Evolution to Colorless and Directionless ROADM

Architectures
Peter Roorda, Brandon Collings
JDSU, 3000 Merivale Rd., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K2G 6N7
peter.roorda@jdsu.com

Abstract: Broad deployment of ROADMs based on wavelength selective switching has

significantly improved optical network flexibility. This paper discusses opportunities to extend
upon these advances with colorless and directionless add/drop switching and indicates technology
advancements toward this end.
© 2008 Optical Society of America
OCIS codes: (060.1155) All-optical Networks; (060.1810) Couplers, switches, and multiplexers

1. Introduction
Wavelength selective switch (WSS) technology for ROADM and ring/mesh interconnect applications is now in
broad network deployment [1] and the industry has gained confidence around the volume manufacturability and
reliability of the underlying technologies [2]. These deployments have brought radical improvements both in
network equipment cost (through elimination of OEO equipment) and operations cost (through elimination of
formerly manual engineering, planning and provisioning tasks). Architecturally the industry has taken a limited
approach to these deployments, with emphasis on express path switching and power control, while add/drop
wavelengths remain largely fixed in wavelength and specifically ‘hardwired’ to an outbound direction. Ongoing
advances in WSS technology toward greater density, higher port counts and improved optical performance gives
opportunity to extend WSS applications to a broader set of applications, including colorless and directionless
add/drop switching. We propose and compare architectures for these applications and indicate specific network
values that they offer. Supporting attributes of WSS technology are discussed.

2. ROADM architectures
Simple WSS-based ROADM architectures: In their simplest form, multi-degree (nD) ROADM architectures
incorporate a broadcast-and-select architecture (Figure 1). A splitter distributes wavelengths to a drop path fixed
wavelength demultiplexer and to each express direction. For each outgoing direction, a WSS is used to selectively
combine add wavelengths from the add path fixed-wavelength multiplexer with channels selected from each express
direction. This architecture offers key advantages over fixed OADM approaches -- automation of power control and
automated selection of express path switching. New wavelength paths can be assigned across the network without
preplanning of routes at system commissioning and without complex power level and connection engineering at
intermediate sites.
There are two key limitations with this approach. Firstly, all add/drop transceivers are coupled to fixed
wavelength add/drops; when the wavelength is selected the transceiver must be manually connected to the correct
mux/demux port. Secondly, each mux/demux is connected to a specific outbound direction. The assignment of both
the color and the direction of add/drop channels still requires manual intervention.
NORTH NORTH

Tx
Coupler

Tx Rx Tx
WSS

Rx
Rx
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Rx

Rx
WSS

Tx Rx
WSS

Rx
Rx
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Rx

Rx Tx
Rx
Tx

Tx
Tx
Tx
Tx

Rx Tx
Tx
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Tx Rx
Rx WSS
WEST Coupler

WEST
WSS WSS
EAST EAST
WSS WSS

WSS Coupler
Rx
Rx
Rx
Rx
Rx
Rx
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Rx

Tx
Tx
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Tx
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Figure 1. 3-Degree ROADM : Broadcast-and-select Figure 2. 3-D ROADM with colorless add/drop
 These architectural limitations effectively prohibit AON layer protection/restoration switching and true end-to-
end wavelength path switching.

Colorless ROADM architectures: WSS technology is well-suited to extending ROADMs to allow automated
assignment of the add/drop wavelength, a functionality often referred to as colorless switching. Figure 2 indicates
an architecture where the fixed demux is replaced with a WSS and the mux is replaced with a power combiner.
Variations on this approach include using a WSS for the add path multiplexer for improved power control, noise
filtering and lower loss, or using single-channel tuneable filters on the drop path. Colorless ROADM architectures
address the full automation of wavelength assignment, but the outbound direction of the transponders remains fixed.

