Study Paper

on
Evolution of High Capacity Optical
Transport Network

Transmission Division, TEC

2020
CONTENTS
 Abstract 3
1. Introduction 4
2. What is OTN Technology? 6
3. OTN Architecture 7
4. OTN Multiplexing Hierarchy 10
5. OTN Bit rates 11
6. OTN Advantages 12
7. ODUflex 13
8. OTN B100G 15
9. OTN B100G frame structure 17
10. ODUflex 19
11. Client signal mapping and multiplexing for B100G 20
12. Forward Error Correction (FEC) 21
13. Flexible Ethernet (FlexE) 22
14. Sub Rate (OTUCn-M) 24
15. Flexible OTN (Flex)) Interface 24
16. Challenges 26
17. Commercial Deployment 28
18. Conclusion 28
19. References 29
20. Glossary 29

2
 Abstract
Presently network traffic is packet-based, generated by a multitude of services and
applications in bursty, unpredictable traffic patterns with widely varying demands on
bandwidth and data transmission performance. Transport technologies, such as
Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET) and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH),
were not designed for packet-dominated, high-capacity services requiring transmission
capacities of 40 Gb/s and above. With increasing capacity, B100G coherent transport
represented by single-carrier 200G/400G was need of the hour.
In view of above, this paper deals with the existing Optical Transport Network (OTN)
technology and its status B100 G, the challenges faced and application for B100G.

1.0 Introduction

3
Telecommunications industry and service provider networks are quickly evolving to
deal with an explosion of digital traffic driven by multimedia services, mobile
applications, social media, Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP), and cloud
computing, and an ever-growing array of bandwidth hungry applications. For
decades, service provider network traffic was dominated by voice calls, in which
traffic was carried over circuit based networks in a predictable network connection
between pairs of endpoints. Most network traffic today is packet-based, generated
by a multitude of services and applications in bursty, unpredictable traffic patterns
with widely varying demands on bandwidth and data transmission performance.
Service provider networks that were once optimized for voice traffic are now in need
of a new transport technology that can handle modern network traffic patterns and
content.

Wireless services are one of major business sectors of operators. Compared with the
4G era, it is generally agreed in the industry that the bandwidth demand in the 5G
era will increase 100 to 1000 fold. Considering the unified transport of wireline and
wireless networks in the 5G era, the MAN convergence layer will require multiple 100
Gbps channels, and the MAN core layer will even require a bandwidth of more than
10 Tbps. It can be said that 5G development will bring another round of explosive
bandwidth growth. It is a general trend to deploy B100G OTN at both the MAN core
and backbone layers.

The table 1 deals with evolution of various Optical Transmission technologies with
their prominent time period and limitations.

Technology Peak Time Speed Constraints/Limitation

period
PDH early 1960s 140  Timing slips: Because if bit stuffing of timing
(Plesiochronous Mbps slips due to independent clocks at sender and
digital receiver end, to identify an individual channel
hierarchy) from the higher bit-rate stream, it was

4
 required to demultiplex down to the level
where your tributary channel lies. This was
considered as the major in-efficiency.
 Lack of OAM: Because of no agreed standard
for management or to monitor the
performance.
 Lack of a standardized definition: There was
no standard for PDH rates greater than 140
megabits per second. An alternative was
needed.
SDH Late 80s Upto 40  SONET/SDH cannot scale beyond 40 Gbps
(Synchronous and early Gbps and has problems handling high-bandwidth
Digital 90s clients such as video.
Hierarchy)  SONET/SDH has limited Forward Error
Correction (FEC) capabilities. FEC is an error
correction method required to transmit 10
Gbps signals or greater over any reasonable
distance.
 SONET/SDH standards could not be extended
into WDM networks, including: Standards for
mapping client traffic on to wavelengths, such
as video, storage, and GDPS mapping
standards. The absence of client mapping
standards meant that signals had to be de-
multiplexed into their basic elements between
the boundaries of carriers using incompatible
equipment.

Table 1: Evolution of Optical Transport Technologies

5
 Figure 1: OTN Evolution

Previous-generation transport technologies, such as Plesiochronous digital

hierarchy (PDH), Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET) and Synchronous Digital
Hierarchy (SDH), were not designed for packet-dominated, high-capacity services
requiring transmission capacities of 40 Gb/s and above. With this in mind, visionaries
in the telecommunications industry created OTN, Optical Transport Network, which
is standardized by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as G.709.

