DWDM and OTN

Fundamentals
Rodger Nutt
Service Provider Optical Architecture Team
Technical Solutions Architect
BRKOPT-2106
Agenda
 Introduction – What is DWDM?
 Optical Fiber
 Linear/Non-linear Effects and Solutions
 DWDM Components
 DWDM Software
 Intro to OTN
 Increasing Capacity, Flexibility and Reach in DWDM
What is DWDM?
 Wavelength Division Multiplexing
• DWDM systems use optical devices to combine the output of several optical
transmitters

TX RX
Transmission
TX RX
TX Optical RX
fiber pair
TX RX
Optical DWDM devices Optical
transmitters receivers
 ITU-T Grid
ITU wavelengths = lambdas = channels center around 1550 nm (193 THz)

0.4 nm spacing

Wavelength
(nm)
1528.77 nm 1552.52 nm 1578.23 nm
(Center channel)
50 GHz spacing

Frequency
(THz)
196.2 THz 193.1 THz 190.1 THz
(Center channel)
 Dense vs. Coarse (CWDM vs. DWDM)
DWDM CWDM
Application Long Haul Metro
Amplifiers Typically EDFAs Almost Never
# Channels Up to 80 Up to 8
Channel Spacing 0.4 nm 20nm
Distance Up to 3000km Up to 80km
Spectrum 1530nm to 1560nm 1270nm to 1610nm
Filter Technology Intelligent Passive
Optical Fiber
Fiber Geometry and Dimensions
• The core carries the light signals
• The refractive index difference Core Cladding
between core & cladding confines
the light to the core SMF 8 microns 125 microns

• The coating protects the glass

Coating
250 microns
Optical Spectrum

UltraViolet Visible InfraRed

l

850 nm 1310 nm 1550 nm 1625 nm

Communication Wavelengths in the InfraRed

C = x l
 850 nm Multimode Wavelength: l (nanometers)
 1310 nm Singlemode
 C-band:1550 nm Singlemode
 L-band: 1625 nm Singlemode Frequency:  (terahertz)
Applications for the Different Fiber Types
SMF  Good for TDM at 1310 nm
(G.652)  OK for TDM at 1550
 OK for DWDM (With Dispersion Mgmt.)
DSF  OK for TDM at 1310 nm
(G.653)  Good for TDM at 1550 nm
 Bad for DWDM (C-Band)
NZDSF  OK for TDM at 1310 nm
(G.655)  Good for TDM at 1550 nm
 Good for DWDM (C + L Bands)
Extended Band  Good for TDM at 1310 nm
(G.652.C)  OK for TDM at 1550 nm
(suppressed attenuation in the  OK for DWDM (With Dispersion Mgmt.
traditional water peak region)  Good for CWDM (>8 wavelengths)
Linear Effects
Transmission Impairments
Loss (dB/km)

L-band:1565–1625nm
2.0

C-band:1530–1565nm
S-band:1460–1530nm
• Attenuation
0.5

• Loss of Signal Strength 0.2

800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600

Wavelength (nm)

• Chromatic Dispersion (CD)

• Distortion of pulses Time Slot

2.5Gb/s Fiber

• Optical Signal to Noise 10Gb/s Fiber

Ratio (OSNR)
• Effect of Noise in Transmission
S+N

N
Attenuation
• With enough attenuation, a light pulse may not be detected by an optical
receiver

Attenuation (dB)

Distance (km)

Insertion loss (dB)

Optical device
Fiber Attenuation (Loss) Characteristic
S-band:1460–1530nm

Loss(dB)/km vs. Wavelength L-band:1565–1625nm

2.0 dB/Km OH- Absorption Peaks in

Actual Fiber Attenuation Curve

0.5 dB/Km

0.2 dB/Km

800 900 1000 1100 1200 1300 1400 1500 1600

Wavelength in Nanometers (nm) C-band:1530–1565nm
OH: Hydroxyl ion absorption is the absorption in optical fibers of electromagnetic waves,
due to the presence of trapped hydroxyl ions remaining from water as a contaminant.
Laser Output Power and
Receiver Sensitivity and dBm
• Fiber loss expressed in dB but transmitter/receiver power is expressed in dBm
• This is why both the transmitter output power and the receiver sensitivity is
expressed in dBm:

