, flexi-grid
and flexi-rate optical transport
systems now provides a sampling
speed of up to 70 GSa/s enabling
data rates beyond 320 Gbit/s
per carrier. The modular test
solution provides researchers and
engineers a comprehensive way
to design and test future ultra-high
capacity network architectures with
more than 64 Tbit/s for the coherent
transmission era using various
modulation formats and channel
configurations with unsurpassed
ease of operation. The multi-Terabit
solution consists of intuitively
programmable 34 GSa/s and/
or 70 GSa/s arbitrary waveform
generators and an optical multiformat transmitter that enables a
flexible generation of optical data
signals with various modulation
formats (PSK, QPSK, 16-QAM,
etc.) for more than 320 Gbit/s per
carrier when using 16-QAM. The
multi-format transmitter includes
electrical driver amplifiers and a
high-bandwidth dual polarization
IQ-modulator as well as a predistortion to compensate for
impairments caused by the highspeed electrical-to-optical signal
conversion. Its unique capability to
synchronize multiple AWG channels
4 | Optical Connections 2013 | www.opticalconnectionsnews.com |
and a waveform memory
of 16 Mbit allows generating
realistic transmission scenarios
required for future network designs.
ID Photonics versatile carrier comb
generator provides up to 200
DWDM channels and consists
of narrow line-width tunable
lasers optimized for coherent
transmission. On that basis, the
platform allows for generation of
multi-Terabit/s test signals (more
than 64 Tbit/s when fully equipped)
using different modulation formats,
carrier spacings and wavelength
bands in a very flexible way by just
a few mouse clicks. The modular
design of pluggable tunable laser
units with an industryleading portfolio of chassis variants
adapts to customer’s needs and
easily allows extension of existing
installations.
We cordially invite you to
find out more about our latest
developments at the ECOC 2013.
Meet us at our booths 205-321 in
London, September 22 – 26 this
year to discuss your testing needs
and requirements with our experts.
For more information, please see
www.hhi.fraunhofer.de/pn
The Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz
Institute also presents the latest
PolyBoard tool box at ECOC 2013.
Sponsored by:
Industry News
Molex VITA 66.1 optical MT backplane interconnect
system simplifies VPX-architecture
M
olex VITA 66.1 ruggedised
optical MT backplane
interconnect solution for
high-density aerospace, defence
and
commercial
embedded
system applications is fully
compliant with the ANSI-ratified
66.1 specification. The system
meets the defined requirements
outlined by VITA 66.0 for blind
mate fibre optic interconnects
used with VITA 46 backplanes and
plug-in modules. Available with
8, 12 or 24 fibres in standard
singlemode or multimode
and VersaBeam™
(expanded beam)
MT ferrule options
for design flexibility,
it features a robust aluminium
housing to withstand extreme
temperature ranges (-50 to +105
°C), as well as shock and vibration
environments.
The anodized
aluminiumbased
housings
provide a rugged solution for use in
the designated VPX card space as
determined by the standard, or can
be used as a stand-alone solution
outside of the VPX architecture.
Visit Molex on Stand 221
Ultra high resolution Optical Spectrum Analyzer (OSA)
APEX Technologies offers the
highest resolution OSA in the
market.
With 500 times better
wavelength bandwidth
resolution than the
best standard grating
based OSA, this
equipment combines
high
wavelength
bandwidth resolution
0.04 pm (5 MHz),
high wavelength accuracy +/- 3
pm and high dynamic range 83
dB. Two internal channels allow the
measurement and display of both
polarization axes simultaneously.
The user can also operate this
OSA as an independent high
performance tunable laser source
or as a component analyzer to
characterize any optical active or
passive component.
Visit Apex on Stand 430
LC compact Push Pull uniboot connector
Sanwa LC Push Pull Connectors
offer the easiest installation and
removal in the industry. When using
this uniquely designed connector,
there is never a reason to leave any
additional space at top or bottom of
the connector to allow for room to
push down on its latch. Instead, the
structure of LC Push Pull is designed
so that the latch can be slid back,
instead of being pushed down, to
facilitate smooth removal. Similarly,
this connector is installed by simply
pushing it into the adapter.
This space-saving installationremoval process enables the
highest density panel design ever,
and LC Push Pull connectors can
be used to minimize overall panel
size.
2.0mm/3.0mm versions are
available, in a choice of standard
and short length boot. SM/MM/
APC versions are
also optionally
available.
Actual samples are available at
Sanwa booth at #620.
More new products information
can be also seen at our new
website www.sanwa-us.com
a function of time. Furthermore,
the OCSA it can display
constellation, phase and intensity
eye diagrams, EVM, and BER
estimation.
The OCSA has no modulation
format and bit rate limitations,
it combines an ultra high
wavelength bandwidth resolution
(5 MHz) and temporal resolution
(75 fs). Visit Apex on Stand 430
Tektronix unveils next
generation high
performance AWG series
Tektronix, Inc., a leading worldwide
provider of test, measurement and
monitoring instrumentation, has
launched its next generation of
arbitrary waveform generators that
offer up to 50 GS/s sample rate
performance. With the industry’s
best combination of high sample
rate (50GS/s), long waveform
memory (16 GS) and deep dynamic
range (10 bit vertical resolution),
the new AWG70000 Series supports
a wide range of demanding signal
generation requirements in defence
electronics, high-speed serial,
optical networking and advanced
research applications.
ProLabs releases details
of two new cables
A QSFP 40G passive cable, compatible with Cisco, Force10, Extreme and
Enterasys, has been introduced to
complement the recently announced
QSFP 40G SR4 transceiver.
In addition, an XFP active cable
for connecting switches over short
distances within the data centre has
been developed.
Both cables are ready to order and
come in a range of standard and
bespoke lengths. As with all ProLabs’
component based accessories,
the cables are manufactured in
accordance with industry standards,
come with lifetime warranties and
CapEx savings of up to 70%.
TeraXion launches new
sub-band chromatic
dispersion emulator
Optical Complex Spectrum Analyzer (OCSA)
APEX Technologies OCSA can
be used as an optical modulation
analyzer and as an ultra high
resolution
optical
spectrum
analyzer.
The OCSA can measure the
intensity and the phase variations
as a function of frequency. This
information can then be used to
calculate and display chirp, phase,
alpha parameter or pulse shape as
NEWS IN BRIEF
Already popular in a multichannel
version for coherent systems testing
and R&D labs, this chromatic
dispersion emulator is now
available in higher than 425 GHz
continuous bandwidth allowing DSP
managing capability testing of wide
100 Gb/s and above signals. The
ClearSpectrumTM-CDE emulates
tens of thousands of ps/nm in a
compact unit while maintaining
a very low insertion loss. It can
be cascaded several times to
achieve dispersion levels as high
as transpacific link equivalents (12
000km). It is the best alternative
to using fiber spools with 10 time
lower losses and a 20 times smaller
required rack space.
| Optical Connections 2013 | www.opticalconnectionsnews.com | 5
Sponsored by:
Industry News
Clean room production of cable assemblies:
A move towards a higher-bandwidth World
10, 40, 100? Someone somewhere
is going for higher and higher
bandwidth.
The
possibilities
these very high-speed networks
offer are huge, however like all
consumer services they will be
covered by binding quality of
service guarantees. One of the
implications of this is that network
component performance needs
to rise to meet the challenge and
Kamaxoptic Communication as
always is working hard to provide
a competitive solution for you to
offer your clients.
Current standard practices for the
mass-manufacturing of passive
components, especially those
such as pigtails and patchcords,
need to be brought into line
with the demands imposed by
the coming 100Gb regimes.
Kamaxoptic
Communication
is working towards this new,
very-high-speed
world.
We
ultrasonically clean the ferrule and
pay special attention to cleaning
the fibre before insertion. For
obvious reasons this has a clear
impact on product performance
but we are going further.
Even slight contamination will
occasionally mean that the epoxy
is not always in complete contact
with the ferrule. Temperature
and humidity fluctuations will
minutely pull and push the fiber
over the life of the product with
the risk of causing unpredictable,
slight changes in fiber height.
To minimize this we have built a
clean room production line at our
factory in Shenzhen. Capacity
is currently at 6000
terminations per day
and growing.
Another added benefit to
ordering product from this highend production is that there is no
need to
clean
the
end face before
installing
in
the
network which saves in
on site time and materials.
Contact us now for more details
on this or any other enquiry or
better yet visit us at booth 219
where we will be delighted to
speak to you personally.
FCI: Keeping The World Up To Pace
FCI is a global manufacturer
and leading supplier of industry
standard and application specific
cable assemblies. We proudly
offer a wide range of cable
products designed to support
the transmission of high-speed
electrical and optical signals, as
well as power. FCI cable assembly
design and manufacturing uses
state-of-the-art equipment and
electrical & optical design expertise
to offer customers reliable valueadded solutions. Our copper and
Active Optical Cables, or AOCs,
provide optimum link performance,
high reliability, inter-operability and
ease of installation. Our cable
assemblies are designed to meet
applicable industry standards
(i.e. SFF standards) as well as
assure full compliance to various
signalling protocols such as
InfiniBand, FibreChannel, Ethernet,
SAS, SATA, and PCIe standards
This year at the 2013 ECOC
Exhibition
in
London,
FCI
Electronics continues its tradition
of introducing the latest optical
technologies and developments
to the optical design community.
Several new technologies offering
cost-effective
solutions
for
customers’ backplane and optical
interconnect requirements, will be
on display.
We
will
conduct
product
demonstrations for On-board
Optical Transceivers (OBT), which
are designed to minimize the
amount of PCB real estate required,
whilst taking into account ease of
application and removal or repair.
A fully functional optical backplane,
running at 10Gb/s per channel,
that allows for multi-channel
transmission through a backplane
with up to 12 embedded optical
waveguides per connector, as well
as our latest developments on
front panel input/output connector
solutions. The optical interface
is an FCI internally developed
molded lens based system that
allows for an accurate and reliable
waveguide interface.
We will also showcase our optical
interconnect, optical transceiver,
optical couplers & splitters and SAS
connectors. Providing complete,
cost-effective solutions that meet
telecom, industrial and datacom
requirements, our optical product
portfolio and cable assembly
solutions compliment its broad
offering of optical connectors and
cable assemblies.
So come and visit us at the ECOC
2013 show booth 128 to learn
more about our extensive range
of optical interconnect solutions.
For more information, please visit
cable.fci.com or contact us at
[email protected]
Fujikura Europe launches lower cost splicing
devices at ECOC 2013 – the 19S and 19R
Fujikura will launch two new
fusion splicers at this year’s
ECOC. Alongside its full range
of hardware for networking
the latest 19S and 19R will be
exhibited for the first time. The
19S has been developed to be
a lower cost alternative to the
bestselling 70S fusion splicer
which was launched earlier this
year, featuring a shrink time of
only 14 seconds. The 19R is a
four-fibre ribbon fusion splicer
benefiting from a new design
which streamlines the steps
required to complete splices,
resulting in greater productivity.
Visit Fujikura on Stand 259
We invite
you to visit
us at booth
307 / 311!
70 GSa/s ARBITRARY WAVEFORM GENERATOR
Two Time-Interleaved 35 GSa/s DACs
World’s Fastest
Programmable Arbitrary
Waveform Generator
Sampling rate up to 70 GSa/s
18 GHz analogue bandwidth
High output power > 14 dBm
2 x 2,7 million samples with
6 bit resolution freely
programmable
Precoding and preemphasis
included in software
70
GSa/
s
Powered by
Nyquist pulse shaping for
rectangular spectrum
generation
Generation of wideband
signals up to 50 GBd
www.hhi.fraunhofer.de/70awg
25G / 56G / 70G EAM-DFB-LASERS
Wavelengths O-band:
1295 nm...1310 nm
Wavelengths C-band:
1530 nm...1565 nm
Drive voltage Vpp = 2V..3V
Modulated output power
Pout > 2 dBm
3-dB bandwidth > 30 GHz
Compliant with
IEEE-100GBASE-LR4 / -ER4
Suitable for PAM-4 modulation
Integrated 50 Ohm termination
25 Gbit/s
56 Gbit/s
70 Gbit/s
www.hhi.fraunhofer.de/DFB-Lasers
Sponsored by:
September 2012
Calix buys FTTH product line from Ericsson
O
ptical access vendor Calix
has signed two agreements
with Ericsson that will boost
its position in the FTTH market.