2.0 What is OTN technology?

ITU-T defines an Optical Transport Network (OTN) as a set of Optical Network
Elements (ONE) connected by optical fiber links, able to provide functionality of
transport, multiplexing, switching, management, supervision and survivability of
optical channels carrying client signals. Often referred to as a ‘digital wrapper,’
OTN allows one or more different services to be transparently carried over a
wavelength, each with its own full set of monitoring capabilities. OTN initially
provided an optical backbone for transparent carriage of SONET and SDH payloads;
extended SONET/SDH-like Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM); as
well as Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance, and Security (FCAPS)
capabilities to client payloads such as Ethernet, Fibre Channel (FC), ESCON, and
digital video. OTN provides robust OAM features for WDM networks, including
performance monitoring, fault detection, Forward Error Correction (FEC), embedded

6
 communications channels, latency measuring, and a standard mapping structure for
multiplexing low-rate signals onto high-speed payloads.

Although it’s now common to link OTN and Ethernet technologies, OTN was not
originally created to work specifically with Ethernet. In fact, OTN was developed to
manage Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) wavelengths with SONET/SDH as
the client payload, given the wide deployment of SONET/SDH at the time. OTN was
also intended to support a manageable wholesaled wavelength infrastructure. It is
this original use case from which the capability of full payload transparency
originated. By 2009, it was clear that the majority of traffic carried by OTN would be
Ethernet-based, so OTN standards were enhanced to closely align with Ethernet
traffic characteristics.
In the 2009 update, G.709 was enhanced to more tightly integrate with Ethernet
data rates and packet formats. As a result, OTN and Ethernet are now inseparable
in most networks. This symbiotic relationship makes OTN the ideal protocol for
transport of Ethernet over Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM)
networks.

3.0 OTN architecture

The OTN wrapper is made up of several components that constitute the hierarchy
depicted in Figure 2 for overhead communication between network nodes. The
Optical Transport Module (OTM) is the structure transported across the optical line
interface. It has two parts: a digital section and an analog section.

7
 Figure 2: Optical Transport Module

The Optical channel Payload Unit (OPU) contains the payload frames. The ‘service
layer’ represents the end-user services such as GbE, SONET, SDH, FC, or any other
protocol. For transparently mapped services such as ESCON, GbE, or FC, the service
is passed through a Generic Framing Procedure (GFP) mapper.

The Optical channel Data Unit (ODUk, where k = 1/2/2e/3/3e2/4) contains the OPU
plus overhead. The Optical Transport Unit (OTUk, where k = 1/2/2e/3/3e2/4) contains
the ODU, provides the section-level overhead such as BIP8, and supports the General
Communication Channel (GCC) bytes for overhead communication between network
nodes. The GCC is used for OAM functions such as performance monitoring, fault
detection, and signaling and maintenance. The physical layer maps the OTU into a
wavelength and the Optical Channel (OCh), which runs across the optical line.

An Optical Multiplex Section (OMS) sits between two devices and can multiplex
wavelengths onto a fiber, as shown in Figure 3. An Optical Transmission Section (OTS)
consists of the fiber between anything that performs an optical function on the signal.
An Erbium-Doped Fiber Amplifier (EDFA) counts as ‘line amplifying’ equipment.

8
OTN offers six levels of tandem connection monitoring that enable a network
operator to monitor a signal as it passes through other operators’ networks. This
functional breakdown aids in fault management, as OTN overhead is rigorously
aligned with these points.

Figure 3: OTN wrapper

Figure 4: Optical line structure breakdown

9
 Figure 4 illustrates how different services are mapped onto common wavelengths
(an OCh always contains a single OTU), thereby providing for sub-wavelength
bandwidth management and decoupling of service rates from the line rate.

4.0 OTN Multiplexing Hierarchy

OTN supports single and multi-step multiplexing into higher containers at the ODU
level, as depicted in Figure 5, which shows an abridged hierarchical view. For
example, four ODU1s can be multiplexed into an OPU2. An OPU3 can contain a
multiplexing of four ODU2s, 16 ODU1s, or a mixture of ODU1s and ODU2s. Figure
5 also shows that OTN supports both Low Order (LO) and High Order (HO)
mapping. LO is used when a client signal does not need further aggregation within
the optical carrier (wavelength), and HO is used when sub-wavelength grooming
and/or multiplexing is required. Note that 10G refers to a line rate, regardless of the
type of traffic being transported, while 10GbE refers to Ethernet traffic operating at
10Gb/s at client side. Figure 5 shows the relationship between various information
structure elements and illustrates the multiplexing structure and mappings for the
OTU. In the multi-domain OTN any combination of the ODU multiplexing layers
may be present at a given OTN NNI. A (non-OTN) client signal is mapped into an
OPU. This OPU signal is mapped into the associated ODU. This ODU signal is either
mapped into the associated OTU[V] signal, or into an ODTU. This ODTU signal is
multiplexed into an ODTU Group (ODTUG). The ODTUG signal is mapped into an
OPU. This OPU signal is mapped into the associated ODU, etc. The OTU is mapped
into an OCh-P or OTSiG. The OTUk may also be mapped into an OTLk.n and an
OTLk.n is then mapped into an OTSiG.