PowerdBm=10log(PmW /1mW)
dB and dBm are additive, hence the simplification

Example:
• Powerdbm = 10log(2mW/1mW)=3dBm
• Powerdbm = 10log(1mW/1mW)=0dBm
Gain and Decibels (dB)

Pin Amp Pout

 Gain expressed by ratio: Pout/Pin

 Gain measured conveniently in dB: 10 log10 Pout/Pin
 If the power is doubled by an amplifier, this is +3 dB
Attenuation: Optical Budget
Basic Optical Budget = Tx Output Power – Rx Input Sensitivity

Pout = +6 dBm R = -30 dBm

Budget = 36 dB

Optical Budget is affected by:

• Fiber attenuation
• Splices
• Patch Panels/Connectors
• Optical components (filters, amplifiers, etc.)
• Bends in fiber
• Contamination (dirt/oil on connectors)
Attenuation Solution: EDFA
• Erbium doped fiber amplifies optical signals through stimulated emission using
980nm and 1480nm pump lasers
Erbium
Isolator Doped
Signal Fiber Isolator
Input Amplified
Signal
Output

WDM Coupler for

980 or 1480 nm pump and signal
Pump Laser

Basic EDFA
configuration
Chromatic Dispersion (CD)
Bit 1 Bit 2 Bit 1 Bit 2 Bit 1 Bit 2 Bit 1 Bit 2 Bit 1 Bit 2

The Optical Pulse tends to Spread as it propagates down the fiber

generating Inter-Symbol-Interference (ISI)

• Total dispersion is a function of the length of fiber and it’s dispersion factor
• Limits transmission distance for 10G and above wavelengths
• Can be compensated by using negative dispersion fiber or electronically through
modulation schemes
Solution: Dispersion Compensating Unit

DCUs use fiber with

chromatic dispersion of
opposite sign/slope and of
suitable length to bring the
average dispersion of the
link close to zero.
 Optical Signal-to-Noise Ratio (OSNR)
• OSNR is a measure of the ratio of signal level to the level of system noise
• As OSNR decreases, possible errors increase
• OSNR is measured in decibels (dB)
• EDFAs are the source of noise

Signal level dBm) Signal level

OSNR = -----------------
Noise level
Noise level (dBm)
Optical Signal Detection
• Across a fiber span, optical signals encounter attenuation, dispersion and
increased noise levels at amplifiers.
• Each of these factors causes bit detection errors at the receiver.

Low attenuation High attenuation

Low dispersion High dispersion
High OSNR Low OSNR

Transmitting Receiving
end Distance (km) end
 Example: Link Design with Line Amplifiers
Meets receiver minimum
10G Xenpak spec: Tx: +3 to -1dBm, Rx min: -21dBm (0ps/nm) OSNR and power
CD tolerance: +1600ps/nm @ 2dB penalty requirement
OSNR min: 16dB (0.5nm resolution) OSNR: 18dB Rx:
-9dBm
Tx: -1dBm min
DCU DCU
TX -1600 -1600 RX
25dB ps/nm 25dB ps/nm

Demux
Mux

+2dBm/ch -23dBm/ch +2dBm/ch -23dBm/ch

OSNR= 35dB OSNR= 21dB OSNR= 18dB

Time
Domain
Noise Noise
Noise
-1dBm +2dBm -23dBm +2dBm -23dBm +2dBm
0ps/nm 1600ps/nm 0ps/nm 1600ps/nm 0ps/nm
Wavelength
Domain
 OSNR Solution #1
Raman Amplifier
• Stimulated Raman Scattering creates the Gain
• Reduces the effective span loss and increases noise performance
• Gain is highly dependent on quality of fiber
• Gain Spectrum ~ 40nm with a single pump
 OSNR Solution #2: Forward Error Correction
0
• FEC extends reach and design
–1
flexibility, at “silicon cost”
–2 Raw Channel BER=1.5e-3
• G.709 (G.709 Annex A) standard –3
improves –4
OSNR tolerance by 6.2 dB (at 10–15 –5
BER) –6
–7