The US company has agreed
to purchase the fiber access
assets from the Swedish firm; a
global reseller agreement was
also signed under which Calix
will become Ericsson’s preferred
global partner for broadband
access applications.
The two companies did not
disclose financial details.
Calix has been exploring
acquisition deals for a while.
“We’ve been looking for a partner
for some time and in order for us
to growth internationally, in order
for us to growth particularly at
the Tier One accounts,” Michael
Ashby, Calix’s chief financial
officer, told the Deutsche Bank
Technology Conference on 11
September.
The US vendor did look at the
Nokia Siemens Networks deal
and decided that it wasn’t the
right partnership, he added. That
business was sold to Adtran.
For Ericsson, the deal allows
the company to focus on core
products without abandoning its
existing portfolio or customers.
“We believe that this partnership
will provide our existing fiber
access customers with worldclass support and maintenance,
and an expanded portfolio of
access systems and software
from a leading company totally
focused on access,” said Jan
Häglund, vice president and head
of product area IP and broadband
at Ericsson.
Calix expects the deal to close
in October, after which it would
add to its adjusted earnings.
Calix also expects to see its
headcount increase as it takes
on 61 employees from Ericsson’s
fibre access division.
October 2012
ZTE boasts new 400G transmission record
Z
TE claims to have set a new
world record for 400G highspeed optical transmission
based on single-carrier DWDM.
The Chinese vendor presented a
paper about its work at ECOC in
Amsterdam.
In
the
experiment,
ZTE
successfully
transmitted
40
channels, each carrying 400Gbps,
over
2800km
of
standard
singlemode fibre arranged in
35 spans, with 80 km per span.
The previous distance record for
single-carrier 400G transmission
was 1200km, and relied on nonstandard types of optical fibre as
well as Raman amplification.
Optical vendors and carriers are
investigating 400Gbps as a way to
increase channel rate and overall
system capacity. Single-carrier
transmission has advantages over
multi-carrier schemes because
it has simple transmitting and
receiving structures and is easier
to manage, according to the
Chinese vendor.
ZTE also points out that the
modulation scheme that it used –
polarization-division multiplexing
quadrature phase-shift keying
(PDM-QPSK) – is a well-developed
scheme that benefits from acute
receiver sensitivity, which makes
it possible to employ standard
singlemode fibres and ordinary
erbium-doped fibre amplifiers
to achieve ultra-long-distance
system transmission. That means
no need for major modifications to
the installed fibre base.
“The experiment demonstrates
the feasibility of deploying
wavelengths beyond 100G over
the current fibre transmission
system,” said ZTE in its press
release.
The
single-carrier
system
reaches 108 Gbaud, which the
company claims is the highest
symbol rate in the industry. It will
be a number of years before the
electronics needed to generate
such high-speed signals becomes
generally available, however, so
the researchers used optical timedivision multiplexing (OTDM) to
generate the data signal.
ZTE is clearly aiming to associate
its
name
with
high-speed
transmission. The Chinese vendor
says it had a prototype 1Tbps
DWDM as early as July 2011, and
that during 2012 it has released
seven versions of 400G/1T DWDM
prototype equipment targeting a
variety of network applications
November 2012
Cisco’s CPAK set to challenge the CFP2
I
n recent months Cisco Systems
has been talking about its
upcoming proprietary 100G
optical module, dubbed CPAK.
The development is expected to
reduce the market opportunity
for the CFP2 multi-source
agreement (MSA) and has
caused disquiet in the industry.
“The CFP2 has been a bit slow
– the MSA has taken longer than
people expected – so Cisco
announcing CPAK has frightened
a few people,” said Paul Brooks,
director for JDSU’s high speed
transport test portfolio.
The CPAK module, smaller
than the CFP2 MSA and three
quarters its volume, has not been
officially released and Cisco will
not comment on the design, but
the CPAK has been detailed in
the company’s presentations.
The CPAK is the first example
of Cisco’s module design
capability following its acquisition
of silicon photonics player
Lightwire. In addition, Cisco
previously acquired CoreOptics,
a developer of digital signal
processing
for
high-speed
optical transponders in 2010.
The development of the module
highlights how the acquisition
of core technology can give an
equipment maker the ability to
develop proprietary interfaces
that promise costs savings and
differentiation.
The development also raises
a question mark regarding the
CFP2 and the merit of MSAs when
a potential leading customer of
the CFP2 chooses to use its own
design. But industry analysts do
not believe it undermines the
CFP2 MSA market.
“I believe there is business
for the CFP2,” said Daryl
Inniss, practice leader, Ovum
Components. “Cisco is shooting
for a solution that has some
staying power. The CFP2 is too
large and the power consumption
too high while the CFP4 is too
small and will take too long to
get to market; CPAK is a great
compromise.”
Vladimir Kozlov, CEO of market
research firm, LightCounting,
is not surprised by the
development.
“Cisco
could
use more proprietary parts and
technologies to compete with
Huawei over the next decade,”
he said. “From a transceiver
vendor perspective, custommade products are often more
profitable than standard ones;
unless Cisco will make everything
in house, which is unlikely, it is
not bad news.”
Sponsored by:
December 2012
Point topic: Europe halfway to digital heaven?
O
ne of the European Union’s
most ambitious targets is to
make sure that all its citizens
can get access to superfast
broadband at home by 2020. A
new study by Point Topic shows
that Europe is now halfway towards
achieving that aim.
The study has been produced
for DG Connect, the department
of the European Commission
responsible for its “Digital
Agenda” strategy. The purpose of
the Digital Agenda is to harness
the internet and other digital
technologies to drive sustainable
economic growth.
“This study gives us the best
view so far of where action is
needed on broadband coverage,”
said Neelie Kroes, vice president
of the European Commission
responsible for the Digital Agenda.
“It will help to guide decisions on
where EU and private money can
be invested to provide the best
long-term return for taxpayers and
investors such as pension funds.”
Entitled Broadband Coverage in
Europe in 2011, the study shows
that almost 96% of the homes
in Europe have access to basic
broadband, defined as services
offering at least 144kbps. More
than half of homes can already get
superfast broadband, providing
speeds of at least 30Mbps.
Basic broadband is fairly
widespread now says Point Topic;
only three EU countries have less
than 90% coverage. But there are
huge variations in availability of
superfast broadband. Three EU
countries (the Netherlands, Belgium
and Malta) have over 98%; three
others (Italy, Greece and Cyprus)
have less than 11%. All the rest
are in the range between 35% and
75%. There are also large variations
within countries. For example, rural
areas across Europe as a whole
are estimated to have only 12%
superfast broadband coverage.
The study also shows which
competing technologies are taking
a share of the superfast broadband
market. “Despite all the publicity,
FTTP [fibre to the premises]
doesn’t offer the main route to
digital heaven, at least not for the
time being,” said Tim Johnson,
who led the project as Point Topic’s
chief analyst.
To date, FTTP covers only 12%
of homes. The biggest providers
of superfast services are the cable
TV networks which can now reach
37% of EU homes with the up-todate DOCSIS 3.0 standard. VDSL/
FTTC falls between the other two,
reaching 21% of EU homes by the
end of 2011.
The three technologies together
add up to only 50% total superfast
coverage because they overlap a
great deal, and often compete to
serve the richer and more densely
populated areas – leaving other
areas underserved.
The study only considers the
current state of play and not how
– or even whether – the Digital
Agenda goals will be reached.
Upgrading the 50% of Europe’s
homes still without superfast
broadband is likely to present a
considerable challenge, especially
in rural areas.
January 2013
NEC, Corning achieve petabit optical transmission
A
s
the
optical
industry
approaches the fundamental
physical limits of optical
transmission,
researchers
are
exploring new ways to increase
capacity by using multi-core fibre
(MCF). Now NEC Corporation of
America and Corning Inc. say they
have set a new transmission record
by sending data at 1.05 Pbps (1015
bits per second) over a novel optical
fibre containing 14 cores.
The research was originally
reported at the 2012 Frontiers in
Optics/Laser Science XXVIII (FiO/
LS) meeting in Rochester, NY, in
October 2012.
Designed by Corning researchers,
the novel optical fibre has 12
singlemode cores and 2 few mode
cores, which enables transmission
over a large number of spatial
modes. By combining multilevel
modulation formats with wavelength,
polarization and spatial mode
multiplexing, NEC researchers
achieved a total spectral efficiency
of 109 bits/sec/Hz. The aggregate
transmission capacity of 1.050 Pbps
is the highest capacity over a single
optical fiber reported so far, the
researchers claim.
Dr. Ting Wang, head of optical
networking research at NEC
Laboratories America, said the
company has “opened new frontiers
with the highest transmission
capacity over any type of optical
fibres”. The company is hoping to
develop technologies that will form
the foundation of the next generation
of optical networking.
The NEC/Corning announcement
follows news from Japanese
electronics giant NTT and partners,
who reported “ultra-large capacity
transmission” in September 2012
of 1 Pbps over 52.4 km of 12-core
optical fibre. The NTT experiment
was presented as a post-deadline
paper at ECOC 2012 in Amsterdam,
the Netherlands.
February 2013
Alcatel-Lucent activates 400G wavelength for France Telecom
F
rance Telecom-Orange and
Alcatel-Lucent claim to have
deployed “the world’s first
optical link with a capacity of 400
Gbps per wavelength” on a live
fibre-optic link between Paris and
Lyon. This connection represents
an important milestone for longdistance
terrestrial
network
technology, the companies say.
The 400G wavelength increases
overall capacity increased by a
factor of four compared to the
current maximum available. Using
44 wavelengths, the new optical
link is capable of transmitting up to
17.6 Tbps of traffic in total.
RENATER, the public interest group
that manages the communications
network for education and research
institutions in France, and a
customer of Orange Business
Services, will be the first to test the
functionality of this new technology
in a real-life situation.
Patrick
Donath,
managing
director of RENATER, explains,
“As part of our innovation program,
we plan to test this optical fiber
link in real conditions by using it
to route traffic across one of our
main backbone arteries between
Paris and Lyon. This link transports
the bulk of France’s scientific data
that passes through our network.
This pilot phase also aims to test
the latest switching equipment
supplied by major OEMs on a
network running at this capacity
and will enable us the anticipate
the architecture of RENATER’s
network in the coming years. A
400-Gbps network is an important
step forward for the networks and
research projects of tomorrow.”
France Telecom-Orange also
pointed out that the singlewavelength technology will help
reduce
energy
consumption
on its network, while also
optimizing operating and network
maintenance costs.
Sponsored by:
March 2013
Compass-EOS puts optical interface directly onto core router chip
S
tart-up Compass-EOS has
announced availability of an
IP core router based on an
electronic chip with a terabit-plus
optical interface.
Having an optical interface
directly to the silicon – which
includes a merchant network
processor – simplifies the system
design and enables the router
to incorporate such features as
real output queuing, the start-up
says. The r10004 IP router is in
production and is already deployed
in an operator’s network.
The company’s icPhotonics chip
integrates 168 x 8Gbps VCSELs
and 168 photodetectors for a
bandwidth of 1.344Tbps each
direction. Eight of these chips are
connected in a full mesh, doing
away with the need for a router’s
switch fabric and mid-plane used
to interconnect the router cards.
This
saves
on
power
consumption, space and cost,
says Asaf Somekh, vice president
of marketing at Compass-EOS.
The start-up estimates that its
platform’s total cost of ownership
over five years is a quarter to a third
of competing IP core routers.
The high-bandwidth optical
links will also enable system
interconnect. Compass-EOS is
coming to market with a standalone
6U-high platform but says it will
connect up to 21 platforms that
appear as one large logical router.
The
800Gbps-capacity
IP
router comes with 2x100Gbps
and 20x10Gbps line cards. The
platform has real output queuing
where all the input ports’ packets
are queued before quality of
service is applied prior to the exit
port. The router also supports
software-defined networking to
enable external control of traffic.
The start-up refers to its optical
interface IC as silicon photonics
but a more accurate description
is integrated silicon-optics; silicon
itself is not used as a medium for
light. However, Compass-EOS’s
platform shows how optics can
be used for chip-to-chip links to
enable disruptive system designs.
