Key performance indicators for elastic optical transponders and ROADMs:the role of flexibility

Flexible optical networks will provide the required service diversity to manage unpredictable traffic patterns and growth. However, a key challenge is to quantify flexibility in order to indicate the associated performance of individual components and subsystems required to support networks and correlate it with other figures of merit. Measurable key performance indicators will aid the process towards the design and deployment of cost effective and efficient optical networks. Moreover, the design and placement of network elements within a network influences the resultant network-wide flexibility and performance. In this paper, we highlight critical design parameters for key optical components, optical transmission and switching subsystems using flexibility as an additional figure of merit. We derive models to measure the flexibility of key optical components, optical transmission and switching subsystems based on entropy maximization. Using these models, we evaluate flexibility and design trade-offs of the presented enabling technologies with other key performance indicators such as spectral efficiency, lightpath reach, total capacity, normalized cost, connectivity and others. This study provides an advanced and more informed set of design rules that quantify and visualize the different degrees of flexibility of enabling technologies and associated performance based on required specification and/or functionality

Migration strategies toward all optical metropolitan access rings

This paper was published in Journal of Lightwave Technology and is made available as an electronic reprint with the permission of OSA. The paper can be found at the following URL on the IEEE website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/JLT.2007.901325. Systematic or multiple reproduction or distribution to multiple locations via electronic or other means is prohibited and is subject to penalties under law.Nowadays, network operators are steadily deploying optical circuit switching (OCS) equipment in their metropolitan networks in order to cope with traffic increase and, most importantly, in order to reduce capital expenditures and operational expenditures of existing active technologies. On the other hand, optical burst switching (OBS) technology is expected to become mature in the medium term, and it may be used as an alternative to current OCS networks due to its potential advantages in terms of bandwidth allocation granularity. While OBS is being extensively studied in the literature, little attention has been paid in conducting a comparative analysis of OBS versus OCS, especially concerning cost analysis. In this paper, we provide a comparative analysis of OBS versus OCS as an evolutionary technology for all-optical rings in the metropolitan-access network. This paper is specifically targeted toward optimizing the number of optoelectronic receivers and wavelengths with real traffic matrices from the metropolitan rings in Madrid, Spain. Such matrices also include traffic projections of foreseeable broadband services, which are based on a market analysis from the largest operator in Spain. Our findings show that OCS might be more efficient than OBS in the metro-access segment, which is characterized by a highly centralized traffic pattern. However, the more distributed the traffic is, the more efficient the OBS is as well. Consequently, OBS might be better suited to metro-core networks, which show a more distributed and dynamic traffic pattern.The authors would like to thank the e-Photon/ONe+ network of excellenc

Resource allocation in disaggregated optical networks

The recently introduced disaggregation model is gaining interest due to its benefits when compared with traditional models.In essence, it consists on the separation of traditional hardware appliances (e.g. servers, network nodes) into commodity components, which then are mounted independently for their exploitation into customized physical infrastructures. Such an approach allows telecommunication operators and service providers to appropriately size their infrastructure and grow as needed. One of the main key benefits of the disaggregation model is the break of the vendor lock-in, pushing towards interoperability between equipment from different vendor with minimum standardization of software and hardware specifications, allowing operators to build the best solutions for their needs. Moreover, efficient scaling is also an important benefit introduced by the disaggregation approach. Due to these benefits, among others, the disaggregation model is gaining momentum and is being adopted into multiple fields and domains of nowadays telecom infrastructures. In this regard, the scenario under study of this master thesis focuses on disaggregated optical transport networks. Disaggregation allows for more open and customized optical networks, reducing both capital and operational expenditures for infrastructure owners.However, despite of these positive aspects, disaggregated optical networks face several challenges, beingthe degradation of the network performance when compared to traditional integrated solutions the most important one. In this regard, this thesis investigates the impact of disaggregation in optical networks and investigates regeneration as a potential solution to compensate the performances’ degradation. Under this premise, optimal solutions for regenerator placement, exploiting the inherent grooming capabilities of regenerators, are proposed and evaluatedIncomin