(BER)
• Offers intrinsic performance

Log
–8
monitoring (error statistics) –9
–10 G.709
• Higher gains (8.4dB) possible by RS(255,239)
–11 Uncoded
enhanced FEC (with same G.709 No FEC
overhead – G.975.1 I.4) –12
–13
EFEC=8.4 dB
• New SD-FEC provides 2dB more –14 FEC=6.2 dB
coding gain –15
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
S/N (dB)
Benefit: FEC/EFEC Extends Reach and Offers 10–15 BER
Non-linear Effects
Non Linear Effects
• Polarization Mode Ey

Dispersion (PMD) Ex ny
nx

Spreaded Pulse As
Pulse As it Enters the Fiber it Leaves the Fiber
• Caused by Non Linearity Of
Fiber Geometry
• Effective for Higher Bit rates (10G) -5

-10

Power (dBm)
-15

• Four Wave Mixing (FWM) -20

-25

-30

• Effects multi-channel systems -35

-40

• Effects higher bit rates

1542 1543 1544 1545 1546 1547 1548

Wavelength (nm)

• Self/Cross Phase Modulation

SPM Distortion
(SPM, XPM)
Power

• Caused by high channel power

• Caused by channel interaction
 Polarization Mode Dispersion (PMD)
Ey
nx

Ex ny
Pulse as It Enters the Fiber Spreaded Pulse as It Leaves the Fiber

• It is Relevant at Bit Rates of 10Gb/s or • Leverage MLSE

More • Use PMD Compensation (PMDC)
• Deploy PMD-optimized fibers
• Pulse broadens as it travels down fiber
• Advanced Modulation Schemes
• Mainly a manufacturing/install issue with
concentricity of fiber
• Mitigation
• Increasing system robustness with FEC
DWDM Components
Typical Components of DWDM Systems
• Optical transmitters and receivers
• DWDM mux/demux filters
• Optical add/drop multiplexers (OADMs)
• Reconfigurable OADM (ROADM)
• Optical amplifiers
• Transponders/Muxponders
Optical Transmitter Block Diagram
Detects pulses of Creates pulses of light
electrical charge • Power measured in
• Power measured in watts (W) decibel-milliwatts (dBm)
• Amplitude measured in • Relative amplitude
volts (V) measured in decibels (dB)
Electrical-to-optical
+ 1 0 1 1 (E-O) + 1 0 1 1
conversion
+ - V dB
- -
E-O

Electrical conductor Optical fiber

Optical Receiver Block Diagram
Detects pulses of light
• Power measured in Creates pulses of electrical charge
decibel-milliwatt (dBm) • Power measured in watts (W)
• Relative amplitude • Amplitude measured in volts (V)
measured in decibels (dB)
Optical-to-electrical (O-
E)
+ 1 0 1 1 conversion + 1 0 1 1
dB V
- - + -
O-E

Optical fiber Electrical conductor

 DWDM Mux and Demux Filters Block Diagram
N light pulses of different wavelengths
1, 2, ….N
1 1
Composite
2 signal 2

3 3

DWDM
fiber
N N

From N To N
transmitters Multiplexer Demultiplexer receivers
 OADM Block Diagram
Original Pass through path New composite
composite signal signal

OADM
one signal
DWDM
fiber

Drop path Signsl 1 drop Signal 2 add Add path

New data stream,

same wavelength
ROADM Architecture
Software Controlled Selectors – 32 Ch.
(Pass-through/Add/Block)
Pass Splitter
West Pass-Through Wavelengths
DWDM
Add
Pass
Signal
Software
Controlled
Add block drop block drop
32 Ch. DeMux
Add Drop
Transponder
Wavelengths Wavelengths
Module