Somekh says the development of
the integrated optical interface has
been challenging, requiring three
years of development working
with the Fraunhofer Institute and
Tel-Aviv University. One challenge
was developing a glue to fix the
VCSELs on top of the silicon.
The start-up has raised over
$120 million with investors such
as Cisco Systems, Deutsche
Telekom and Comcast as well as
several venture capitalist firms.
April 2013
Avago announces its intention to acquire CyOptics
A
vago
Technologies
has
announced
a
definitive
agreement to acquire optical
component player CyOptics. The
value of the acquisition, at $400
million (€304 million), is double
CyOptics’ revenues in 2012.
CyOptics’ sales were $210 million
(€160 million) last year, up 21 percent
from the previous year.
Avago’s acquisition will make it
the optical component industry’s
second largest company, behind
Finisar, according to market research
firm, Ovum. The deal is expected to
be completed in the third quarter of
the year.
The deal will add indium
phosphide and planar lightwave
circuit technologies to Avago’s
vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser
(VCSEL) and optical transceiver
products. In particular, Avago will
gain edge laser technology and
photonic integration expertise. It will
also inherit an advanced automated
manufacturing site as well as entry
into new markets such as passive
optical networking (PON).
Avago stresses its interest in
acquiring CyOptics is to bolster its
data centre offerings – in particular
40G and 100G data centre and
enterprise applications – as well
as benefit from the growing PON
market.
“Avago has seen that there are
challenges being solely a shortdistance supplier, and there are
opportunities expanding its portfolio
and strategy,” said Daryl Inniss,
Ovum’s vice president and practice
leader components.
Such opportunities include larger
data centres now being built and
their greater use of singlemode
fibre that is becoming an attractive
alternative to multimode as data
rates and reach requirements
increase.
Another factor motivating the
acquisition is that short-distance
interconnections
are
being
challenged by silicon photonics.
“In the long run silicon photonics is
going to win,” said Inniss.
The company says it has no
plans to enter the longer distance
optical transmission market beyond
supplying optical components.
May 2013
Coriant enters optical market, as Nokia Siemens bows out
M
arlin Equity Partners has
closed its acquisition of
Nokia Siemens Networks’
optical networks business, thus
completing the transfer of the
company’s optical business to
Coriant (see Nokia Siemens exits
optical hardware business).
Officially “unleashed” at the
OFC/NFOEC tradeshow in March
– to use the term at the centre of
its marketing campaign – Coriant
is now an independent optical
transport systems company,
planning to concentrate on
coherent
100G
transport
and software-defined optical
intelligence.
Coriant starts out with operations
in 48 countries and the majority of
employees from the former Nokia
Siemens business unit, including
the management team. The
headquarters remain in Munich;
and Herbert Merz, previously
head of optical networks at Nokia
Siemens, has become Coriant’s
president and CEO.
The product line includes the
hiT 7300 DWDM/OTN transport
platform, the hiT 7100 OTN
switch, and the hiT 70xx series
of
multiservice
provisioning
platforms. The company also
supplies the TNMS network
management
software
and
TransNet
and
TransConnect
network planning tools.
Writing in a blog post for
the OFC/NFOEC show, Merz
described Coriant’s world view.
“We all know that 100G has started
now, driven by mobility, video,
and cloud services. What does
that mean for us? Data traffic will
become more unpredictable than
ever, forcing customers to bring
agility, capacity and flexibility to
their networks. The challenge
is to change from a static,
hardware-centric infrastructure
to more adaptable, softwaredefined optical networks that
enable rapid delivery of end-toend services.”
In January 2013, Marlin
Equity
Partners
completed
the acquisition of Sycamore
Networks, now called Sycamore
Networks Solutions.
Sponsored by:
June 2013
DANTE, Infinera claim provisioning speed record
D
ANTE (Delivery of Advanced
Network Technology to
Europe), the organisation
that operates the pan-European
GÉANT research and education
network, says it installed and
activated 2 Tbps of capacity and
provisioned a 100 Gigabit Ethernet
(100GbE) service in less than 12
minutes combined.
The pan-European network
operator used production DTN-X
platforms from Infinera, which have
been deployed on the GÉANT
fibre-optic network backbone as
part of a substantial upgrade that
began last year.
The Amsterdam-Frankfurt link
was selected for the demonstration
because this route is one of the
busiest in Europe. The 671-km
route included 10 spans and
currently is in service carrying
production traffic for the European
national research and education
(R&E) community.
“When Infinera was involved in
the procurement process for the
GÉANT backbone they made a
number of claims about their ability
to turn up long-haul capacity very
rapidly, and we decided to put
those claims to the test,” said
Michael Enrico, CTO of DANTE.
“The fact is that critical science
experiments across Europe are
generating immense quantities
of data that are often difficult to
fit into a forecasting process, so
this ability to turn up, or redirect
long haul capacity in a matter of
minutes will help us transform the
service we offer to our national
research and education network
partners.”
The demonstration involved
lighting up 2 Tbps of capacity over
four 500-Gbps superchannels,
and then provisioning a 100GbE
service across the link. Infinera
has released a time-lapse video of
the provisioning process.
“This was a genuine test of
our rapid provisioning capability,
using real production equipment
and software,” said Geoff
Bennett, director of solutions
and technology at Infinera. “If
we had used conventional 100G
transponders we would need a
total of 40 of them – 20 at each
end. But the Infinera 500G solution
allows an engineer to provision up
to five times as much capacity in a
single operational cycle. Enabling
our customers to use time as a
weapon is a key value of coherent
superchannels.”
July 2013
Finisar and u²t Photonics capture 100G coherent modulator technology
F
inisar and u²t Photonics
have
gained
exclusive
use of indium phosphidebased modulator technology
developed at the Fraunhofer
Heinrich-Hertz-Institute
(HHI).
The two companies will also
jointly develop the technology for
transmitter designs at 100G and
beyond.
Finisar and u²t immediately
gain polarisation multiplexed
I-Q modulator technology for
100Gbps coherent applications
following
the
agreement.
Meanwhile, u²t has also acquired
the assets of COGO Optronics
GmbH, the former German
operating subsidiary of COGO
Optronics.
Finisar says it has worked
with COGO since 2009 to
commercialise HHI’s indium
phosphide
Mach-Zehnder
modulator technology for several
of its 40G and 100G transceivers.
The acquisition of COGO
Optronics GmbH and the
memorandum of understanding
with Finisar and HHI further
broadens
u²t’s
component
portfolio. Known for its highspeed detectors and coherent
receiver devices, u²t already
has gallium arsenide modulator
technology which it claims
has a performance similar to a
lithium niobate modulator yet is
considerably smaller.
Indeed u²t expects gallium
arsenide’s power and size, along
with the company’s coherent
receiver, to fit within the CFP2
pluggable module. Such an
optical module design could
meet long-haul requirements.
Indium phosphide modulators
do not match the reach
performance of gallium arsenide
but they are even smaller. Such
designs could serve metro
applications yet fit within a CFP4
package. Such compact line
side designs will also be of key
interest for Finisar.
“We believe this new relationship
with u²t and our joint exclusive
access to HHI’s Mach-Zehnder
modulator technology will enable
the rapid development of new
indium phosphide Mach-Zehnder
modulators for next-generation
100G coherent long-haul line
cards and pluggable 100G
coherent metro transceivers,” said
John Clark, Finisar’s executive
vice president for technology and
global R&D.
August 2013
Verizon trials 200G long-distance transmission using 16-QAM
U
S carrier Verizon has
demonstrated
200Gbps
optical transmission over
260 miles of its optical network
linking New York and Boston.
The trial used equipment
from system vendor Ciena
that included the vendor’s
WaveLogic3 coherent optical
processor and test software
to implement higher order
modulation based on 16QAM (quadrature amplitude
modulation).
The
16-QAM
signal was carried over a single
wavelength and occupied a
50GHz channel. The trial was
conducted for over a month
with the 200G traffic being sent
alongside live customer traffic.
“Proving
greater
spectral
efficiency and a lower cost per
bit, this trial illustrates the ability
to double the traffic carrying
capacity of optical channels
with no change to the underlying
infrastructure,” said Francois
Locoh-Donou,
senior
vice
president, global products group
at Ciena.
Verizon reported in late 2012
that it had already deployed
100Gbps wavelengths in over
13,000 miles in the United States
and 1,616 miles in Europe. The
operator said increased video
traffic, growth in data traffic from
its LTE rollout, and cloud usage
are driving increased capacity.
The 16-QAM higher modulation
scheme offers a way to double
capacity but at the expense
of reach. Operators see the
technology as a valuable way
to extend capacity for links in
shorter distance metro and
metro/ regional networks.
In February, Orange (France
Telecom) announced that it
had deployed the world’s first
400 Gbps per wavelength
connection. The link between
Paris and Lyon, a relatively short
distance, used Alcatel-Lucent’s
coherent processor and also
used higher order modulation.
Sponsored by:
PAULINE RIGBY
Consumer electronics: the next
frontier for optical communications?
By Pauline Rigby
O
ptical
technology
has
transformed many consumer
applications. The availability
of inexpensive diode lasers for CD
players has revolutionized home
entertainment, made high-quality
laser printing affordable for small
businesses and home users,
and enabled numerous other
products that generate billions of
dollars in global revenues annually.
Consumer applications undeniably
represent a massive opportunity for
any vendor. Now it looks like optical
communications – in the shape of
the active optical cable – may find a
place in the consumer’s home too.
The market for active optical
cables (AOCs) has been measured
at $100 million (£65.5 million) and
is expected to grow 30% in 2013
to reach $150 million, according to
market research firm LightCounting.
This type of cable is mainly used in
high-performance computing and
data centre environments today. If
AOCs were to take off in consumer
applications, it would blow the
market forecasts out of the water.
But nobody is sure when – or even
if – that will happen.
Put simply, an active optical
cable is an optical cable with an
electronic interface at both ends.
Launched commercially in 2007,
they were originally developed as
a way to make optical transceivers
less expensive to manufacture.
Connecting optical fibres requires
alignment across six degrees of
freedom. By embedding the optics
inside the cable, the alignment
issues become much easier to
manage.
There are other advantages too.
Optics is immune to electromagnetic
interference and the cable is much
lighter than its copper equivalent.
And since it is effectively invisible to
the outside world, engineers are free
to put whatever optical technology
they like inside the cable, whether
proprietary or standards-based.
They can use serial or parallel optics,
any combination of wavelength and
modulation scheme, and any optical
fibre type they like including plastic.
“What happens in the cable, stays in
the cable”, as LightCounting analyst
Dale Murray puts it. The upshot is
that it’s quicker for manufacturers to
get new products to market.
The crossover point from copper
to optical cabling is typically reached
when the desired speed exceeds
copper’s ability to deliver that
speed over the desired distance.
Starting out in high-performance
computers (HPC), the use of AOCs
soon spread to traditional data
centres and multiple protocols.
Thanks to the rapid adoption of 4
x 14G FDR QSFP+ modules, the
InfiniBand market currently holds
the largest share of the AOC market
today, according to LightCounting.
Ethernet-based AOCs are now
seeing adoption, and other
interconnect protocols such as PCI
Express are potential candidates for
AOCs when their data rates exceed
10Gbps.
When interfaces on consumer
gadgets hit speeds of 10Gbps,
vendors started to look at using
optical cables. In 2009, Intel officials
tickled the high-tech consumer’s
fancy by talking about a new highcapacity cable code named Light
Peak. As a universal connector to
replace all other connectors, Light
Peak would be ideal for a small
device like a tablet or phone that
had limited real estate for ports, and
Apple was said to be pushing the
development. Volume production
was expected to bring the cost
down, with Intel predicting that
Light Peak cables “will be no more
expensive than HDMI”.
A couple of years later, Light Peak
had morphed into Thunderbolt,
which combines PCI Express and
DisplayPort into one serial signal
alongside a DC connection for
electric power. The early cable
implementations were based on
copper wires rather than optical
fibres (although optical versions
were still being promised). So
what happened? Few consumer
applications demand both high
bandwidth and long distances
simultaneously, explained Murray.