The OPUk (k=0,1,2,2e,3,4,flex) are the same information structures, but with
different client signals. The OPUCn has a different information structure than the
OPUk; the OPUCn information structure consists of n times the information
structure of the OPU while the OPUk contain a single instance of the OPU
information structure.

10
 Figure 5: OTN Mapping Hierarchy

5.0 OTN Bit rates

Table 2: OTN Rates

11
6.0 Advantage of OTN
Primary advantages of OTN include:
Reduction in transport costs: By allowing multiple clients to be transported on a
single wavelength, OTN provides an economical mechanism to fill optical network
wavelengths.
Efficient use of optical spectrum: OTN facilitates efficient use of DWDM capacity by
ensuring fill rates are maintained across a network using OTN switches at fiber
junctions.
Determinism: OTN dedicates specific and configurable bandwidth to each service,
group of services, or each network partition. This means that network capacity and
managed performance (throughput, latency, jitter, and availability) are guaranteed
for each client, and there is no contention between concurrent services or users.
Virtualize network operations: The ability to partition an OTN-switched network into
private network partitions, also referred to as Optical Virtual Private Networks (O-
VPNs), provides a dedicated set of network resources to a client, independent of the
rest of the network. Each network tenant sees only the resources associated with
that tenant’s private partition. Other resources associated with other tenants will
not be visible. O-VPNs also ease network evolution because network upgrades can
be tested or introduced in a protected network partition or ‘sandbox,’ without
the risk of impacting day-to-day network operations in production partitions.
Flexibility: OTN networks give operators the ability to employ the technologies
needed now to support transport demands while enabling operators to adopt new
technologies as business requirements dictate.
Secure by design: OTN networks ensure a high level of privacy and security through
hard partitioning of traffic onto dedicated circuits. This segregation of network traffic
makes it difficult to intercept data transferred between nodes over OTN-channelized
links. And because OTN-switched networks keep all applications and tenants
separate, organizations can effectively stop hackers who access one part of the
network from gaining access to other parts of the network.
Robust yet simple operations: OTN network management data is carried on a
separate channel, completely isolated from user application data. This means OTN

12
 network settings are much more difficult to access and modify by gaining
admittance through a client interface port.

7.0 ODUflex
Until the third version of G.709, released in December 2009 by the ITU, only a
handful of ODU rates had been defined to support the main non-OTN client
signals like STM-16/64/256 and 1/10/100 Gigabit Ethernet and lower rate ODU to
higher rate ODU multiplexing. Transport of many additional non-OTN clients
such as Fibre Channel and Video signals as well as variable rate packet fl ows had
also been examined to ensure the continuing effectiveness of the OTN in carrier
networks. The existing ODU rates were not efficient to transport these new
clients, but it was also not desirable to defi ne a new, fixed rate ODU type for
each one. Consequently, the concept of a flexible rate ODU, or ODUflex, was
devised to fill in the gaps of the fixed rate hierarchy and included in the third
version of G.709.

ODUflex (CBR) for Fixed Rate Client Transport

Most non-OTN client signals that are transported in the OTN are Constant Bit
Rate (CBR) signals. A CBR signal can be synchronously or asynchronously
mapped into an ODUk depending on how the rate of the ODUk is derived. For
each fixed rate ODUk (k=0,1,2,2e,3,4 but not fl ex), Table 7-2 of G.709 specifies a
nominal rate and a frequency tolerance (±100ppm for ODU2e and ±20ppm for
the rest). The same is true for any non-OTN client signal that is to be transported
in an ODUk. The ODUk rate generation can be controlled independently from
the client or, when both the ODUk and the client have the same nominal rates
and tolerance (e.g. ODU1 and STM-16), it can be directly derived from the client.
When the rates are independent an asynchronous mapping is required involving
the use of stuffi ng for adaptation of the client rate into the ODU payload. When
the ODU rate is derived from the client, no differences exist between the client
rate and the ODU payload rate so a synchronous mapping can be used where

13
all available payload bytes of the ODU carry client data. From a client clock jitter
generation and suppression perspective, a synchronous mapping is preferred.

When mapping a CBR client into ODUflex, the Bit-synchronous Mapping

Procedure, or BMP, is used and every ODUflex payload byte carries 8 successive
bits of client data (clients may or may not be byte oriented). Based on the number
of columns of ODU and OPU overhead and the number of payload columns, the
ODUflex rate is exactly equal to 239/238 x the client rate. It is important to note
that only CBR clients greater than 2.488Gbit/s are mapped into ODUflex (CBR)
using BMP. Clients less than 1.244Gbit/s are mapped into ODU0 using the
Generic Mapping Procedure, or GMP, and clients between 1.244Gbit/s and
2.488Gbit/s are mapped into ODU1 using GMP. Thus, ODUflex (CBR) can be any
rate greater than an ODU1.