Network Network
l1 l3 Network
l3 l1 Network
Element Element Element Element

Drop Transponder
Add Module
Wavelengths
drop block drop block Software Wavelengths
Controlled Add
32 Ch. DeMux
DWDM Pass

Signal Pass-Through Wavelengths Add

Splitter
Pass
East
Software Controlled Selectors – 32 Ch.
(Pass-through/Add/Block)
Optical Amplifer Block Diagram
• Unidirectional operation
• Extends the reach of a DWDM span

Amplified output
Attenuated input composite signal
composite signal

OA
Powerin Powerout

DWDM
fiber
Transponder Block Diagram
ITU-T
compliant wavelength
Non-ITU-T
compliant wavelength
O-E-O
wavelength conversion
Tx 15xx.xx nm
850, 1310, 1550 nm
Transponder
G.709 Enabled
Optical fiber Rx
Muxponder Block Diagram
ITU-T
compliant wavelength
Multiple Non-ITU-T Multiplexing and O-E-O
Compliant Clients wavelength conversion

850, 1310, 1550 nm

Tx 15xx.xx nm
Muxponder

G.709 Enabled
Rx

Optical fibers
Pluggable Optics
10G
XENPAK, X2, XFP
and SFP+

40G/100G
CFP,CXP and
CPAK

Below 10G
GBIC and SFP
 DWDM System
Transponder interface

Tx Rx
OEO OEO
Rx Tx
Client OA OADM OA Client
Tx Rx
Rx Tx
Rx Tx
Mux and Mux and
demux demux
To client devices
Direct interface
DWDM Software
Intelligent DWDM
• Modern systems compensate real-time
for variations in the network
• Gain Equalization
• Amplifier Control
• Automatic Node Setup
• Automatic Power Control
• WSON Restoration

• Allows for less truck rolls and

maintenance windows
Why Per Channel Equalization
AMP
Express Path
Optical Power Equalized Channels
Add/Drop
Path

AMP
OADM Without Power Equalization

Channels with Unequal Optical Power

Why Per-Channel Optical Power Equalization

• For amplifiers to operate correctly, all channels must be equalized in power.
• If channel powers are not equal, more gain will go to the higher powered channels.
• Channel power is inherently unequal due to different insertion losses, different
paths (add path vs. express/pass-through), etc.
• Controlling the optical power of each channel in an optical network is required.
Constant Power Mode
Add Channels Example Span Loss Increase Example
Total Output Power +2dBm Total Output Power +2dBm
Per Channel Per Channel
Power -15dBm Per Channel Power -15dBm Per Channel
Power -1dBm Power -1dBm
AMP AMP

Initial condition – 2 channels Initial condition – Gain 14dB

Total Output Power +2dBm

Total Output Power +2dBm
Per Channel Per Channel
Power -15dBm Per Channel Power -17dBm Per Channel
Power -4dBm Power -1dBm
AMP AMP

Adding 2 channels Amp set to Constant Power Mode Initial condition – Gain 16dB
Constant Gain Mode
Add Channels Example Span Loss Increase Example
Total Output Power +2dBm Total Output Power +2dBm
Per Channel Per Channel
Power -15dBm Per Channel Power -15dBm Per Channel
Power -1dBm Power -1dBm
AMP AMP

Initial condition – Gain 14dB Initial condition – Gain 14dB

Total Output Power -1dBm

Per Channel Total Output Power +5dBm
Per Channel
Power -15dBm Per Channel Power -18dBm Per Channel
Power -1dBm Power -4dBm
AMP AMP