Perhaps the graphic designer
working in his home office needs a
high-specification cable to connect
his PC to a storage device in the
closet, but the consumer who
simply wants to connect a video
camera to the high-definition TV
in his living room can still manage
with copper. The ability to transmit
power over the cable also tipped
the scales in copper’s favour.
The optical version of Thunderbolt
did appear on the market in January
2013, with Corning Cable Systems
and Sumitomo both releasing
products ahead of the Consumer
Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Corning also demonstrated an
optical version of the USB 3.0
interface. With these product
introductions the consumer market
for AOCs has become a reality,
although at present it is still very
small. And optical performance
comes at a price, with optical
Thunderbolt cables selling for as
much as fifty times more than the
copper versions.
The consumer market can
be unpredictable, and what
LightCounting calls the “optical
Thunderbolt factor” remains to be
determined. The consumer market
is so enormous, that a particular
cable format would only need to
capture a tiny percentage of it to
generate significant revenues. If a
compelling combination of price,
performance and application were
to come together, things could
easily change. That’s given vendors
a huge impetus to develop new
products. “The market is certainly
one to watch, and we will,” said
LightCounting’s Murray.
It’s a cable Jim, but not as we know it.
Credit: Sumitomo Electric Industries.
Right now, however, the interface
market is very fragmented, he
says. There are already a number
of digital interface formats that
compete with each other, including
Thunderbolt, HDMI and USB 3.0,
and new proposals come forward
on a regular basis. The HDBaseT
Alliance wants to redefine digital
connectivity in your living room;
OCuLink is a new cable format for
PCI Express connected storage
devices. The consumer also has
multiple choices about how best to
meet their connectivity requirements.
There are old technology choices,
such as media converters and
extenders, as well as the new
technology choices, both wired and
wireless (and wireless technologies
keep getting faster too).
Whether or not active optical
cables manage to capture the
hearts and minds (and the wallets)
of consumers, Murray feels that
the
optical
communications
industry can only benefit from the
development push. “From the
standpoint of volume manufacturing,
any active optical cable that is going
to succeed in the consumer or
prosumer market is going to have
to be in the latest design. Just the
need and the people attempting
to meet that need will generate
better optoelectronic transceiver
packaging,” he concluded.
Pauline is a freelance technology
writer and contributing editor to
www.opticalconnectionsnews.com
Sponsored by:
roy ruBensteIn
Is silicon photonics an
industry game-changer?
Embracing manufacturing and business models common to the chip
industry promise to shake up the optical component industry.
By Roy Rubenstein
T
he last 18 months has seen
noteworthy
developments
in
silicon
photonics.
System vendors Cisco Systems
acquired silicon photonics startup, LightWire, for $272M while
Mellanox Technologies announced
its intention to acquire Kotura for
$82M million.
System vendors are also using
embedded optics to differentiate
their hardware. Arista Networks’
7500E switch has a line card with
board-mounted optics rather than
pluggable transceivers to increase
100Gbit/s port density. And
Compass-EOS has developed
chip-mounted optics using 168
lasers and 168 detectors for its IP
core router that removes the need
for a switch fabric and mid-plane to
interconnect the router cards.
Both companies use VCSELs, an
established laser technology that
silicon photonics competes with.
Yet the system designs highlight
how moving optics closer to the
silicon enables system innovation.
Silicon photonics also competes
with indium phosphide, the
bedrock of the optical component
industry.
At first glance, silicon is an
inauspicious material for optics.
Silicon does not lase, requiring
III-V material or an external laser
for a circuit’s light source. Silicon’s
small waveguides also make it
tricky to couple light in and out
of a chip. Silicon photonics’ huge
advantage, however, is its ability to
piggyback on the semiconductor
industry’s vast investment in
CMOS. CMOS processes use 8and 12-inch wafers to deliver high
yielding chips.
“If you match any component
with that type of process, you have
instant high volume and instant
scalability,” said Martin Zirngibl,
domain leader, enabling physical
technologies at Alcatel-Lucent’s
Bell Labs.
First silicon photonics designs
span optical interconnect for the
data centre to 100Gbit/s longdistance transmission. Customers
care little about the underlying
technology but do care about
cost, power, interface density and
optical performance.
One data centre issue is the
need for longer reach links. VCSEL
technology is an established
solution but at 100Gbit/s its reach
is 100m only. For greater distances,
a second technology is required.
Data centre operators would like
one technology that spans the
data centre yet is cost competitive
with VCSELs.
“Silicon photonics lends itself to
that,” said Adam Carter, general
manager and senior director of
the transceiver modules group at
Cisco. Cisco’s first silicon photonics
product is the CPAK, a 100Gbit/s
pluggable module, slightly smaller
than the CFP2 MSA.
Luxtera, whose silicon photonics
technology is used for active
optical cables, and Mellanox’s
Kotura, are each developing a
100Gbit/s QSFP to increase reach
and face plate density.
Two companies readying first
products are Intel and IBM.
Intel has detailed a 100Gbit/s
transceiver and is working with
Corning on a 1.6Tbit/s connector.
Intel views silicon photonics as
a way to boost microprocessor
sales by enabling new server
architectures. Intel is part of
Facebook’s
Open
Compute
Project where optics is used for a
disaggregated rack server design
that separates storage, computing
and networking. “When I upgrade
the microprocessors on the
motherboard, I don’t have to throw
away the NICs and disk drives,”
said Victor Krutul, Intel’s director
of marketing, silicon photonics
operation.
IBM has announced what it claims
is the highest density optical engine,
built using 90nm CMOS. “Silicon
photonics does compete in terms
of cost with VCSELs, if all elements
of the cost are taken care of: bill of
materials, packaging and testing,”
said Yurii Vlasov, manager of the
silicon nanophotonics department
at IBM Research.
But not everyone believes
silicon photonics will replace
VCSELs. “The VCSEL by nature
is an incredibly efficient, low cost
solution,” said Zirngibl. And Valery
Tolstikhin, founder and former CTO
of indium phosphide specialist,
OneChip Photonics, and now an
independent consultant, questions
the merits of silicon photonics for
transceiver designs. “There are
places where silicon photonics
will definitely win, such as chipto-chip optical interconnects, and
there are places where there is still
a question mark, like fiber-optics
interconnects,” he said.
At the other end of the optical
performance spectrum, silicon
photonics is being use for longdistance
transmission.
The
technology could shrink coherent
designs to fit within the CFP2, albeit
at the expense of reach. A CFP2
coherent module has extremely
challenging cost, size and power
requirements.
Teraxion is developing a coherent
receiver for CFP2 . “We believe
silicon photonics is the material of
choice to fulfil CFP2 requirements
while allowing even smaller size
reduction for future modules
such as the CFP4,” said Martin
Guy, Teraxion’s vp of product
management and technology.
Start-up Skorpios Technologies
is using hybrid integration that
combines III-V and silicon at the
wafer scale. “We have projects
spanning everything from access
all the way to long haul, and
covering some datacom as well,”
said Rob Stone, vp of marketing
and program management at
Skorpios.
Perhaps the biggest impact
silicon photonics will be on the
supply chain. Cisco’s decision to
make its own 100Gig transceivers
impacts module makers and
undermines the concept of MSAs.
Silicon photonics also moves
optical component manufacturing
to an ASIC model. Companies
could design an optical chip and
go to a foundry for its manufacture,
package it and place it on their
cards, skipping module makers
altogether.
Yet the ASIC model can also
benefit module makers. IBM, for
example, is using its optical engine
for its systems and server designs;
it is less interested in data centre
interconnect up to 2km. But IBM is
open to its technology being used
by transceiver providers.
“There are companies with the
potential to offer a design service
or foundry service to others
that would like to access this
technology,” said Cisco’s Carter.
“Five years ago there wasn’t such
an ecosystem but it is developing
very fast.”
Roy Rubenstein
Editor of the online publication,
www.Gazettabyte.com
Sponsored by:
FTTH Council Europe
Guiding Europe through
the FTTH funding maze
By Hartwig Tauber
Y
ou will have heard the
argument that there isn’t
enough money to finance the
roll-out of fibre to the home (FTTH)
networks. Citing the seemingly
insurmountable
obstacles
of
shareholder demands, increasing
competitive pressure and the
economic downturn, operators and
politicians claim that they simply
cannot afford FTTH networks. But
Governments across
Europe need to
acknowledge that they
have responsibility
to develop national
financing frameworks
for FTTH as the only
sensible long-term
solution for broadband
networks.
like the emperor’s new clothes,
their arguments do not stand up to
closer scrutiny.
The European Telecommunications
Network Operators’ Association
(ETNO), which represents incumbent
operators across Europe, said
its members invested €29 billion
annually, on average, over the last
six years, of which approximately
€17 billion was for fixed networks.
In addition, alternative operators
invested nearly €16 billion annually.
If the level of investment remains
stable, then up to €210 billion
would be available for investment
between now and 2020. The
telecoms industry’s capacity to
invest is not the problem.
However, incumbent operators
typically build FTTH networks in
the most profitable areas, such
as major towns and cities, where
the deployment cost is lower and
they are under more pressure from
competitors. As stock marketlisted companies, their objective
is to serve the relatively short-term
interests of their shareholders, not
to fulfil any Digital Agenda targets
or to save the national economy.
As a result, the incumbents account
for less than one quarter of FTTH
deployments to date, and it is
unlikely that they will roll out FTTH
everywhere.
Investing in smaller towns
and villages requires a longterm vision, and so it is mainly
utility companies, communitybased regional operators and
municipal governments who have
taken the lead in those areas.
Regrettably, those small FTTH
projects sometimes struggle to get
off the ground. While the investment
is too large and specialised to
be handled by local banks, it is
too small to be addressed by
institutional investors.
It is surprising therefore, that
the
European
Commission’s
broadband policy has concentrated
on incumbents and other large
operators. The telecom sector, in our
view, will not be willing to self-finance
the copper-to-fibre transition, and
there is no guarantee that a more
benign regulatory framework will
result in higher capital spending.
Instead, we believe the Commission
should focus on policies to attract
external sources of finance.
The European Commission had
proposed a budget of €7 billion to
finance broadband infrastructure
as part of the “Connecting Europe
Facility” (CEF). Through a multiplier
effect, this was expected to leverage
investments of up to €50 billion
between 2014 and 2020, which
would have made a significant
impact. Unfortunately, European
member states killed the initiative
when they drastically cut the CEF
budget.
By rejecting this source of finance,
Europe’s member states have
effectively taken back responsibility
to ensure they can deliver their
national broadband plans. At a
minimum, national governments
need to ensure that FTTH investment
is identified as a priority. Member
states also have their own sources
of finance available to add some
impetus to network build. In the
2006 – 2013 budget cycle member
states committed €2.4 billion to
the construction of broadband
networks, and a similar amount will
be available in the period 2014 –
2020. We also believe that there is
a strong case for increased use of
European Structural and Cohesion
Funds to fund FTTH infrastructure.
Politicians need to recognise
that many investors are desperate
for sound long-term investment
opportunities. Low interest rates
have made government bonds
unappealing to pension funds and
insurance companies. Infrastructure
as an asset class could provide an
alternative investment opportunity
with potentially greater returns.
To make this possible, policy
makers need to develop a
coherent approach that takes the
requirements of long-term investors
into account, backed up by
supportive financial regulation.
Investors have already expressed
an interest in investing in FTTH
networks, but they have told us
that there need to be changes in
the market structure. Long-term
investors tend to prefer projects
with low risk and strong contractual
commitments that ensure a steady
income. The vertically integrated
business model that is favoured
by incumbent operators pollutes
the low-risk network investment
with high-risk technology choices.
The separation of network and
technology – as has been done in
New Zealand – would open up new
sources of finance for the sector.
There is one final challenge:
investors need to be matched up
with the appropriate investment
opportunities. As we noted earlier,
many projects are too small
to target institutional investors
directly. Smaller projects need to
be aggregated into compatible
groups, and they need to translate
their business plans into terms that
meet the requirements of these
investors. The FTTH Council Europe
is actively working on these issues.
We started an “investor’s project”
in 2012 to bring the stakeholders
together and help them to find
mutually acceptable solutions. This
project is ongoing.
