WDM Optical Network (EC1842) Rajiv Ramaswami & Kumar N.

Sivarajan
Why Optical Networks
Dramatic changes in the telecommunication industry.
• Need for more capacity in the network.
• Tremendous growth of the Internet and the World Wide Web in terms of
 number of users & the amount of time
 bandwidth taken by each user – internet traffic growing rapidly.
• Businesses rely on high speed networks.
• Need for more bandwidth.
• Deregulation of the telephone industry.
• Need of providing quality of service (QoS) to carry performance sensitive applications
(real-time voice, video etc.)
Businesses → high speed networks to conduct their businesses -→ these networks are
used to interconnect multiple locations within a company as well as between companies
for business to business transactions.
Need for more bandwidth → phone calls get cheaper –people spend more times on the
phone.
Deregulation of the telephone industry: monopolies companies can take their time
adapting to changes and have no increase to reduce costs and provide new services.
→ Deregulation of these monopolies has stimulated competition in the marketplace which in
turn has resulted in lower costs to end users and faster deployment of new technologies and
services.
→ resulted also of a new start-up companies providing equipment to these service providers.
Also traffic in a network is dominated by data opposed to traditional voice traffic.
In the past, the reverse was true and so legacy networks were designed to support
voice rather data.
 Critical role :
• Reducing communications costs
• Promoting competition among carriers & service providers
• Increasing the demand for new services

Multiplexing Techniques
Transmit data at higher rates over a single fiber. By which increase the capacity. To increase the
bit rate. This requires higher-speed electronics. Many lower-speed data streams are multiplexed
into a higher-speed stream by means of TDM or OTDM.
TDM or OTDM Today, the highest transmission rate in commercially available systems is 40
Gb/s TDM technology. To push TDM technology beyond these rates, researchers are working
on methods to perform the multiplexing and demultiplexing functions optically. This approach
is called optical time division multiplexing (OTDM).

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WDM principal is same as frequency division multiplexing (FDM) WDM and TDM both provide
ways to increase the transmission capacity and are complementary to each other. Therefore
networks today use a combination of TDM and WDM.
Generations of Optical Networks
 First Generation:
• Optics used for transmission & provide capacity
• Switching & other intelligent network functions were handled by electronics
• ex. SONET (synchronous optical network)
• SDH ( synchronous digital hierarchy)
The OSI Model (Open Systems Interconnection)
➢ Physical layer
• Provides a “pipe” with a certain amount of bandwidth to the
data link layer. Pipe means fiber, coaxial cable, copper wire
➢ Data link layer
• Framing
• Multiplexing
• Reliable transmission –acknowledgment frames
• Error detection and correction
• Flow control
• Demultiplexing data send over the physical layer.

➢ Network Layer
• Performs the end-to-end routing function of taking a message at its source
• And delivering it to its destination
• Controls congestion
➢ Transport Layer
• Ensuring the end-to-end
• In-sequence
• Ensuring error-free delivery of the transmitted messages
➢ Session Layer
• Sessions restoration
• Token management
• Synchronization
➢ Presentation Layer
• Encoding data
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 ➢ Application Layer
• Compatibility between applications
SONET is a physical layer network technology designed to carry large volumes of traffic over
relatively long distances on fiber optic cabling. SONET was originally designed by the American
National Standards Institute (ANSI) for the USA public telephone network in the mid-1980s.
Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET) and Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) are
standardized multiplexing protocols that transfer multiple digital bit streams over optical fiber using
lasers or light-emitting diodes (LEDs).
The SONET frame in its electrical nature is called Synchronous Transport Signal-level N (STS-N).
The SDH equivalent is called Synchronous Transport Module level N (STM-N). After conversion
into optical pulses it is known as Optical Carrier level N. The line rates for different levels of
SONET and SDH signals are shown in Table-1 below.
Signal Designation Line Rate
SONET SDH Optical (Mbps)
STS-1 STM-0 OC-1 51.85
STS-3 STM-1 OC-3 155.52
STS-12 STM-4 OC-12 622.08
STS-48 STM-16 OC-48 2488.32
STS-192 STM-64 OC-192 9953.28
SONET define a hierarchy of electrical signaling levels called synchronous transport signals (STS), corresponding OC,
optical carries. SDH define a hierarchy of electrical signaling levels called synchronous transport module (STM).
➢ RailTel has built state of the art backbone network using latest SDH technology with STM-
16 (2.5 Gbps) connectivity presently.
➢ Advanced STM-64 (10Gbps) next generation SDH product & solution to state-owned
telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).
 Second Generation:
• have routing ,switching and intelligence in the optical layer
• use multiplexing techniques – provide the capacity needed
Optical Network Elements Optical cross-connects (OXCs): An OXC
Optical line terminals (OLTs): An OLT essentially performs a similar to OADM function but
multiplexes multiple wavelengths into a single at much larger sizes. OXCs have a large number of
fiber and de-multiplexes a set of wavelengths ports (ranging from a few tens to thousands) and are
on a single fiber into separate fibers. OLTs are able to switch wavelengths from one input port to
used at the ends of a point-to-point WDM link. another.
Optical add/drop multiplexers (OADMs): Both OADMs and OXCs may incorporate
They selectively add and drop individual wavelength conversion capabilities.
or sets of wavelength channels from a
wavelength division multiplexing (WDM)
multi-channel stream. OADMs are used to cost
effectively access part of the bandwidth in the
optical domain being passed through the in-line
amplifiers with the minimum amount of
electronics. Provide flexible routing.
An OADM has two line ports where the
composite WDM signals are present, and a
number of local ports where individual
wavelengths are dropped and added.
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 AON (Active Optical Network) An Active
Optical Network (AON) utilises electricity
powered switching equipment like routers or a
switch aggregator to manage signal distribution
and direction to the correct end users.
• Subscribers have a dedicated fibre optic
strand.
• Uses active components like amplifiers,
repeaters, or shaping circuits to manage
signal distribution
• AON networks can cover a range to about
100 km, a PON is typically limited to fibre
cable runs of up to 20 km
• Flexible solution suitable for businesses
• Higher building cost as active networks
requires more fibre.