ODUflex (GFP) for Packet Flow Transport

ODUflex is also defined to carry packet data flows encapsulated with Generic
Framing Procedure, or GFP. Typically, these would be Ethernet or MPLS packet
flows, but any packet oriented data can be encapsulated in GFP frames and
mapped into an ODU. These packet flows do not have a constant bit rate, so it
is not practical to create an ODUfl ex (GFP) container rate directly based on the
packet fl ow rate as is done for ODUflex (CBR). Instead, the ODUflex (GFP) rates
are multiples of approximately 1.25Gbit/s, to correspond to the capacity of an
integer number of higher order ODU Tributary Slots, and the packet flow is
adapted to that rate using GFP.

In this way, mapping of GFP frames into an ODUflex is exactly the same as
mapping GFP frames into a fixed rate ODUk (k = 0,1,2,2e,3,4). For a given ODUfl
ex (GFP), the rate is established and the packet flow is rate adapted into it using
GFP. It is also possible to adjust the rate of an ODUflex (GFP) to address changes
in traffic profiles. Before, during and after this adjustment process, GFP always

14
 takes care of adapting the packet flow rate into the available payload bandwidth
of the ODUflex (GFP).

8.0 OTN B100G

Optical transport network (OTN) technology featuring high bandwidth, low latency,
and long-distance transmission provides quality bearers for global operator
networks. Using revolutionary technologies such as coherent communications,
polarization multiplexing, and soft-decision error correction, 100G transport has
quickly replaced 40G transmission and become a new generation of long-life
technology. 100G has been deployed on a large scale for nearly five years.

With the rapid development of 5G, big video, and high-performance private line
services, as well as the growing demands for DCI interconnection brought by cloud
networks, demand for higher optical network bandwidth is witnessing exponential
growth. Accordingly, B100G coherent transport represented by single-carrier
200G/400G has become a hot topic.

B100G uses high-order QAM modulation, constellation shaping (including

probabilistic shaping), and nonlinear compensation for signal processing, uses low-
loss large-effective-area fiber, low noise amplifiers, and distributed Raman
amplifiers to improve transmission performance, and uses optical integration
including Silicon Photonics (SiPh) integration, Indium Phosphide (InP) integration,
optical hybrid integration, hybrid optoelectronic integration, and digital-to-analog
conversion with high sampling rate and high resolution to improve energy
efficiency. The objective is to settle the conflicts between spectral efficiency and
transmission distances and between network performance and energy efficiency
for large-scale commercial use of B100G.
Taking OTN to rates higher than 100Gbit/s posed multiple challenges. Some of
these were encountered when the 100Gbit/s OTU4 OTN signal was defined, but
some were new challenges. Other objectives and challenges came up during the

15
course of developing the B100G standard. These challenges and objectives
included:
• The Shannon channel capacity limits are catching up to optical transport network
capabilities. Specifically, the 50 GHz channel spacing of the standard wavelength
grid currently used for dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) imposes
limits on transporting signals over reasonable distances when they have rates much
over 100Gbit/s. (200Gbit/s was the practical limit per wavelength for distances of
interest in telecom networks at beginning of the B100G project, although higher
rates per wavelength will become possible driven by advances in Coherent DSP
technology and new higher order modulation formats.)
• The old paradigm of adding new discrete rates for OTN had largely reached its
practical limits, making a modular rate and frame structure approach more
attractive.
• The IEEE 802.3bs Task Force working on 400Gbit/s Ethernet was examining several
new approaches that were different from its previous interfaces. The new OTN
format needed to not only carry 400GbE, but also re-use its technology and PHY
components in order to benefit from the Ethernet component cost curves.

• The higher bit rates and increased use of multi-lane interfaces poses additional
considerations regarding Forward Error Correction (FEC) and performance
monitoring.

• Different B100G interface types have different FEC performance capability

requirements. Consequently, while the current OTUk frame format had fixed
dedicated FEC overhead, it was more appropriate to specify the FEC on a per-
interface basis and not make the FEC overhead in integral part of the frame
structure.

• Continuing to use 1.25Gbit/s Tributary Slot (TS) sizes in OTN would be impractical
for B100G rates, so a larger Tributary Slot size was desirable.

• The high data rates and the introduction of new data client signals such as the
OIF’s Flexible Ethernet (FlexE) have made the current byte-oriented mapping

16
 approach for data clients impractical. This motivated the desire for a wide-word
type of mapping.

• In order to optimize the use of each wavelength, including the transmission reach,
there was a desire to transmit the OTN signals at the rate required for the client
payload being carried rather than at the full discrete rate of the OTUk signal.

9.0 OTN B100G Frame Structure

As mentioned above, legacy OTN signals used an identical frame structure
regardless of the ODU rate. In contrast, OTN B100G borrowed the modular
approach of SONET/SDH and interleaves base frames to create higher rate signals.
Specifically, the B100G frame format is an interleaving of n of the basic frames. The
basic frame is an ODUC (ODU, where the “C” reflects its 100 Gbit/s nominal rate),
and the transmitted signal is an OTUCn. Unlike with SONET/SDH, the entire OPUCn
payload area of the resulting signal is a single entity with n times the size of the
OPUC.