In our view, the next steps to
ensure FTTH financing in Europe
are clear. Having voted against the
CEF scheme, governments across
Europe need to acknowledge that
they have responsibility to develop
national financing frameworks
for FTTH as the only sensible
long-term solution for broadband
networks. Institutional investors
need to be educated to understand
that passive fibre networks are a
long-term infrastructure investment.
And project managers need to
learn to speak the language of the
investment community, and to be
prepared to adapt their approach to
fit the need of this specialist group.
Hartwig Tauber
Director General,
FTTH Council Europe
Sponsored by:
Cisco
The dawn of collaborative
Challenges to the evolution
of the network
By Ori Gerstel
The best
architecture is a
hybrid one, with
both distributed and
centralized control
elements
Service provider (SP) networks
are undergoing major changes.
Traffic continues to grow at an
exponential rate – around 30-50%
per year globally and much faster
in some cases. At the same time,
a growing percent of the direct
and indirect revenues from the
services are going to “over the
top” (OTT) service providers, such
as Google and Netflix, leaving
SPs with almost flat revenues.
This trend strains the business
model of SPs, as the gap between
the cost of the network and the
revenues gained shrinks.
Continuous
innovation
in
modulation formats has previously
helped control costs, by putting
more information into a GHz
of spectrum on the fibre: from
10Gbps to 100Gbps in a 50GHz
spectrum slice, or an increase
of approximately 10x in spectral
efficiency within 10 years. However,
there is mounting evidence that
this will become harder as we
approach Shannon’s (non-linear)
limit. Today the upper bound
is around 200Gbps per 50GHz
using 16QAM – and in a couple
of years, as DSP processing
power increases – we will achieve
400Gbps in such a spectrum
slice. However this seems to be
the end of this approach: higher
order modulation formats will
have a very low reach. As a result,
the industry is turning to parallel
solutions, such as superchannels
(parallel, tightly spaced channels),
or SDM (parallel fibre cores). But
both techniques are not expected
to provide significant cost
reductions.
Raw bandwidth growth is just
one of several trends that may be
as challenging to the evolution of
the network:
Consumer traffic is now much
larger than business traffic –
skewing the required technologies
towards more dynamic IP based
technologies.
The number of main bandwidth
sources of this traffic is becoming
much smaller. For example, in
the US, Netflix traffic represents a
third of the overall peak traffic. This
implies larger traffic fluctuations
due to failures of peering points
The emerging cloud computing
paradigm will make it easy to
mobilize an application from one
server to another based on power
savings considerations, proximity
to the users and commercial
considerations, further increasing
traffic dynamism.
The Internet of Everything - which
will turn billions of devices into
active users of the internet - will
have an unknown, yet dramatic
impact on the network.
The only clear conclusion that
can be drawn is that it will be
increasingly hard to predict traffic
behaviour. This means that the
network planner will have to plan
for the unknown, but how does
one do this without significantly
over-provisioning the network and
further straining the SP business
model?
Addressing the challenges
in the optical layer
The aforementioned changes in
the network imply that the optical
layer will have to be streamlined,
flexible, and reconfigurable:
Streamlined: the increased
pressure on SP margins implies
that the future network must be
as efficient as possible, and this
implies removing as many network
layers and the interfaces between
layers as possible –in fact most
core networks are already evolving
to two layers model: a transport
layer and a service layer.
Flexible: the lack of ability to
forecast how traffic will evolve
implies that the network will have
to be as flexible as possible in
providing the right amount of
capacity where it is needed using
the most effective modulation
format.
Reconfigurable: since traffic
patterns will change more frequently,
the network will have to support
graceful release, redeployment,
and reoptimization of resources.
Without these capabilities, resource
will sit idle and the cost of the
network will grow well beyond the
required cost.
Required bandwidth
Unused wavelength
Used wavelength
Scenario I:
(a) non-agile solution:
7 wavelegths
=Sum(Max{AI,BI})
(b) agile solution:
5 wavelegths
=Max{Sum(Ai),Sum(BI)}
Optical layer
(a) Normal state
Transponder
100
100
300
Scenario II:
(b) Optical failure
200 200
100
Figure 1 - How network agility reduces cost
Figure 2 - Multi-layer restoration
Core router
Sponsored by:
Cisco
multi-layer networking
These characteristics of the
optical layer are a necessary but
insufficient to achieving a true low
cost and ultra-efficient solution.
What good is a high degree of
network agility, if at the end it relies
on slow, complex, and manuallyintensive processes to implement
a change in the network? The only
way to achieve an agile network is
to involve the layer that drives the
need for optical agility – namely
the service layer (which is typically
an IP network).
Distributed Control
How multi-layer collaboration
saves cost
The IP layer must closely interact with
the optical network to optimize how
optical resources and IP resources
are used. Using such interaction, the
network can quickly move optical
capacity to where it is needed by the
IP layer, instead of today’s approach,
of over-provisioning static IP links to
address different possible changes
in traffic patterns over a static optical
layer.
Consider the example in Figure 1
to best understand the difference
between today’s approach to
network planning and the desired
future approach. The figure depicts
on the left two traffic scenarios.
Each scenario implies different
capacity needs from one router to
three other routers (in Gbps units).
These scenarios could result from
different failures in the network,
from unexpected traffic growth, to
changes in peering arrangements.
Either way, the network design must
accommodate both scenarios
without having to redeploy gear.
Figure 1(a) show how this is done
using today’s static IP network
over a static optical network. The
planner must provision each link to
an adjacent router to account for
the maximum capacity needed for
both scenarios. In this example, this
means 2x100G wavelengths to the
first and second router and 3x100G
wavelengths to the third router.
A design with an agile network
in mind is shown in Figure 1(b).
Here the planner must consider
the total number of wavelengths
needed to accommodate both
scenarios – 5x100G wavelengths
Central control
(PCE/SDN)
Network
Manager
Core router
Optical layer
Figure 3 - Agile multi-layer architecture
in this case, but how they
are distributed amongst the
neighbours is not important, since
they can be redistributed quickly
by the network. In summary, the
planning process is changing
from provisioning each link to
the maximum needed capacity
to provisioning each node to the
maximum total capacity.
The application that best captures
the value of this new approach is
multi-layer restoration. In this case,
the IP layer relies on the optical layer
to restore failed links in the event
of an optical layer failure, using
the same router interfaces and
transponders – as shown in Figure
2. This reuse of interfaces is the key
reason for the significant savings
achieved by the scheme – in the
order of 40% of router interfaces
and transponders on several real
European core network models –
not to mention the associated rackspace and power.
Control architecture of a
multi-layer network
Restoration
against
optical
failures is just the start. Many
other applications have been
identified: from optical layer
optimization, to optical bypass
of routers, to disaster recovery.
Some of these applications
(including restoration) require
fast reaction and a high degree
of availability, pointing to the
need for a distributed control
plane between layers. Others
require a high degree of
sophistication in understanding
how a proposed change in the
network will impact the routing
of traffic flows in the IP layer and
the resulting impact of its servicelevel agreement (SLA) – pointing
to the need for centralized
control with a high degree of
user interaction. We believe that
the best architecture is a hybrid
one, with both distributed and
centralized control elements.
In addition, a new type of
network management is needed
to provide the operator with
sufficient
information
and
control over such an automated
network – as shown in Figure 3.
Ori Gerstel
Principal Engineer
Converged Routing and
Optical Group, Cisco
The Internet
of Everything
- which will
turn billions of
devices into
active users
of the internet
- will have an
unknown, yet
dramatic impact
on the network.
Sponsored by:
MODE-GAP
Space division multiplexed systems using
few mode fibre – EU project MODE-GAP
By Dr Ian Giles
Y
ear on year increase in
demand for transmission
capacity has stimulated
research activity focussed toward
investigating next generation
solutions to avoid a capacity
crunch. Currently deployed single
mode fibre networks have a finite
capacity limit and cost-effective
solutions will need to be found to
meet the forecast demand. Space
Division Multiplexing (SDM) offers
routes to increase capacity with
the potential of reduced costper-bit. SDM options are; multiple
single mode fibres, multi-core
fibres or multimode fibres, each
exhibiting relative merits. The EU
supported project MODE-GAP is
exploring SDM over Few Mode
Fibre (FMF) using Mode Division
Multiplexing (MDM), investigating
solid core silica fibres and Hollow
Core Photonic Bandgap Fibres
(HC-PBGFs) for transmission.
The project is also investigating
an
alternative
transmission
wavelength window in the 2000nm
region offering large bandwidth
opportunities. MODE-GAP has
achieved record transmission
results over solid core at
1550nm and also for PBGF fibre
transmission in both the 1550nm
and the 2000nm regions.
Enhancement of transmission
capacity using new fibres requires
investigation of a new set of
components and sub-systems
on which to build. MODE-GAP
is investigating solutions from
the component level through to
system demonstrators.
flatness and noise performance.
Four mode group amplifiers have
also been demonstrated, high
performance in both cases achieved
by a novel profiling of the rare earth
dopant in the fibre cross-section.
Alternative options can be
investigated to multiplex and
demultiplex the spatial channels,
either individual modes can be
launched in the fibre or orthogonal
mode sets can be selected. DSP
methods based on multiple-input
multiple output (MIMO) techniques
separate the individual channels.
The key driver for multiplexing is
to demonstrate a low loss, scalable
solution and a range of approaches
and technology options are being
investigated in MODE-GAP.
System experiments have been
undertaken for 3 distinct spatial
modes LP01, LP11a, LP11b each
polarization multiplexed to give six
channels in total. In-line amplifier
and phase plate based mode
multiplexer
and
demutiplexer
were utilised. The key result has
been 96x3x200Gb/s = 57.6Tb/s
net data rate transmission after
subtracting the Forward Error
Correction overhead representing
the highest capacity amplified MDM
transmission experiment to date.
Solid core FMF SDM 1550nm
Multimode fibre offers capacity
increase in a single fibre format by
increasing the number of spatial
channels along the fibre. Two-mode
group and four-mode group fibres
providing six and twelve channels are
being investigated and designed in
the project to meet the transmission
specifications of the system. Design
and refinement of the transmission
medium is a fundamental challenge
to ensure the optimum information
transmission along the fibre,
however transmission cannot be
considered without the availability
of in-line amplifiers or modal
multiplexers and demutiplexers.
Research in MODE-GAP showed
the first usable dual mode group
amplifier and has progressed to
demonstrate excellent modal gain
Hollow core PBGF - 1550nm
Hollow core photonic bandgap
fibre
(HC-PBGF)
potentially
offers an ultrahigh performance
transmission media solution. The
air core increases the non-linear
threshold thereby increasing the
10-1
0
Pol. X
Pol. Y
-20
-40
-50
10-3
-60
-70
LP01
LP11B
LP11A
10-4
191
191.5
192
-80
192.5
193
193.5 194 194.5
Frequency [THz]
195
195.5
196
196.5
Figure 1. Mode-division-multiplexed transmission results over 37cell PBGF (1550nm) showing successful transmission over the extended
C-Band. Total transmitted datarate 73.7 Tb/s (3 modes x 96 WDM x 256-Gb/s DP-16QAM
LP01
Average BER
LP11B
Bit Error Rate
-30
Relative power [dB]
FEC-Limit
10-2
LP11A
-10
upper capacity limit however
achieving the predicted low
loss values represents a huge
technical challenge. To this end
work in MODE-GAP has focussed
on improving the quality of the
fibres and driving down the loss.
Connecting lengths of PBGF
together and to other solid core
fibre types presents a potential
area for increased losses, and
investigations of splicing methods
have shown low loss splicing
between the fibres. Methods to
fabricate production lengths of lowloss PBGF are also being explored
within the project.
Feasibility of transmission has
been demonstrated over 37c HCPBGF showing 57.6Tb/s WDMMDM signal transmitted over 310m
with full mode demultiplexing. The
performance has been further
verified for QPSK, 8QAM, 16QAM
and 32QAM.
Hollow Core PBGF - 2000nm
To fully exploit the benefits of
PBGF it would be preferable to
operate in the lowest loss window
around 2000nm. To this end,
Thulium doped fibre amplifiers
have been investigated showing a
gain bandwidth of >250nm, lasers
operating from 1820nm to 2050nm
and associated fibre components
have been developed for a 2000nm
transmission demonstrator. First
demonstration of WDM single
mode transmission in the 2000nm
window along 310m of multimode
PBGF has been achieved.