Gain Stays Constant – Gain 14dB Gain stays the Same – Gain 14dB
Automatic Power Control
No Human Intervention Required
• Automatically corrects amplifier
power/gain for capacity change, ageing
effects, operating conditions
• Keep traffic working after network
failires
• Prevent BER due to
network degrade
APC
• Keep constant either power or gain on
each amplifier
• No truck rolls
• No troubleshooting required
• No operation complexity
Intro to OTN Switching
 Aggregation Technology
Packet OTN / Packet
OTN Drivers
OTN Only Aggregation OTN Optimized
• Sub-Lambda
Aggregation/Switching Private Line

• Adapt to DWDM Private Line

Private Line Not yet
• Switch/Router Intfc Private Line needed
Mismatch to DWDM
Money
• Transparency Private Line Private Line saved
Private Line Private Line
• Timing
Private Line Private Line
• Protocols (i.e. OSPF vs Private Line Private Line
ISIS)
λ2
λ1 λ2 λ1 λ2 λ1
• Sub-Lambda Protection deferred
• Unnecessary when client
interface = DWDM Trunk

Source: Infonetics
OTN – A Quick refresher
 How Does OTN Relate to DWDM?
OPU
ODU
OTN

OTU OTU OTU

OCh
DWDM

OMS

OTS OTS OTS

Three Architectural Options for OTN
A B C
Framed G.709
Switched
Switched (Digital OTN)
G.709
G.709 (Digital OTN)
(Digital OTN)
Dynamic
Flexible WDM
WDM (Analog OTN)
Static WDM
(Analog OTN)
(Analog OTN)

 G.709 provides all  G.709 provides dynamic  G.709 provides framing

dynamic capabilities switching only
 WDM for capacity only  WDM with reconfigurable  WDM for all dynamic
connections capabilities
OTU4
Clients and Mappings

• ITU simultaneously defined an ODU0 at 1.25 Gbps to carry GigE

• Supplants ODU1 (2.5 Gb/s) as the fundamental TS size
• ODU4 is divided into 80, 1.25 Gb/s Time Slots
• ITU defined the ODUflex container, ODU2e is the first
Increasing Capacity and
Reach
100G and Beyond – Coherent Detection
Direct Detection
• Must correct for impairments in the physical domain (insert DCU’s)
• Forced to live with non-correctable impairments via network design (limit
distance, regenerate, adjust channel spacing)
• Dumb detection (OOK), no Digital Signal Processing, only FEC
DCU DCU DCU
DD DD

Regen
Coherent Detection
• Moves impairment correction from the optical domain into the digital domain
• Allows for digital correction of impairments (powerful DSP) vs. physical correction of
impairments (DCU’s). Adds advanced FEC.
• Massive performance improvements over Direct Detection.
CD
Flexible Modulation – Reach vs. Capacity
Modulation Baud Rate Line Rate Payload Rate Distance

BPSK 28 GBaud 56 Gbps 50 Gbps 10,000 km

QPSK 32 GBaud 112 Gbps 100 Gbps 6,800 km

16-QAM 35 GBaud 224 Gbps 200 Gbps 1,200 km

Traditionally DWDM capacity is limited by the
channel spacing imposed by the 50GHz ITU grid.
50 GHz ITU Grid “Gridless”

Rigid Spacing Superchannel with Minimal Spacing

Wasted Spectrum Efficient Spectrum Use

Tightly spaced Superchannels deliver ~30% increase in capacity

Adding Flexibility
ROADM brought flexibility to DWDM networks.
Any wavelength. Anywhere.

But it was static flexibility.

Moves and changes required a truck roll.
… because ROADM ports were
colored and directional.
Colored Add/Drop Directional Add/Drop
Fixed port frequency assignment Physical add/drop port is tied to a
One unique frequency per port ROADM “degree”

Due to these restrictions, a change in direction or frequency of an optical circuit

required a physical change (move interface to different port) at the endpoints.
Colorless and Omni-directional add/drop bring
touchless flexibility, and hence programmability, to
ROADM networks.
Colorless Add/Drop Omni-Directional Add/Drop
No port-frequency assignment Add/Drop ports can be routed
Any frequency, any port to/from any ROADM degree

With Colorless plus Omni-Directional, the frequency and direction of the signal
can be changed, without requiring a change of ROADM add/drop port, therefore
no truckrolls, and hence…programmability!
But…Colorless and Omni-directional introduce
wavelength contention at the add/drop stage. Need
a Contentionless architecture.
Directional Add/Drop ROADMs Contentionless add/drop allows
form a Contentionless node by multiple instances of the same
definition. frequency to A/D from one unit.