A key early decision was that the new B100G signals would not be switched within
the network, since the ability to switch would make them a new layer network for
the carrier to manage. Instead, B100G was defined for only point-to-point
connectivity, with the client signals carried within the B100G signal being switched.
Another closely related foundational agreement is related to the need to be able to
use multiple wavelengths when transmitting an OTUCn signal. It was agreed that
the entire group of wavelengths associated with an OTUCn interface signal would
go through the same fiber and optical switches (i.e., the same Optical Multiplex
Section trails) such that the OTUCn signal can be managed as a single entity.
Consequently, very limited deskew is required if multiple wavelengths are used.
Note that with the recently revised ITU-T nomenclature, a WDM wavelength used
to carry an OTN signal is referred to as an Optical Tributary Signal (OTSi). An Optical
Tributary Signal Group (OTSiG) is the set of OTSi signals that support carrying a
single client such as an OTUCn.

17
The OTUCn, ODUCn, and OPUCn overhead fields are essentially the same as for
the previous generation of OTN. Overhead that pertains to the entire interface (e.g.,
Trail Trace Identifier for proper connectivity checking, remote defect indications,
and delay measurement overhead) only appear on the first OTUC/ODUC of the
OTUCn/ODUCn rather than on all n slices.

The TS size was chosen to be nominally 5 Gbit/s, which gives (100n/5) = 20n TS in
an OPUCn. This TS rate provided the desired coarser granularity, and was the lowest
rate that would efficiently accommodate the new data client signals, including 25
GbE and 16 Gbit/s Fiber Channel. Newer data clients typically have rates that are
divisible by 5 Gbit/s. Legacy data client signals with rates below 5 Gbit/s will be first
mapped into a legacy OTN signal. The exact TS and OPUCn payload rates are
shown in Table 3.

Table 3: OTN B100G Rate Information

18
 Figure 6: Optical Transport Module for B100G

10.0 Packet Client Mapping Using ODUflex(IMP)

For data rates over 100 Gbit/s, it becomes unattractive to do the packet data
mapping on the byte-by-byte basis defined for GFP. Most packet data protocols
already use word sizes of at least 8 byte words for rates ≥10 Gbit/s. A wide-word
version of GFP was considered, that would be based on 64-bit (8-byte) words.
However, since Ethernet is the dominant packet client and virtually all wide word
clients use the Ethernet 64B/66B line coding, it simplified the IC data paths if both
native Ethernet CBR and packet clients were mapped as streams of 64B/66B
words. Consequently, rather than using ODUflex(GFP) for packet clients, Q11/15
chose to define a new approach based on mapping packet clients into an
ODUflex as a 64B/66B code word stream. Non-Ethernet packet clients are first
encapsulated into Ethernet, with the resulting 64B/66B stream using the
ODUflex(IMP) mapping.

The OPUflex rate is a constant rate that is set to be higher than the maximum
client rate. Rate adaptation between the packet client data and the OPUflex is
performed by inserting Ethernet Idle code words into the 64B/66B stream as

19
 defined in IEEE 802.3 for Ethernet. For that reason, the new approach was given
the name “ODUflex(IMP),” where IMP stands for Idle [insertion] Mapping
Procedure. This is conceptually similar to ODUflex(GFP) in which the unused
payload bandwidth of the fixed-rate ODUflex(GFP) signal was filled with GFP Idle
frames. Note that IEEE 802.3 specifies inserting Idle characters only between
Ethernet frames, in the inter-frame gap (IFG). Hence, while these mappings are
Ethernet stream mappings, they are pseudo-packet aware rather than simple
CBR mappings.

The packet client signal is mapped as an n × 25 Gbit/s (n = 1, 2, …) Ethernet

stream. Note that Ethernet clients with rates of 10 and 40 Gbit/s are also
supported. The mapping process uses the following steps:
1. The data stream presented to the mapper consists of 64B/66B characters
containing Ethernet MAC frames and inter-frame gap Idle (or Ordered set)
characters.
2. The character stream is first 64B/66-encoded into a FlexE (Flexible Ethernet)
signal, defined by the OIF.
3. The resulting scrambled FlexE signal is mapped into the ODUflex(IMP). Idle
characters (or Ordered sets) are inserted between Ethernet frames at this point
in order to match the rate of the FlexE stream with the OPUflex rate.
4. Next the FlexE character stream is scrambled, using a self-synchronous
scrambler with the same 1+ x39 +x58 method and polynomial specified in IEEE
802.3 Clause 49.2.6 [19].
5. Finally, the resulting ODUflex(IMP) is multiplexed/mapped into the OPUCn,
where GMP is used for rate justification, as with all ODUk clients being
multiplexed into an OPUCn.
The process is reversed at the demapper to recover the client packet stream.