The Optical Layer: Layered View of the Optical Network

Physical layer:
• Contains optical components executing linear(transparent)operations on optical signal.
• provides basic communication services to a number of independent logical networks (LNs).

LNs are residing in the Logical layer.

• Contains electronic components executing nonlinear operations on electrical signal

The optical networks do not fit exactly in

the 7 OSI layer model → distinguish as
the physical /logical applications
(services) layers.
The optical layer is a server layer that
provides services to other client layers. This
optical layer provides lightpaths to a variety
of client layers, client layers residing above
a second-generation optical network layer
include IP, Ethernet, and SONET/SDH, as
well as other possible protocols such as
Fibre Channel.
Functions of The Optical Layer:
 Multiplexes lightpaths into a single fiber.
 Allows individual lightpaths to be extracted efficiently from the composite multiplex signal
at the network nodes.
 Incorporates sophisticated service restoration techniques.
 Incorporates management techniques.
 Provides lightpaths – used by SONET and IP network elements.

Lightpaths are optical connections carried end to end from a source node to a destination node over
a wavelength on each intermediate link. At intermediate nodes in the network, the lightpaths are

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routed and switched from one link to another link. In some cases, lightpaths may be converted
from one wavelength to another wavelength as well along their route. Different lightpaths in a
wavelength-routing network can use the same wavelength as long as they do not share any common
links. This allows the same wavelength to be reused spatially in different parts of the network. For
example, Figure 1.4 shows six lightpaths. The lightpath between B and C, the lightpath between D
and E, and one of the lightpaths between E and F do not share any links in the network and can
therefore be set up using the same wavelength λ1. At the same time, the lightpath between A and F
shares a link with the lightpath between B and C and must therefore use a different wavelength. The
two lightpaths between E and F must also be assigned different wavelengths. Note that these
lightpaths all use the same wavelength on every link in their path. We must deal with this constraint
if we do not have wavelength conversion capabilities within the network. Suppose we had only two
wavelengths available in the network and wanted to set up a new lightpath between nodes E and F.
Without wavelength conversion, we would not be able to set up this lightpath. On the other hand, if
the intermediate node X can perform wavelength conversion, then we can set up this lightpath using
wavelength λ2 on link EX and wavelength λ1 on link XF.

The SONET layer provides several key functions. It provides end-to-end, managed, circuit-switched
connections. It provides an efficient mechanism for multiplexing lower-speed connections into
higher-speed connections. SONET also provides a high degree of network reliability and
availability.

PON (Passive Optical Network): A Passive Optical Network (PON), however, does not have electrically
powered equipment and rather makes use of optical splitters to separate and collect optical signals that move
through the network.
• Shares fibre optic strands for a portion of the network.
• Because the bandwidth in a PON is not dedicated to individual subscribers, data transmission speed
may slow down during peak usage times in an effect known as latency. Latency quickly degrades
services such as audio and video, which need a smooth rate to maintain quality.
• Uses optical splitters to separate and aggregate the signal
• Every time the signal is split two ways, half the power goes one way and half goes the other therefore
PON networks have a shorter range of coverage limited by signal strength.
• Power required only at the ends
• Rigid solution suitable for residential
• PONs have a low building cost with lower maintenance costs
• PONs also make it difficult to isolate a failure when they occur.