Theres

MORE INFO
O online

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014

VOLUME 31 NO. 6

WWW.LIGHTWAVEONLINE.COM

OPTICAL TECHNOLOGIES,
COMMUNICATIONS APPLICATIONS,
AND INDUSTRY ANALYSIS WORLDWIDE

Forget about the labels

BY WARD WILLIAMS, ProLabs

PRESSURE
POINTS FOR

2015

By STEPHEN HARDY

An uneven 2014 is
coming to an end. Heres
a look at what 2015 may
bring in the way of
optical communications
technology trends.
PAGE 5

EDITORIAL ///

The next 30 years

We should end the year with
a look beyond 2015 at how
optical communications
will evolve over the next
three decades.
By STEPHEN HARDY

10 Impact of Big Data

transport on network
innovation
The Internet and data
services have evolved
significantly which means
a new set of requirements
for transport networks.
By JIM THEODORAS

13 The fifth dimension

Commercial applications
for space-division
multiplexing could arrive
sooner than we think.
By PAULINE RIGBY

1411lw_1 1

In the luxury and fashion world, we

could argue that brand names and
labels are important. But in our world,
the optical-network world, donning a
brand-name fiber-optic component
is not mission critical. Purchasing
behavior is as it should be based
on quality, price, and service.

Smart transceivers
reduce capex/opex
of network upgrades
and new deployments
BY JAN VENEMA, AimValley

Smart transceivers combine low

power and zero rack space to deliver
savings on opex and capex. These
benefits create new deployment
and upgrade scenarios for network
operators and equipment builders.

Watch for silicon

photonics on the line side
BY STEPHEN HARDY,

Lightwave

Most of the hullabaloo

around silicon photonics
has centered on
its application to data-center
networks. But presentations and
announcements at last Septembers
ECOC in Cannes, France, indicate
the technology will play
on the line side as well.

11/12/14 11:47 AM

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Our comprehensive OTN test portfolio includes an
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protocol testing for Layers 1, 2, and 3.

Find out moreGet a free World of 100 G poster and

Advanced Error Analysis Offers New Troubleshooting Methods for
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World of 100 Gbps The Lower Layers

100 Gigabit Ethernet

Signal
Structure

Signal Structure
IEEE Layer Model

Higher Layers (e.g., IP)

Higher Layers (e.g., IP)

LLC or other MAC Client

LLC or other MAC Client

ODU
OH

OPU4 Payload

ODU4 Multiplexing

OPU4

ODU4 Path

OPU4

ODU4
TCMOH

S3

S1

S2

D7

Input to
decoder function

S6

S7

Input to
descrambler function

S4

S5

S6

S7

S2

S0

S1

S2

D3

D4

D5

D6

D7

S4

S5

S6

S7

2:1

...

S0

S3

Receive block

S3

S4

S5

S6

S7

L0 L1 L2
TxB <0>

RxB<0>

TxB <65>

PMA 20:10

Multilane
Model Logical

PCS

Physical Lanes
CAUI
SP6 10.3125 Gbps

0 1 2

PMA 10:4

5:1

PMD
Service
Interface

0 1 2 3

RxB<65>

...

SP5

... 18

PMD
L8 L9

L 0 L 1 L 2 L 3 SP3

OTU4
0 1 2

Lanes

19 PCS Lanes

... 18
...

2:1

255/227 x 24.883200 Gb/s = 27.952493 Gbps

0 1 2

... 18

5:1

PMA 10:4

...

5:1

5:1

...

RxB<131>

RxB<1319>

0 1 2 3

OTM-0.4v4

27.952Gbps

66b Block 0

PCS Lane 0

66b Block 1

PCS Lane 1

M0

M1

M2

66b Block 39

66b Block 19

PCS Lane 19

Encoding

BIP

M4

M5

M6

0xC1, 0x68, 0x21, BIP3, 0x3E, 0x97, 0xDE, BIP7

10

0x9D, 0x71, 0x8E, BIP3, 0x62, 0x8E, 0x71, BIP7

11

0x59, 0x4B, 0xE8, BIP3, 0xA6, 0xB4, 0x17, BIP7

Encoding

Skew Tolerance
Skew Point
SP1

0xB9, 0x91, 0x55, BIP3, 0x46, 0x6E, 0xAA, BIP7

SP2

Maximum Skew

3.6 ns (~37 UI)