11.0 Client Signal Mapping and Multiplexing for B100G

With legacy OTN, client signals could either be mapped directly into an OPUk,
filling that entire OPUk, or mapped into the OPU of a lower rate ODU, which was

20
 then multiplexed into a higher rate OPUk. One consequence of the decision not
to allow switching ODUC signals is that no clients are mapped directly into an
OPUCn. All client signals must first be mapped into a legacy ODUj (j = 2, 3, 4,
flex) signal, which is then multiplexed into the OPUCn.

All ODUk signals carrying client information are multiplexed into the OPUCn
using the Generic Mapping Procedure (GMP) for rate compensation between the
ODUk rate and the aggregate rate of the OPUCn TS set that it occupies. GMP
was introduced with the previous generation of OTN. Here, GMP works by having
the source node, once per OPUCn multiframe, transmit a count of the number
of ODUk data words that it will map into that TS (or TS set) during the next
multiframe. The word locations that are not filled with the ODUk data are filled
with pad words, and the location of the pad words is determined based on
modulo arithmetic involving the count value.

Figure 7: OTUCn Multiplexing Hierarchy

12.0 Forward Error Correction (FEC)

One of the key advantages of OTN is its support of FEC in the OTU frame, which
is standardized in ITU G.975. This overhead is added to the last part of the frame

21
 before it gets scrambled for transmission. FEC has proved to be efficient in
correcting a very high number of errors in transmission due to noise or other
impairments present in high-capacity transmissions. The standard FEC uses a
Reed-Solomon RS (255/239) coding technique, in which 239 bytes are required
to compute a 16-byte parity check. Allowing service providers to extend the
distance between optical repeaters, FEC helps reduce both capital and
operational expenses while simplifying the network topography by being able to
skip amplifier sites.

IEEE 802.3 defined a relatively strong Reed-Solomon FEC for use with Ethernet
signals having rates ≥100 Gbit/s. The RS(544,514) “KP4” code covers blocks of
514 10-bit symbols in each FEC codeword, and can correct up to 15 errored
symbols per codeword. The overall performance is effectively comparable to the
RS (255, 239) “GFEC” code defined for legacy OTN, which was based on 8-bit
symbols. However, the RS (544, 514) achieves its performance with lower coding
overhead (544/514 = 1.0584 and 255/239 = 1.0669). This reduced FEC overhead
ratio is very similar to the rate ratio between an ODUC1 and a legacy OTU4 using
GFEC. Consequently, applying the KP4 FEC to an ODUC1 made it possible to
achieve a bit rate within <5 ppm of the OTU4 rate, which allows using existing
100 GbE/OTU4 PHY modules. Hence, a flexible interface for B100G based on the
RS (544, 514) FEC was ideal in terms of both the ability to reuse existing optical
modules and reusing Ethernet KP4 FEC IP.

13.0 Flexible Ethernet Client Signal (FlexE)

Another critical factor that influenced the OTN B100G packet client data
mappings was the parallel work done in the OIF to define the above-mentioned
“Flexible Ethernet” (FlexE) interface. FlexE defines a mechanism for supporting
a variety of Ethernet sub-rates, in addition to an efficient method to bond
multiple parallel links. Specifically, it defines a TDM structure that allows multiple
Ethernet MAC flows that are each less than the PMD (Physical Medium
Dependent) rate to share a set of PMDs. It also allows bonding a set of PMDs to

22
carryMAC flows that are higher rate than a single PMD. The primary motivation
for developing FlexE was to provide flexible interface rates for data center
interconnections.

A FlexE client signal is an Ethernet MAC flow that is a CBR-type signal. The TDM
structure that allows multiplexing the FlexE clients is based on periodic “calendar
slots” that can be filled with a 64B/66B character from the MAC flow assigned
to that calendar slot. The frame format for each PHY consists of a slot carrying
the FlexE signal overhead followed by 1023 sets of 20 calendar slots for carrying
FlexE client data. The calendar associated with each individual PHY is called a
sub-calendar of the overall calendar for the FlexE Group. A FlexE client MAC flow
can own any number of calendar slots, and these calendar slots can either go
over the same PMD or be spread across multiple PMDs. As noted above, the
nominal rate of each calendar slot is 5 Gbit/s (corresponding to 20 calendar slots
per 100 Gbit/s PMD).

In addition to using FlexE for mapping packet data clients into the OPUCn, as
described above, OTN B100G has flexible options for carrying FlexE signals.
Specifically, when the client signal originates as a FlexE signal, there are three
options for mapping it into an OPUCn. One option is to terminate the FlexE signal
and map the FlexE client flows into the OPUCn as individual clients. A new FlexE
signal can then be created at the OTN demapper. The second option is called
“FlexE unaware” because it treats each 100 Gbit/s FlexE PMD stream as if it is
an individual 100 GbE signal. Hence, the mapper and demapper have no need
to know that a FlexE signal is present.