Directionless ROADM architectures: ROADM flexibility can be further extended to provide directionless
add/drop switching. Figure 3 provides an example – a power splitter is used to broadcast the add wavelengths to the
WSS for each direction, and a WSS is used to select the direction for the associated drop wavelength. Using this
architecture with a colorless mux/demux and amplifiers for insertion loss compensation, an add/drop port can be
assigned to any wavelength and coupled to any direction in a fully automated fashion. There are key limitations of
this approach that must be considered. Firstly, the colorless and directionless add/drop mux represents a single point
of failure for traffic bound in multiple distinct directions from the node. As shown in figure 3, multiple mux/demux
groups can be installed to ensure the availability of fully diverse paths. Another limitation of the architecture shown
is that since the mux/demux is shared over multiple directions, once a wavelength is added from that mux/demux, it
is blocked from being added to other directions on that add/drop mux. In this architecture, wavelength selection
algorithms for new connections will need to account for the wavelength occupancy on the mux/demux.
NORTH
WSS

WEST

WSS
EAST

WSS

WSS WSS
Colorless,
WSS Coupler
WSS Coupler directionless
add/drop
Tx
Tx

Tx
Tx
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Tx

Rx
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Rx

Figure 2. 3-D ROADM node with colorless and directionless add/drop switching

3. Applications for advanced switching capabilities

The main benefit of the colored broadcast-and-select ROADM is that by allowing per channel path assignment, the
need for accurate WDM traffic forecasting is relieved and manually-intensive power and connection engineering at
intermediate points in the network can be automated. Full wavelength path assignment can be achieved by extending
the switching capability to include assignment of wavelength and direction at the add/drop node. In increasingly
optically meshed networks these switching extensions will be especially important, enabling the following
applications:
Restoration and Protection: Directionless and colorless switching schemes allow photonic layer switching
around fiber cuts and equipment failures without participation of underlying TDM or Packet switches. The
architecture in figure 3 will support a head-end bridge and tail-end switch approach for dedicated protection.
Bandwidth efficient agile optical network (AON) restoration schemes based on path and wavelength reassignment
can also be supported.
Automated Maintenance Switching: Operators periodically need to redirect traffic away from a line system
that needs to be taken out of service for maintenance or node upgrades. Like protection or restoration switching,
ROADM architectures capable of directionless and colorless switching will allow automation of maintenance
switching, effectively minimizing the service interruption and reducing the associated operations costs of truck rolls
and manual cutover.
 Regenerator Switching: In long haul AONs, when an intermediate OEO is needed either for wavelength
conversion or signal regeneration, a site visit is required during channel initialization to connect the regenerator to
the correct direction and mux/demux port associated with the required wavelength. With colorless switching at
ROADMs, regenerators can be pre-deployed and switched into the path as required without a truck roll to the
regenerator site. With directionless switching, a shared pool of regenerators are accessible to all paths through the
node.
Port-to-port wavelength-on-demand switching: Finally, while current AON deployments allow channels to
be routed end-to-end through the network, the end-point transceiver must be manually connected to the correct
mux/demux port. By implementing colorless and directionless architectures, a pre-connected transceiver can be
routed on any route or wavelength from the node. This enables true port-to-port automated switching that can be
used for faster new service or capacity activation, time-of-day bandwidth allocation and network load balancing.
Combined with GMPLS routing and signalling capability, true on-demand wavelength agility can be realized.

4. Technology enablers
There are a number of technologies that are key to the success of the proposed architectural evolution. These
extensions require a larger number of WSS to implement. Figure 4 shows a simple example of how many 1X9 WSS
would be required to build comparable 4-degree (4D) nodes. The fully directionless and colorless implementation
requires increasing number of WSS. As WSS module densities improve and as design enhancements deliver better
performance and cost efficiency, these WSS-rich node architectures become realistic. For the colorless demux
function, clearly higher WSS port-counts are desirable, although the line facing WSS port count requirement does
not change.

Number of WSS required for 4D node

25
Colored
Colorless
20
Colorless + Directionless
WSS count

15

10

0
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Add drop wavelengths per direction

Figure 3. Number of 1x9 WSS required to support 4D ROADM

A renewed emphasis on GMPLS for the agile optical network is also key to activate directionless and colorless
switching for wavelength-on-demand switching.

5. Conclusions
Using WSS technology, ROADM node architectures can be extended to support colorless and directionless add/drop
switching. These capabilities are key to support enhanced network applications including restoration, protection,
maintenance switching and true wavelength-on-demand switching. Improved WSS technologies and GPLS are key
enablers for this evolution.

6. References
[1] Barrie P. Keyworth, “ROADM Subsystems & Technologies”, OFC 2005
[2] Steve De Hennin et al., “Addressing Manufacturability and Reliability of MEMS-based WSS”, OFC 2006