Survivability aspects of future optical backbone networks

In huidige glasvezelnetwerken kan een enkele vezel een gigantische hoeveelheid data dragen, ruwweg het equivalent van 25 miljoen gelijktijdige telefoongesprekken. Hierdoor zullen netwerkstoringen, zoals breuken van een glasvezelkabel, de communicatie van een groot aantal eindgebruikers verstoren. Netwerkoperatoren kiezen er dan ook voor om hun netwerk zo te bouwen dat zulke grote storingen automatisch opgevangen worden. Dit proefschrift spitst zich toe op twee aspecten rond de overleefbaarheid in toekomstige optische netwerken. De eerste doelstelling die beoogd wordt is het tot stand brengen vanrobuuste dataverbindingen over meerdere netwerken. Door voldoende betrouwbare verbindingen tot stand te brengen over een infrastructuur die niet door een enkele entiteit wordt beheerd kan men bv. weredwijd Internettelevisie van hoge kwaliteit aanbieden. De bestudeerde oplossing heeft niet enkel tot doel om deze zeer betrouwbare verbinding te berekenen, maar ook om dit te bewerkstelligen met een minimum aan gebruikte netwerkcapaciteit. De tweede doelstelling was om een antwoord te formuleren om de vraag hoe het toepassen van optische schakelsystemen gebaseerd op herconfigureerbare optische multiplexers een impact heeft op de overleefbaarheid van een optisch netwerk. Bij lagere volumes hebben optisch geschakelde netwerken weinig voordeel van dergelijke gesofistikeerde methoden. Elektronisch geschakelde netwerken vertonen geen afhankelijkheid van het datavolume en hebben altijd baat bij optimalisatie