The third option for mapping a FlexE signal into an OPUCn is called “FlexE
aware.” One of the features of FlexE results from each FlexE client flow being
assigned only the calendars slots required for that client flow’s bandwidth.
Consequently, it is possible that the bandwidth of a PMD is not fully utilized. If it
is known that a PMD will remain only partially utilized, the unneeded calendar

23
 slots are grouped at the end of the calendar and flagged as being
“Unavailable.” The PMD can then remove these calendar slots and transmit at
a corresponding lower (“crunched”) CBR PHY rate in order to reduce system
power, achieve longer signal reach and/or improve error performance. When a
FlexE-aware OTN mapper receives either a crunched FlexE signal or a full-rate
FlexE signal with Unavailable calendar slots, it will map the lower rate CBR stream
corresponding to the non-Unavailable calendar slots. Consequently, the ODUflex
carrying the FlexE client will require one fewer OPUCn TS for each Unavailable
FlexE calendar slot that is removed, thus making more efficient use of the OPUCn
capacity. The resulting signal is mapped into an OPUflex using the special bit-
synchronous mode of GMP (BGMP). BGMP generates the GMP count values
deterministically rather than deriving them from the input client rate and buffer
fill.

14.0 Sub-Rate (OTUCn-M)

Some carrier applications need optimization for power and/or transmission
distance. Example applications include interconnections between two routers
where the peak rate of the packet flow is less than the n × OTUC rate, and the
interconnections between two OTN crossconnects where the required capacity
is less than the n × OTUC rate. B100G OTN includes the option of transmitting a
signal that has the full set of OTUCn/ODUCn overhead, but has an OPUCn
consisting of only the active Tributary Slots. Specifically, an OTUCn-M signal
consists of n copies of the OTUC, ODUC and OPUC overhead, and M of the 5
Gbit/s TS. Since this application is vendor specific, G.709 does not define the
frame format details. Conceptually, this is somewhat similar to the FlexE
crunching of unavailable calendar slots described above.

15.0 Flexible OTN (FlexO) Interface

One of the important decisions in creating the OTN B100G standard was
separating the OTN signal format from the transmitted line format and

24
associated FEC. This separation allows creating PHY formats optimized for
different applications that are independent of the B100G signal format except for
its rate. The first PHY interface defined for OTN B100G signals was conceptually
inspired in part by FlexE. It is called Flexible OTN (FlexO) and is defined in ITU-T
Recommendation G.709.1.

Like FlexE, FlexO is a modular interface consisting of a set of 100 Gbit/s optical
PHY streams that are bonded together to carry an OTUCn. This allows using any
value of “n” for an OTUCn interface rather than defining only certain discrete
values of n (e.g., just n = 4 and 10). Since the ODUCn signal is constructed from
n of the 100 Gbit/s ODUC slices, it is well suited to using an n × 100 Gbit/s modular
PHY, with each 100 Gbit/s PHY carrying an OTUC slice. Note that if a set of m 100
Gbit/s PHYs are available, a subset of n PHYs can be chosen to carry an OTUCn
(n < m). For example, this would allow choosing the subset of PHYs with the best
optical channel characteristics, or carrying multiple OTUCn signals over a set of
PHYs. Since the initial version of FlexO is intended for client side interfaces, it was
ideal from a component cost and availability standpoint to reuse the existing
pluggable optical PHY modules developed for 100 GbE and OTU4. FlexO makes
partial reuse of the lane architecture and FEC structure from 100 GbE and 400
GbE Ethernet in order to leverage Ethernet IP.

25
 Figure 8: Data flow from input client signal to optical line signal

16.0 Challenges
B100G also faces technical challenges such as channel modulation, line
transmission and product integration and packaging.

16.1 Channel modulation

Baud rate is the basic means to increase single-channel transport rates from 32G
baud in the 100G era to 64G baud in the 400G era and 96G/128G baud in the
future 800G era. The increase in baud rate can reduce the number of optical
components. For example, doubling the baud rate from the standard 32
Gbaud currently used in 100G systems to 64 Gbaud immediately doubles the
amount of information the system can transmit, and since it requires the same
number of optical components, nearly cuts the cost per bit in half. However, the
baud rate increase is limited by the bandwidth of modulators/drivers and
receivers and the manufacturing level of components. In addition, simply
increasing the baud rate cannot increase spectral efficiency or total transmission
capacity.

26
 High-order QAM can increase spectral efficiency and transmission capacity, but
requires narrower linewidth lasers and better linear optoelectronic components.
Moreover, closer arrangement of constellation diagrams in high-order
modulation results in shorter transmission distance.
16.2 Line transmission
Compared with the ever-changing development of channel modulation, line
transmission has developed at a relatively slow pace. New fibers (such as G.654E)
with low loss and large effective area can reduce line loss and increase the
incident optical power, thus reducing the number of electrical repeaters. On the
equipment side, low-noise optical amplifiers are used to improve transmission
performance, and the commercial deployment of distributed Raman amplifiers
are accelerated. These technical means are adopted to ensure engineering safety
and reduce maintenance difficulties of Raman amplifiers and will play a more
significant role in extending transmission distance.