To date MODE-GAP has
contributed to the global research
into potential SDM solutions
and shown world first results in
transmission and contributing
components. In addition to the
more conventional approach
to MDM-SDM using solid core
fibre, MODE-GAP is exploring the
potential of alternative fibre and
wavelength solutions.
More detailed information is
available through a series of
whitepapers from www.modegap.eu
Dr Ian Giles, Phoenix Photonics
Ltd. is Project manager of the
European Union project
MODE-GAP
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Sponsored by:
epIC
European industry,
A
By Carlos Lee
We have seen
many industries
where Europe
was in the lead
and had all of the
ingredients to remain
at the forefront of
s predicted the last few
years have seen a reshuffle
of regional balances and the
emergence of some new mega
telecom markets. Is such reshuffling
abnormal? Many industries have
been lost for Europe in the past,
from solar panels to display
manufacturing. There is now wider
acceptance of the importance to
retain key enabling technologies
in Europe. So the question is does
the European optical telecom
industry have the right strategies
in place (does it collectively have
a strategy) to ensure a sustainable
competitive industry? We’ve got a
market, leading players, support
schemes for research. Is it enough?
Or is an ingredient still missing
from the formula that guarantees
success?
Usually countries are not so
concerned with the origin of the
components used in its territory.
The defence sector has always
been more cautious given the
fact that you can’t build trust into
a microchip after it has been
built, and more recently the
communication market has also
been under greater scrutiny. This
is a reflection of the importance
of the sector, and to what extent
reliance on European technology
should be a priority for Europe.
But this is a separate, highly
controversial discussion and
rather the discussion should focus
on one of Europe’s key priorities:
How to ensure that companies
in Europe remain competitive?
We have seen many industries
where Europe was in the lead
and had all the ingredients to
remain at the forefront of the
race, yet the manufacturing of
industries such as semiconductor
and more recently and violently
the photovoltaic market, have
relocated manufacturing. Sectors
such as photovoltaic where
Europe was in the lead for the
technology, most of the equipment
to manufacture photovoltaic was
coming from Europe, and Europe
(Germany) was the largest market
for this renewable energy in the
entire world. Still, it took less than
two years to see the nationality
of the leading manufacturers
transform into Chinese flags. We
may argue the causes, strong
government support for one,
but the fact remains that the
negative impact on the European
photovoltaic
manufacturing
value chain has been harsh. So
if it happened to the neighbours,
can it happen to us as well?
What is needed for the European
optical communication to remain
competitive? Are the companies in
Europe working together towards
a sustainable industry? Is the
competition on the technology
the race, yet the
manufacturing of
industries such as
semiconductors and
more recently the
photovoltaic market
have relocated
manufacturing.
Carlos Lee visits Intune Networks at its HQ in Dublin, here tests are done to prepare the world’s
largest distributed data centre architecture at 128Tbps.
or on the cost? Or most likely
both? And where is the money to
be made? Is there a concerted
effort by the European industry to
push for European standards to
be globally accepted? GSM and
MP3 are European standards that
have proven to be of benefit to the
continent, can this be replicated
once again?
The European Commission in
Brussels has now become more
open with regards to an industrial
policy. Once a taboo topic, the
EC is taking in its own hands
topics such as industrialization
of key enabling technologies
such as microelectronics and
photonics. More often we hear
in Brussels that science for the
sake of science is no longer a
luxury Europe can afford at a time
when spending is limited and
budgets are cut. Unemployment
is of major concern and a top
priority for Europe, this means
that we also need companies
with manufacturing of products
and components or providers of
services.
Europe has fantastic companies
in the optical communications
market. VI Systems is a fabless
developer and producer of optical
engines for data transmission at
ultrahigh bit rates, offering small
size and high sensitivity optical
modules up to 50 Gbps enabling
low cost data links. u2t Photonics
is the leading supplier of ultra
high speed optical components
for 40G and 100G applications
in modern long-distance optical
telecommunication networks.
One should not let Europe
which gained previously strategic
positions in the field of optical
communication lose the industrial
potential in the most critical moment,
when broad deployment of optics
is expected with coming 4G and
5G technologies, fundamentally
relying on optical access networks
to cope with the shrinking wireless
transmission distances. “Consumer
interfaces
reached
previously
unthinkable data transmission
speeds of 20 Gbps per channel
Sponsored by:
epIC
are we ready!
(Thunderbolt2 of Apple). “The trend
of the single channel bit data rate
doubling each 2.5 years continues.
We know that success of Apple with
iPod would be impossible without
interfaces providing dramatically
faster bit data rates than the existing
by the time of product introduction.”
says Nikolay Ledentsov, CEO at VI
Systems.
Is industry cooperating as
efficiently as it could and is it
receiving the needed support from
public authorities for the perennity
of the future? If not, contact an
industry platform to initiate the
dialogue and implement actions to
ensure the long-term sustainability
of the European optical telecom
industry.
“Europe has lost leadership in
design and production of highperformance
computing
and
datacom equipment. As the highperformance computing of today is
the mainstream consumer market
of tomorrow, this loss causes
strategic disadvantages. While
companies may have to individually
prioritize immediate commercial
aspects, the industry needs to
collectively develop a strategy for
Europe.” says Ledentsov.
The first step is always to
actively support the exploitation
of innovative ideas, and in
particular the collaboration and
technology transfer between
academia, SMEs and industry.
The European policies of funding
pre-competitive research on
European and national levels
are therefore not only important,
but also envied by industry
players from other continents.
“Many of our leading-edge
photonic components have been
developed based on the results of
public funded research projects,
where we had the opportunity to
work in consortia with the R&D
teams of our customers as well
as with our technology partners
from research institutes (e.g.
Fraunhofer) and universities all
over Europe on the problems
and solutions of future optical
communications systems. Being
a commercially successful player
in this global industry requires
the continuous innovation of
products and technologies.”
says Andreas Umbach, CEO of
u2t Photonics.
On a philosophical note,
we have never had as many
communication tools, but people
communicate less and less. So
when you attend events such as
ECOC, make sure to introduce
yourself to your neighbour at
the conference, and get to know
each other. Sometimes from
these innocent initial discussions,
fruitful ideas and collaborations
are ignited!
Carlos Lee
Director General, EPIC European Photonics Industry
Consortium
Sponsored by:
ANRITSU
Evolution of signal quality analyzers
to multilevel signal generation
Rate Mb/s
ports, plan evolution
1,000,000
to higher speed per
port, to efficiently
address their next
100,000
to come business
opportunities.
Last but not least,
10,000
the industry agrees
that speed increase
must be achieved
together with reduced
1,000
power consumption,
size and cost, for
any next generation
100
1995
2000
2005
2010
2015
2020
networking solution.
Date
Currently
facing
Source: 2007 HSSG Tutorial
several options (Time
Figure 1
Division Multiplexing,
Modulations,
Wavelength Division Multiplexing,
to produce the cleanest possible
Space Division Multiplexing), original signals, testing engineers
the industry has recently started
need to arrange multiple signals
investigating QAM (Quadrature into couplers with a rather complex
Amplitude Modulation) and PAM setup and time consuming manual
(Pulse Amplitude Modulation).
efforts, to obtain multiple PAM
These two methods offer
signals and feed them to optical
possible solutions to grow from phase modulation.
100Gbps to future 400Gbps and
The quality of the resulting
higher speeds in core networks signal is a key factor for a correct
and to get to 100Gbps in short investigation of these future
reach connections.
transmission techniques, and
Figure 2 shows an example of
there is a need to carefully select
measurement configuration for
high quality passive devices
Dual DP-16QAM technology as a
(couplers, attenuators, cables)
candidate for 400G ultra long-haul
to reduce the impact from
transmission. This is using a multi- unwanted attenuations, insertion
channel Pulse Pattern Generator losses, reflections and loss of
By Alessandro Messina
T
he increasing popularity of
cloud computing services,
together with the fast growth
of smartphones and relative data
sharing bandwidth consumption,
we have seen a parallel evolution
towards much higher transmission
speeds in the telecommunications
networks and in the information
technology infrastructures evolve.
In a famous graphical prediction,
as shown in figure 1, IEEE shows
the core network transfer rates
doubling every 18 months while
server I/O transfer rates are
doubling every 24 months.
Storage and data centers,
already struggling with a massive
increase in number of servers and
MP1800A
Signal Quality Analyzer
32Gbaud Waveform
4 Levels Signal
Data1
Data2
MU183021A 32G X 4ch PPG
10dB
32Gbaud
Data3
10dB
Data4
10dB
32Gbaud
Data1
Data2
MU183021A 32G X 4ch PPG
10dB
128Gbps
32Gbaud
10dB
10dB
Data3
10dB
Data4
10dB
128Gbps
32Gbaud
32Gbaud
32Gbaud
32Gbaud
XData1-4
256Gbps
32Gbaud
Figure 2 – Example Measurement Configuration for Dual DP-16QAM Technology
512Gbps
128Gbps
256Gbps
128Gbps
high frequency harmonics in the
generated output signal.
PAM is also a potential solution
for server to server and backplane
high speed connections, helping
increasing the bit rate of the
transmitted signal to get as close
as possible to 100Gbps, while
keeping the symbols baud rate in
the 20Gbps to 32Gbps range.
To investigate PAM transmission,
R&D centers, network equipment
manufacturers and component/
device/chipset manufacturers have
a need to generate high quality
multilevel signals. Their goal is to
verify whether Pulse Amplitude
Modulated signals can flow
through different kinds of (quite
often low cost) media and still be
recognized by the receiver, thus
providing a cost efficient and low
power consumption solution to
allocate larger bandwidth to each
network equipment port.
To cope with this exciting trend
to higher speed transmission, test
and measurement companies
must offer suitable high quality
solutions, meeting their customers’
need to reduce effort and time
required to implement their testing
setups.
For this reason, the most
advanced Bit Error Rate Testers
for R&D applications, now also
known as Signal Quality Analyzers,
are including multilevel signal
generation as one of the newest
testing capabilities.
As this is a very specialized
feature, it is best supported
by adding dedicated modules
which provide an embedded
complete array of pre-set coupled
connections to allow engineers
to simply input multiple electrical
differential signals and get an high
quality electrical differential Pulse
Amplitude Modulated multilevel
output signal.
The two most requested PAM
functions are PAM4 and PAM8,
respectively representing 2 bits (4
values) and 3 bits (8 values) with
one transmitted symbol.
In terms of efficiency, if R is
the bit rate of information to be
transmitted, PAM4 allows an R/2
Sponsored by:
symbol rate (with consequent
double
spectral
efficiency),
and PAM8 an R/3 symbol rate
(with triple spectral efficiency),
compared to a NRZ signal.
One of the reference signalling
speeds nowadays is 32Gbps.
PAM4
generation
allows
2x32Gbps=64Gbps signals at
the input of the PAM4 converter
module to generate a 32Gbaud/s
transmitted signal, as shown in
figure 3.
PAM8
generation
allows
3x32Gbps=96Gbps signals at
the input of the PAM8 converter
module to generate a 32Gbaud/s
transmitted signal, as shown in
figure 4.
In these setups, precision in
synchronizing the original signals
into the PAM converter is key to
achieving perfect conversion,
and a resulting multilevel signal
with a good opening in each
“eye portion”, to allow successful
transmission.
For this reason, it is essential
that the original signals be of high
quality, with quick rise/fall time and
ANRITSU
MP1800A SQA
2ch PPG
NRZ Data CH1
MZ1834A
4PAM Converter
32GBaud,
64Gbits signal
Differential 4PAM Signal
MZ1834A
8PAM Converter
32GBaud,
64Gbits signal
Differential 8PAM Signal
32Gbps
32Gbps
NRZ Data CH2
Figure 3
MP1800A SQA
4ch PPG
NRZ Data CH1
NRZ Data CH2
NRZ Data CH3
32Gbps
32Gbps
32Gbps
Figure 4
low jitter, and that the Signal Quality
Analyzer be capable of managing
channel synchronization upon
generation, and inter-channel
skew control.
R&D engineers also need to tune
the multiple eye openings in the
resulting signal, thus relying on the
analyzer to offer this capability.