Design, monitoring and performance evaluation of high capacity optical networks

Premi Extraordinari de Doctorat, promoció 2018-2019. Àmbit de les TICInternet traffic is expected to keep increasing exponentially due to the emergence of a vast number of innovative online services and applications. Optical networks, which are the cornerstone of the underlying Internet infrastructure, have been continuously evolving to carry the ever-increasing traffic in a more flexible, cost-effective, and intelligent way. Having these three targets in mind, this PhD thesis focuses on two general areas for the performance improvement and the evolution of optical networks: i) introducing further cognition to the optical layer, and ii) introducing new networking solutions revolutionizing the optical transport infrastructure. In the first part, we present novel failure detection and identification solutions in the optical layer utilizing the optical spectrum traces captured by cost-effective coarse-granular Optical Spectrum Analyzers (OSA). We demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed solutions for detecting and identifying filter-related failures in the context of Spectrum-Switched Optical Networks (SSON), as well as transmitter-related laser failures in Filter-less Optical Networks (FON). In addition, at the subsystem level we propose an Autonomic Transmission Agent (ATA), which triggers local or remote transceiver reconfiguration by predicting Bit-Error-Rate (BER) degradation by monitoring State-of-Polarization (SOP) data obtained by coherent receivers. I have developed solutions to push further the performance of the currently deployed optical networks through reducing the margins and introducing intelligence to better manage their resources. However, it is expected that the spectral efficiency of the current standard Single-Mode Fiber (SMF) based optical network approaches the Shannon capacity limits in the near future, and therefore, a new paradigm is required to keep with the pace of the current huge traffic increase. In this regard, Space Division Multiplexing (SDM) is proposed as the ultimate solution to address the looming capacity crunch with a reduced cost-per-bit delivered to the end-users. I devote the second part of this thesis to investigate different flavors of SDM based optical networks with the aim of finding the best compromise for the realization of a spectrally and spatially flexible optical network. SDM-based optical networks can be deployed over various types of transmission media. Additionally, due to the extra dimension (i.e., space) introduced in SDM networks, optical switching nodes can support wavelength granularity, space granularity, or a combination of both. In this thesis, we evaluate the impact of various spectral and spatial switching granularities on the performance of SDM-based optical networks serving different profiles of traffic with the aim of understanding the impact of switching constraints on the overall network performance. In this regard, we consider two different generations of wavelength selective switches (WSS) to reflect the technology limitations on the performance of SDM networks. In addition, we present different designs of colorless direction-less, and Colorless Directionless Contention-less (CDC) Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexers (ROADM) realizing SDM switching schemes and compare their performance in terms of complexity and implementation cost. Furthermore, with the aim of revealing the benefits and drawbacks of SDM networks over different types of transmission media, we preset a QoT-aware network planning toolbox and perform comparative performance analysis among SDM network based on various types of transmission media. We also analyze the power consumption of Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) Digital Signal Processing (DSP) units of transceivers operating over three different types of transmission media. The results obtained in the second part of the thesis provide a comprehensive outlook to different realizations of SDM-based optical networks and showcases the benefits and drawbacks of different SDM realizations.Se espera que el tráfico de Internet siga aumentando exponencialmente debido a la continua aparición de gran cantidad de aplicaciones innovadoras. Las redes ópticas, que son la piedra angular de la infraestructura de Internet, han evolucionado continuamente para transportar el tráfico cada vez mayor de una manera más flexible, rentable e inteligente. Teniendo en cuenta estos tres objetivos, esta tesis doctoral se centra en dos áreas cruciales para la mejora del rendimiento y la evolución de las redes ópticas: i) introducción de funcionalidades cognitivas en la capa óptica, y ii) introducción de nuevas estructuras de red que revolucionarán el transporte óptico. En la primera parte, se presentan soluciones novedosas de detección e identificación de fallos en la capa óptica que utilizan trazas de espectro óptico obtenidas mediante analizadores de espectros ópticos (OSA) de baja resolución (y por tanto de coste reducido). Se demuestra la efectividad de las soluciones desarrolladas para detectar e identificar fallos derivados del filtrado imperfecto en las redes ópticas de conmutación de espectro (SSON), así como fallos relacionados con el láser transmisor en redes ópticas sin filtro (FON). Además, a nivel de subsistema, se propone un Agente de Transmisión Autónomo (ATA), que activa la reconfiguración del transceptor local o remoto al predecir la degradación de la Tasa de Error por Bits (BER), monitorizando el Estado de Polarización (SOP) de la señal recibida en un receptor coherente. Se han desarrollado soluciones para incrementar el rendimiento de las redes ópticas mediante la reducción de los márgenes y la introducción de inteligencia en la administración de los recursos de la red. Sin embargo, se espera que la eficiencia espectral de las redes ópticas basadas en fibras monomodo (SMF) se acerque al límite de capacidad de Shannon en un futuro próximo, y por tanto, se requiere un nuevo paradigma que permita mantener el crecimiento necesario para soportar el futuro aumento del tráfico. En este sentido, se propone el Multiplexado por División Espacial (SDM) como la solución que permita la continua reducción del coste por bit transmitido ante ése esperado crecimiento del tráfico. En la segunda parte de esta tesis se investigan diferentes tipos de redes ópticas basadas en SDM con el objetivo de encontrar soluciones para la realización de redes ópticas espectral y espacialmente flexibles. Las redes ópticas basadas en SDM se pueden implementar utilizando diversos tipos de medios de transmisión. Además, debido a la dimensión adicional (el espacio) introducida en las redes SDM, los nodos de conmutación óptica pueden conmutar longitudes de onda, fibras o una combinación de ambas. Se evalúa el impacto de la conmutación espectral y espacial en el rendimiento de las redes SDM bajo diferentes perfiles de tráfico ofrecido, con el objetivo de comprender el impacto de las restricciones de conmutación en el rendimiento de la red. En este sentido, se consideran dos generaciones diferentes de conmutadores selectivos de longitud de onda (WSS) para reflejar las limitaciones de la tecnología en el rendimiento de las redes SDM. Además, se presentan diferentes diseños de ROADM, independientes de la longitud de onda, de la dirección, y sin contención (CDC) utilizados para la conmutación SDM, y se compara su rendimiento en términos de complejidad y coste. Además, con el objetivo de cuantificar los beneficios e inconvenientes de las redes SDM, se ha generado una herramienta de planificación de red que prevé la QoT usando diferentes tipos de fibras. También se analiza el consumo de energía de las unidades DSP de los transceptores MIMO operando en redes SDM con tres tipos diferentes de medios de transmisión. Los resultados obtenidos en esta segunda parte de la tesis proporcionan una perspectiva integral de las redes SDM y muestran los beneficios e inconvenientes de sus diferentes implementacionesAward-winningPostprint (published version