16.3 Product integration and packaging

Optical components, which are key to B100G technology, are developed from
traditional discrete devices (such as optical sources, modulators, and integrated
receivers) to integrated optical devices based on InP and SiPh technologies. With
the group III-V elements, InP can be used for lasers and other active gain devices.
SiPh compatible with the CMOS technology has a great potential for large-scale
and low-cost production, but faces the challenge of implementing an active gain
structure. As InP and SiPh based Die and optical components are small in size,
highly integrated and pluggable optical modules can be made.

The OIF is developing IC-TROSA standards for packaging. Type-A standards are
specified for the SiPh technology that integrate modulators, drivers and receivers.
Type-B standards are defined for the InP technology, integrating lasers,
modulators, drivers and receivers. Leveraging the advantage of non-hermetic

27
 packaging, SiPh enables BGA packaging, while the InP technology can integrate
optical components into a Goldbox.

17.0 Commercial deployment

In 2016, China Unicom carried out a laboratory test on the transmission
performance of B100G using new optical fibers, and deployed trial sites on the
existing network for verification. In 2017, China Mobile conducted laboratory tests
to verify transmission functions and performance of single-carrier 400G,
preparing for subsequent standards formulation and commercial deployment. In
January 2018, American telecom operator Verizon completed a 400G field trial
by establishing connections between core routers for 400GE services over its
OTN.
Analyst firm Cignal Al forecasts that B100G will take nearly a quarter share of OTN
bandwidth market by 2020. Another well-known consulting firm, Ovum, predicts
that B100G market will account for over one-third of the whole OTN market in
2022.

18.0 Conclusion
Originally introduced in 2000, OTN has proven capable of continuing to evolve
and adapt to cover new applications and technology in the transport network.
The new OTUCn B100G standard is the next stage of that evolution. The modular
frame and rate structure readily allows:
1) A convenient way for the OTUCn signal to be divided for transmission over
multiple wavelengths.
2) Supporting multi-vendor interfaces of different rates.
3) A straightforward adaptation to carry future high-speed client signals, such as
Terabit/s Ethernet.
4) The introduction of FlexO for a modular interface that can exploit 100
GbE/OTU4 PHY modules.

28
 While the initial application for OTUCn signals will be long haul connections, it
will see metro network applications as 400 GbE and FlexE become available and
data-center connectivity increases in importance.
With its mapping and rate flexibility, its associated FlexO PHY that takes
advantage of Ethernet modules, and its overhead optimized for service provider
transport networks, the B100G OTUCn preserves OTN’s role as the ideal
transport technology for service provider transport networks.

19.0 References
1. White paper on Moving to 100G and beyond by Sterling Perrin Senior
Analyst, Heavy Reading
2. The Evolution of ITU-T G.709 Optical Transport Networks (OTN) Beyond
100Gbit/s by Microsemi
3. ITU-T G.709/Y.1331 on Interfaces for Optical Transport Network
4. A Tutorial on ITU-T G.709 Optical Transport Network by Microsemi
5. Beyond 100G: The glass is heating up by Xiong Qianjin, Huwaei
Communications
6. Prospects of Beyond 100 G OTN by Shi Kai ZTE
7. Expert series Master ins and outs of OTN by Paul Littlewood, Fady Masoud
with Malcolm Loro

20.0 Glossary
ITU-T: International Telecommunications Union – Telecommunications
Section
B100G: Beyond 100G
OTN: Optical Transport Network
SONET: Synchronous Optical Network
SDH: Synchronous Digital Hierarchy
OTH: Optical Transport Hierarchy
ODU: Optical channel Data Unit

29
OPU: Optical channel Payload Unit
GFP: Generic Framing Procedure
OPU: Optical Payload Unit
ODU: Optical Data Unit
OTU: Optical channel Transport Unit
ODTUG: Optical Data Tributary Unit Group
InP: Indium Phosphide
BIP: Bit Interleaved Parity
Och: Optical Channel
FC: Fibre Channel
FEC: Forward Error Correction
ESCON: Enterprise Systems Connection
LAN PHY (10GBase R): LAN Physical interface
WAN PHY(10GBase-W): WAN Physical Interace
LO: Low Order
HO: High Order
GMP: Generic Mapping Procedure
PPM: Parts Per Million
IC-TROSA: Integrated Coherent Transmit & Receive Optical Sub Assembly
CBR: Constant Bit Rate
AMP: Asynchronous Mapping Procedure
MAN: Metropolitan Area Network
QAM: Quadrature Amplitude Modulation

30