Depending on the application
(from short distance high speed
interconnects to long distance
telecoms) the media involved in
these tests can be single-mode or
multi-mode fibers, or even copper
cables as an hypothetical lowest
cost implementation for very short
reach. All of these media require
careful testing to overcome
specific impairments and exploit
technical advantages.
All of the industry, from standards
committees to R&D engineers
to
test
and
measurement
companies, are currently united in
producing big efforts to achieve a
higher speed, more efficient and
“greener”
telecommunications
world as soon as possible.
Alessandro Messina
EMEA Wireline Marketing
& Business Development
Director, Anritsu
Member Research Staff
Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories (MERL), Cambridge, MA, USA
MERL is seeking a highly selfmotivated, qualified researcher to
join our team to perform cuttingedge research in the area of
optical communications systems.
The candidate is expected to
have a strong background in the
research, advanced technology
development,
simulation
and
experimental verification of next
generation optical fiber networks,
especially for metro, long-haul
and submarine systems at the
physical layer. Deep knowledge of
coherent optical fiber transmission
systems, optical fiber nonlinearity
and digital signal processing (DSP)
is essential. Experience of optical
network system architecture and
network layer design is strongly
preferred.
The successful candidate will
be expected to lead and perform
original research within the above
areas, and to extend MERL’s domain
of expertise. Further responsibilities
and qualifications are defined below.
Responsibilities:
• Conceive new ideas and
conduct innovative research
and technology development
in optical communications
systems.
• Publish research in leading
technical journals, conferences
and patent applications.
• Create project proposals and
lead research projects.
• Collaborate with corporate R&D
laboratories and academic
groups.
Qualifications:
• A Ph.D. from an internationally
recognized institution in
electrical engineering or a
related field with several years
of industry experience.
• Documented track record
of creative innovation and of
developing, conducting, and
leading successful research
projects.
• Strong background in the
theoretical analysis, simulation
and experimental verification
of optical communications
systems at the physical layer.
• Detailed knowledge of softdecision error correction coding
techniques would be an asset.
• Experience of optical system
architecture at the datalink/
network layer and above would
be an asset.
• Excellent programming skills (C/
C++ and Matlab) are required.
• Ability to handle multiple
simultaneous assignments
and balance workload
among different
projects.
• Strong teamwork and
interpersonal skills are
essential. Good presentation
and written communications
skills are required.
Interested parties should contact
[email protected]. No phone
calls please. Mitsubishi Electric
Research Laboratories, Inc. is an
Equal Opportunity Employer.
Mitsubishi Electric Research
Laboratories 201 Broadway
Suite 8, Cambridge, MA 02139,
USA www.merl.com
Sponsored by:
PAULINE RIGBY
100G makes waves in the metro
By Pauline Rigby
C
an coherent 100G become
economical
for
widespread
deployment
in
metro networks, or do carriers
need a lower cost option? This
question has been hotly debated
in the optical industry for several
years now, and judging from
the number of presentations on
the subject at the Market Focus
Forum at the ECOC Exhibition,
there’s still plenty to discuss.
Metro
network traffic
is forecast to
grow nearly
twice as fast
as long-haul
traffic between
2012 and
2017
Commercial 100G deployments
started in 2010 following several
years of posturing, prototypes
and eventually customer trials.
During 2012, deployment of 100G
wavelengths in core networks
suddenly accelerated and that
momentum has continued into
2013, according to analysts. The
inexorable growth in bandwidth
has
created
the
urgency
for carriers to upgrade their
networks with more spectrally
efficient technologies.
The metro market segment
typically develops a few years
after the long-haul market – and
becomes two to three times
larger in size – as the economics
of increased volumes start to tip
purchasing decisions in favour
of the newer technology. This
adoption point seems to have
been reached right on schedule
with the 100G metro market
becoming a reality over the last
year. Some of the early adopters
of metro 100G include major
carriers like Verizon and Cable &
Wireless Worldwide, with Verizon
deciding to take its metro 100G
network expansion global in
2013.
In the long-haul market, 100G
has been standardized around
the polarization multiplexed
quadrature phase-shift keying
(PM-QPSK) coherent modulation
format. With their superior optical
performance, it’s not surprising
that coherent transceivers are
also attractive for the emerging
100G metro market.
However, one challenge for
wider adoption of 100G in the
metro is that service providers
are less willing to pay a premium
for the performance benefits
provided by coherent technology.
In metro networks, price, space
and power dissipation metrics
carry more weight when a carrier
is making a purchasing decision.
And optical performance is
clearly much less of an issue over
the shorter distances in metro
networks, which are typically up
to 500 km.
Daryl Inniss, leader for optical
components research at Ovum,
points out that 100G line card
pricing has actually declined
faster than 10G did at the same
stage in its life cycle. And as the
market matures, the development
of merchant supplier modules
for 100G coherent transmission
and techniques like photonic
integration inside the optical
modules should help to drive
prices down further in the future,
he says. Will this be enough to
satisfy carriers?
Last
November
Infonetics
Research decided to ask 25
large service providers about
their deployment plans for highspeed optical connections in both
core and metro networks, asking
what carriers’ expectations were
for 2015. Survey respondents
anticipated a surge of coherent
installations: by 2015 coherent
wavelengths will account for 68%
of deployments in the core and
29% in the metro.
When Infonetics asked about
their preferred implementation of
metro 100G, more carriers (40%)
responded that they preferred to
use the same module in the metro
as in the core. Other options
included a 100G coherent
pluggable module optimized for
metro/regional distances, noncoherent approaches such as
a 4x28G direct-detect scheme
or even 200G 16-QAM for the
higher spectral efficiency that
such a scheme would bring.
Schmitt says he followed up
with the carriers to try and
understand their reasons for
picking the options they did, and
it became clear that there was
still much uncertainty around
their choices.
One factor may be that so far
only one vendor, ADVA Optical
Networking, has commercially
released an alternative to 100G
coherent based on a directdetection scheme, although ECI
Telecom has said that it also has
designs on this sector of the
market (but had no commercial
release at the time of writing).
This approach reuses parts
originally developed for 10G,
and adopts the IEEE 802.3ba
concept of parallel lanes, which
provides a comfortable fit for
some customer applications.
While interest appears to be
emerging in using 200G for the
metro, there are no commercial
products yet and carriers may
not find it easy to get their hands
on parts for evaluation. This
approach – currently the highest
capacity on a single wavelength
– could be adapted to suit the
most congested metro routes.
A number of vendors, such
as Alcatel-Lucent, Ciena and
Huawei, have demonstrated
200G 16-QAM signals, as part
of a dual-carrier approach to
creating 400G wavelengths.
Carrier choices will also be
affected by the more distributed
and inhomogeneous nature
of metro networks, serving
many more locations and
types of customer. Unlike core
networks which can make a
more predictable transition to
all 100G wavelengths, it will be
important for metro network
equipment to retain flexibility,
and to continue support for 10G
and 40G wavelengths in addition
to 100G, 200G, and whatever
comes next.
Whatever
carriers
decide,
a clearer picture will emerge
soon. Metro networks are seeing
greater impact from traffic
growth driven by end-user video;
partly
because
bandwidthsaving technologies like caching
and content delivery networks
cannot be exploited closer to the
consumer. According to Cisco’s
Visual Network Index, metro
network traffic is forecast to grow
nearly twice as fast as long-haul
traffic between 2012 and 2017.
Daryl Inniss, leader of optical
components research at Ovum,
will be kicking off the “high speed
optical transmission” session
on Monday 23rd September at
12:10PM in the Market Focus
theatre with a talk entitled “The
100G price challenge”. Other
speakers in that session expressly
looking at the topic of high-speed
transmission in metro networks
include Tellabs, Fujitsu Network
Communications, ClariPhy and
Acacia Communications.
Pauline is a freelance
technology writer and
contributing editor to
www.opticalconnectionsnews.com
Sponsored by:
FINISAR
Spectral manipulation and analysis for
advanced optical communication systems
By Simon Poole
T
he required capacity growth
of communication networks
drives the development of
new transmission technologies
like coherent transmission, flexible
grid, tunable transceivers, and
higher order modulation formats.
These technologies, in turn, create
new test requirements during the
development and manufacturing
of components, modules and
systems. In particular, more
sophisticated capabilities are
required with regard to filtering
and analysing the spectrum of
optical signals.
A
key
requirement
for
any transmission system is
robustness to impairments due
to system and transmission line
imperfections. Whilst coherent
transmission, in all its multiple
flavours, provides an extremely
high level of robustness, one
issue which needs to be taken into
account is the impact of spectralnarrowing due to the filtering
effects of cascaded ROADMs and
Wavelength Selective Switches
(WSS). There are many different
designs of WSS and multiple
core switching technologies (e.g.
LCoS, MEMS, Liquid Crystal),
each of which has its own unique
spectral
characteristics
and
hence concatenation effects.
To properly test a coherent
transceiver therefore requires
filters which are not only tunable
in terms of bandwidth and centre
frequency, but which also have
a programmable shape to allow
simulation of multiple different
WSS types and concatenations.
An example of the sort of
control over filter shape was
demonstrated by Gringeri et al [1]
where a programmable filter was
configured to simulate a series
of concatenated Wavelength
Selective Switches (WSS) for an
investigation of the robustness of
100G coherent transmission.
A second imperfection which
needs to be considered is the
impact of Polarisation Dependent
Loss (PDL) on transceiver
performance. Unlike impairments
such as Polarisation Mode
Dispersion
and
Chromatic
Dispersion, mitigation of PDL in
the receiver DSP has proven to
be more challenging. It has been
observed that in real network
environments PDL levels of
several dB may occur. Systems
must therefore be designed for low
PDL and receivers tested for their
sensitivity to both intra-channel
and broad-band PDL. This testing
requires a system which allows the
PDL to be accurately controlled
in both a broadband and a
frequency-dependent
manner.
Whilst broadband-testing can be
managed with a relatively-simple
constant PDL device, controllable,
frequency-dependent PDL has
recently become available as
described by Clarke et al [2]. An
example of channel-to-channel
PDL which can now be generated
is shown in Figure 1. The ability
to independently control the
transmission
characteristics
of both polarisations can also
be used for system emulation
including, for example, emulating
the effects of PolarizationDependent
Frequency
Shift
(PDFS) in filter components.
At a deeper research level, there
is considerable interest in rapidly
programmable optical circuits
which include multiple individual
functions like power splitting/
combining, signal delay, routing,
and attenuation. Such capability
– often described as an “optical
FPGA” – allows researchers
to quickly emulate new device
functionalities and verify their
properties and performance.
This capability is a development
Figure 1 - Emulation of channel to channel variation of Polarization Dependent Loss across the C-band
from the LCoS (Liquid Crystal
on Silicon) technology used in
many programmable optical filters
and is created by introducing
programmable phase delays
and power-splitting algorithms
between the output ports on a
multi-port filter. An example of
this is the recent demonstration
of novel signal demodulators
for Optical OFDM systems by
Schroeder et al [3].
The introduction of highly
spectrally efficient polarisationmultiplexed coherent transmission,
and, more recently, super-channel
architectures also requires a
new approach to optical spectral
analysis. Traditional grating-based
Optical Spectrum Analyzers (OSAs)
do not provide the resolution
required to analyse the broadband,
channel-filling signals which these
new transmission formats generate
and coherent OSAs are now
becoming a key part of the research
and test armoury. Coherent OSAs
have been around for a number of
years and provide extremely fine
spectral resolution down to the MHz
level. In recent developments, a
new generation of compact, highspeed coherent OSAs are now
becoming available which can
sweep at multi-Hz rates with full
spectral resolution and full dynamic
range. These are designed for
simple integration into research
and production test systems with a
concomitant reduction in test times
and increase in throughput.
A final trend which is worth noting
is that the ubiquity of computercontrolled testing is driving a
change in the way such instruments
are designed and build.
The
traditional stand-alone piece of
test equipment with full frontpanel control and (usually) some
form of integrated display is being
replaced by so-called ‘blank panel’
instruments – either as individual
instruments or in some form of
pluggable chassis. In these, the
instrument set-up and data display
are managed by a remote computer
and the instrument display is limited
to simple indicators such as poweron and connectivity. This reduction
in equipment complexity, size and
build cost is further helping to
reduce overall testing costs.