With Contentionless, N instances of a given wavelength (where N = the number

of line degrees in the ROADM node) can be add/dropped from a single device,
eliminating any restrictions on dynamic wavelength provisioning.
Tunable lasers and coherent receivers are also key
enablers of the touchless programmable optical layer.
Transmitter can tune its laser’s Receiver can select any channel
frequency to any channel in the from of a composite (unfiltered)
ITU grid. signal.

Tunable lasers work with colorless add/drop to enable touchless changes in the
frequency of an optical signal. Coherent receivers simplify the construction of
colorless and omni-directional ROADM nodes, by eliminating the need to de-
multiplex a signal down to the individual wavelength.
But this touchless capability is of limited use without
intelligence.
Intelligence to find an optically feasible
route through the network.

The WSON Control Plane combines WSON

GMPLS signaling with knowledge of
optical interface requirements and Embedded Optical
Intelligence
channel impairments.
WSON enables automated, constraint-
based zero-planning wavelength setup,
which in turn enables advanced optical
layer features such as Optical Restoration.
 animated slide

Dynamic Optical Restoration

ROADM Network

Client Client

Transponder Transponder
Shelf Shelf

Fiber Cut!
Embedded WSON intelligence locates and verifies a new path and wavelength
Transponders re-tune to available wavelength
Colorless, Omni-Directional ROADM switches the path
Service is brought back up with the same Client and Optical interfaces, zero touches
Adding a User Network Interface (GMPLS-UNI) to
WSON turns a touchless ROADM into a
programmable optical layer.
GMPLS
UNI

UNI-N
UNI-C

• GMPLS UNI enables multi-layer circuit provisioning by signaling exchanges between UNI
Client (typically routers) and UNI Network (typically optical) nodes.
• Provides the ability to share and leverage information across layers
• Facilitates scale while maintaining organizational segmentation and distinct operational
expertise among layers
Key Takeaways
• Dramatic increase in Bandwidth has led to the use of DWDM
• Fiber type effects the quality of transmission
• Linear Effects are predictable and can be compensated
• Non-Linear Effects are known but somewhat unpredictable
• OTN Switching is an emerging transport technology
• Modern DWDM systems are intelligent and simple to operate
• Good reference is:
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/optical/ps2011/products_tech
nical_reference_chapter09186a00802342dd.html
Conclusion
 Introduction – What is DWDM?
 Optical Fiber
 Linear/Non-linear Effects and Solutions
 DWDM Components
 DWDM Software
 Intro to OTN
 Increasing Capacity, Flexibility and Reach in DWDM
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Thank you
Glossary
 Arrayed Waveguide (AWG)
 Automatic Node Setup (ANS)
 Automatic Power Control (APC)
 Chromatic Dispersion (CD)
 Cross Phase Modulation (XPM)
 Decibels (dB)
 Decibels-milliwatt (dBm)
 Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM)
 Dispersion Compensation Unit (DCU)
 Dispersion Shifted Fiber (DSF)
 Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier (EDFA)
 Four-Wave Mixing (FWM)
Glossary
International Telecommunications Union (ITU)
Non-Zero Dispersion Shifted Fiber (NZ-DSF)
Optical Add Drop Multiplexer (OADM)
Optical Signal to Noise Ratio (OSNR)
Optical Supervisory Channel (OSC)
Optical Supervisory Channel Module (OSCM)
Polarization Mode Dispersion (PMD)
Reconfigurable Optical Add Drop Multiplexer (ROADM)
Self Phase Modulation (SPM)
Single Mode Fiber (SMF)
Variable Optical Attenuator (VOA)