Simon Poole
Optical Instrumentation Group
at Finisar Corporation, Sydney,
Australia
Contributing authors to the article also include:
Michael Roelens, Cibby Pulikkaseril, and Ralf
Stolte from the Optical Instrumentation Group
at Finisar Corporation.
References
[1] “Real-time 127-Gb/s coherent PM-QPSK
transmission over 1000km NDSF with
>10 cascaded 50GHz ROADMs”,
Gringeri et al, Proc ECOC 2010.
[2] “PDL and PMD emulation with control of
amplitude and spectral dependence to
a sub-channel level across the C-band”,
Clarke et al, Proc OFC/NFOEC 2011.
[3] “Multi-output-port spectral pulse-shaping
for simulating complex interferometric
structures”, Schroder et al, Proc. of Conf.
on Lasers and Electro-Optics (CLEO),
paper CF2l.6, 2012.
Sponsored by:
ADVA
Software-defined optical networks
– Transforming the optical layer into a programmable resource
By Jorg-Peter Elbers
F
ollowing low-loss fibres in
the 1970s and EDFAs in
the
1990s,
DSP-enabled
coherent transceivers are the latest
disruptive innovation in long-haul
optical communications. Propelled
by steady traffic growth1 and
advances in CMOS technologies,
massive digital signal processing
led to a renaissance of coherent
optical transmission. The user
benefits are substantial: Coherent
100 Gb/s transceivers deliver a
ten-fold increase in DWDM system
capacity over conventional 10 Gb/s
technology. At the same time, they
drastically simplify operations with
adaptive electronic equalization
that eliminates optical dispersion
compensation, makes system
performance more reproducible,
and significantly eases transmission
design. What we are seeing now
though, is only the beginning.
Learning from Mobile
Networks
For decades, optical line interfaces
were designed to operate at
fixed data rate and bandwidth.
With the latest DSP technology,
transceivers
are
becoming
software-programmable and can
adapt the data rate, modulation
format, forward error correction
and electronic signal equalization
to the needs of the application. By
exploiting the 100 Gb/s ecosystem
and using the same optics and RF
electronics, an optical carrier can
support 50 Gb/s (BPSK), 100 Gb/s
(QPSK), 150 Gb/s (8QAM) and
200 Gb/s (16QAM) speeds at
different reaches by simple DSP
reconfiguration. Benefits of such an
as integral parts of their optical
approach include fewer hardware
infrastructure and therefore require
variants, lower equipment costs,
resource control and allocation on a
and an increased network efficiency.
network-wide scale.
Multiple sub-carriers can be
bundled to deliver higher aggregate
And Going Beyond
capacities. Flexible wavelength
The marriage of SDO with softwaregrid technology allows signals
defined networking (SDN) gives rise
to occupy contiguous strands of
to what we call a software-defined
optical spectrum with an aggregate optical network (SDON). A SDON
bandwidth of n x 12.5GHz, which is
turns the optical network into a
particularly important for services
programmable resource under
requiring more bandwidth than
centralized control. While software
today’s 50 GHz slots. As these
control of electrical packet and circuit
concepts are very similar to those
networks is relatively straightforward,
used in software-defined radio
the control of transparent optical
(SDR), we refer to them as softwarenetworks is more complicated due
defined optics (SDO). A recent study
to their analogue optical nature [2].
showed that SDO has the potential Fortunately, mature control plane
to save more than 40% of spectrum
and path computation engine
resources in a 400 Gb/s backbone
implementations for wavelengthnetwork [1]. While a single optical
routed optical networks already
super-channel is most spectrally
exist which can be readily extended
efficient, large contiguous spectral
to also cover SDO. A control
strands can lead to an increase in
approach is desirable which hides
wavelength blocking. Having the
optical layer complexity and allows
flexibility to split an aggregate signal an abstracted representation and
across multiple optical strands is
sharing of its network resources.
thus an important tool to minimize
Network abstraction itself can
orphan bandwidth and optimize
happen at different levels. In the
network resource usage. Figure simplest case, network boundaries
1 illustrates how two 400 Gb/s
are defined at the electrical client
signals can be transported making
interfaces. The network operator is
use of different available spectral in full control of all optical equipment
resources.
functions. He offers his clients a
While it is apparent that optical
virtual circuit-switched Network as
communications
is
closely
a Service (NaaS), which they can
mimicking approaches previously
access over pre-defined attachment
adopted in mobile communications,
circuits. The clients will still be able to
transmission
capacities
and distances in optical
core networks are orders
of magnitude higher than in
mobile networks. The need to
deal with restricted spectral
resources, programmable
modulation, and aggregation
over multiple frequency subbands are common themes
in both domains. Yet, there
are fundamental differences,
too.
While
wireless
communication is limited
to the links between user
equipment and the base
stations in a particular cell,
optical networks are multihop and meshed in nature.
Figure 1 - SDO Cockpit illustrating the delivery of
They comprise of optical
two different 400Gb/s services
amplifiers and ROADMs
1 According to the latest Cisco Visual Networking Index, global IP traffic is growing at 23% CAGR from 2012-2017.
see an abstracted internal network
topology which they can use for
their path calculation. Optical layer
details, though, are hidden from
them and may even be changed at
the discretion of the network owner.
Extending known alien wavelength
concepts, a logical extension of the
NaaS approach is to eliminate the
electrical interfaces at the network
boundaries and directly provide
Optical Spectrum as a Service
(OSaaS). A simple yet practical
example is a carrier who builds a
new coherent express layer and
wants to share his infrastructure
cost with one or more partners by
“licensing” them parts of his optical
spectrum. A more sophisticated
scenario, in which optical signals
can transparently pass through
multiple optical domains, has
recently been demonstrated using
an SDN-controller for inter-domain
coordination [3]. While clients still
would not need to see all optical
layer details, an information
exchange on usable spectral
resources, the signal format, and
signal performance would still be
necessary.
Summary
SDO transceivers, a flexible
coherent express layer, and
SDN-assisted network control
are the key building blocks to
transform the optical layer from a
static network infrastructure into a
programmable network resource.
Together, they help to improve
network efficiency, allow higher
levels of automation, and facilitate
the development of new network
services such as OaaS.
Jorg-Peter Elbers
VP of Advanced Technology at
ADVA Optical Networking
[1] A. Autenrieth, et al., “Will Flexgrid Networks
be Worth the Investment for just 30%
Improvement?“,
OSu1F
workshop
presentation, OFCNFOEC 2013
[2] J.-P. Elbers, et al., „Extending Network
Virtualization into the Optical Domain“,
paper OM3E.3, OFCNFOEC 2013
[3] M.
Channegowda,
et
al.,
“First
Demonstration of an OpenFlow based
Software-Defined
Optical
Network
Employing Packet, Fixed and Flexible
DWDM Grid Technologies on an
International Multi-Domain Testbed”, paper
Th.3.D.2, ECOC 2012
Sponsored by:
UTEL
Reducing operating expense
in fibre access networks
By Max Penfold
T
he access network accounts
for over 90 percent of cabling
in most Telecommunications
systems. The big push within the
industry now is the transition to fibre
to improve broadband speeds and
services. This is a major task, as the
number of European households
set to be connected by 2017 will
double to over 40 million by 2017
(FTTH Council).
A Challenge for Operators
Fibre optics have proved to be very
reliable and not prone to failure if
properly installed. However, where
cables are open to human error, this
can change.
It is simple to introduce faults in
fibres by using poor practice, lack of
training or carelessness. In addition
to telecommunications staff having
access to fibres, with cables laid
in the street or on overhead drops,
other utilities also come across fibre
cabling and unwittingly damage
them.
To add to these issues, end users
now expect a lot from new services
and quickly complain when things
do not work. Operators will be forced
to take a new approach to fault
detection to remedy these issues.
Not Starting From Scratch
Operators have had to overcome
similar challenges in access
networks over the years. In the early
days of copper, vast numbers of
technicians armed with a variety of
test equipment were deployed. For
some operators this group made
up the majority of the workforce. For
many years there was no option but
to invest heavily.
With the arrival of digital services,
testing became more important
and costly when carried out in
the traditional manner, even with
the evolution of more intelligent
technology.
To combat this, centralised test
equipment and solutions were
developed that would enable
tests to be performed remotely
by lower skilled staff. Additionally
routine overnight testing could
identify problem areas often before
the customer realised they had a
problem. With this, operators have
reduced the number of technicians,
expensive test equipment and
training without jeopardising quality.
Centralising Fibre Testing
Overall, operators have managed
to reduce the numbers of staff
employed dramatically, by more
than 50 percent in many cases
and enjoyed the associated
OPEX reductions whilst improving
customer service.
The challenge in fibre networks
is to be able to replicate what has
already been achieved with copper.
Testing fibre is, in many ways, easier
than testing copper, with its lower
susceptibility to external factors like
electrical fields or water.
Optical Time Domain Reflectometry
A New Dimension in Access
Fibre Testing
Advances in OTDR technology,
combined with low cost optical
switches have introduced a new
way to test fibre. By using an
“out of band” testing wavelength
which does not interfere with the
transmission, engineers can test
from the OLT or switch end of the
PON.
In the past it has been problematic
to view all customers on PON
individually. Breakthroughs have
been made that allow this with
very high resolution, even where
128 customers are on one PON
system. One OTDR combined
with a switch can test many PON
systems and reduce the overall
cost and complexity of testing. Dirty
connectors, ONTS disconnects,
micro bends and breaks are all
visible. The OTDR systems can also
be integrated with GIS mapping
software to show the real location
of faults and send teams with the
correct equipment.
The Future’s Bright, the
Future Uses Non-Interfering
Wavelengths
In future, finding faults on PON
systems will no longer be a “dark art”
with armies of trained technicians.
Faults that occur will be pinpointed
with instant corrective actions.
Maintenance will be determinable
by routine testing and planned
new customer connections will be
instantly verified.
The cost savings of the adoption
of these systems is huge with staff
numbers being dramatically reduced,
personal test equipment almost
eliminated, costly training reduced,
plus a better working system and
happier customers. I think this is a
goal we can all relate to!
Max Penfold
International Sales Manager,
United Technologists Europe
Limited
Optical Distribution Frame
+ Fibre Test
IP
Optical Line
Terminal
(OLT)
(OTDR) has been successfully
used for many years on installation,
maintenance and fault finding. These
field units are relatively expensive,
requiring skilled operators and only
testing one fibre at a time. They also
need “out of service” fibres to test,
meaning faults must be reported
before they are noticed. On top
of these less than ideal conditions
the Passive Optical Network (PON)
architecture of many fibre access
networks leads to handheld tests
only being performed at customer
premises.
One advantage of modern PON
transmission equipment is that
the Optical Line Terminals (OLT)
and Optical Network Terminals
(ONT) constantly communicate,
allowing statistical analysis that will
show failings in the electronics and
possibly issues with the physical
layer. Whilst useful, this does not
identify the nature or location of
issues.
OTDR
Optical Switch
Optical Switch
2x2
2x2
1xN
ONT
ONT
1xN
How a centralised typical system topology for a PON management system will look given recent developments in remote testing
ONT
ONT
Get a better view of
your fiber
NEW Fiber Visualizer - get graphical summary
of your fibers faults
The NEW Fiber Visualizer simplifies the entire fiber testing process. Automatically setting the correct test parameters for your fiber, it quickly and easily
displays a self explanatory graphical summary of the fiber under test. Instantly
highlighting any problems with the location and severity. A pdf report can
then be generated to complete the test process.
Available now on the MT9083 Access Master series.
• Test up to four wavelengths with a single unit
• 7 inch widescreen TFT-LCD, ready to test in 15 seconds
• Test ultra-long fibers >200 km and rapid PON testing up to 128 splits
• NOW with larger screen, longer battery life and only 2.6 kg
• One button pdf report generation
Scan the code to find out more and get your FREE Guide to Understanding OTDRS.
Sales Offices: Europe 44 (0) 1582-433433, USA and Canada 1-800-ANRITSU,
Japan 81 (46) 223-1111, Asia-Pacific (852) 2301-4980, www.anritsu.com
©2013 Anritsu Company
Find out more and
download the Guide to
Understanding OTDRs
Scan the code below.

Consumer electronics

Transcription

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