160 ns (~824 UI)

3.8 ns (~39 UI)

At PCS Rx

180 ns (~928 UI)

4 ns (~41 bits)

0x7B, 0x45, 0x66, BIP3, 0x84, 0xBA, 0x99, BIP7

0xC4, 0x31, 0x4C, BIP3, 0x3B, 0xCE, 0xB3, BIP7

16

0xAD, 0xD6, 0xB7, BIP3, 0x52, 0x29, 0x48, BIP7

17

0xA0, 0x24, 0x76, BIP3, 0x5F, 0xDB, 0x89, BIP7

18

0x5F, 0x66, 0x2A, BIP3, 0xA0, 0x99, 0xD5, BIP7

0x68, 0xC9, 0xFB, BIP3, 0x97, 0x36, 0x04, BIP7

19

0xC0, 0xF0, 0xE5, BIP3, 0x3F, 0x0F, 0x1A, BIP7

4080

3816
3817

7
MFAS

TCM
ACT

GCC2

9
SM

TCM6
TCM2

GCC1

10

11

JC1
JC2
JC3

OTU4 FEC

13

GCC0

TCM5
TCM1

12

14

0
1

FTFL

15
JC4
JC5
JC6
PSI

134 ns (~691 UI)

16
JC1
JC2
JC3
OMFI

100GBase-LR4 and ER4

LWDM Lane Assignments

Average Optical Power

Parameter

100GBase- 100GBase- 100GBaseSR10

LR4
ER4

Lane

Center

Range

Max Launch Power/lane

2.4 dBm

4.5 dBm

2.9 dBm

L0

1295.56 nm

1294.53 to 1296.59 nm

Min Launch Power/lane

8 dBm

4.3 dBm

2.9 dBm

L1

1300.05 nm

1299.02 to 1301.09 nm

Max Avg Rx Power/lane

2.4 dBm

4.5 dBm

4.5 dBm

L2

1304.58 nm

1303.54 to 1305.63 nm

Min Avg Rx Power/lane

9.9 dBm

10.6 dBm

20.9 dBm

L3

1309.14 nm

1308.09 to 1310.19 nm

3
4
5

1411lw_2 2

February 2012

4080

3815
3816
3817

3824
3825

95
96
97
98

39
40

55
56
57
58

79
80
39
40
79
80

OTU4 FEC

39
40
79
80

7
8

14
15
16
17
18
1
2

79
80
1
2

39
40
41
42

41
42

39
40
41
42

79
80
1
2

TSOH TS1

1
2

79
80
1
2

39
40
41
42

39
40
41
42

79
80
1
2

79
80
1
2

39
40
41
42

39
40
41
42

41
42

OTU4 FEC

Fixed
Stuf

The ideal technology for high-speed communications interfaces is a mainstream option with the fewest
parallel channels for more cost-effective implementation.

PSI
[0]

PT=0x21
RES

[1]
TS1 [2]
TS2 [3]

TSO

Trib Port#

TS Occupied

Tributary Port#

TSO

Trib Port#

0 Unallocated
1 Allocated

TS80 [81]

TSO

Trib Port#

The Tributary Port#

indicates the ODUj
(j=0, 1, 2, 2e, 3, fex)
transported in this TS;
Multiple 1.25G TS can
be grouped

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (Bits)

Logical Lane Markers

30162982 002 0212 100GBPS.PO.LAB.TM.AE

OA1

OA1

OA1

OA2

OA2

OA2

F6

F6

F6

28

28

LLM

LWDM Wavelength Range

1300

1305

Nominal
Ceiling

15054.131
15055

C2
C10

C3
C11

RES
RES
RES

C4
C5
C12 C13
CRC-8

C6
C14

D1
D6

D3
D4
D8
D9
CRC-5

D2
D7

C7
II

C8
DI

SM, PM, and TCMi (i = 1...6)

1
TTI

D5
D10

1
0

2
0

3
0

4
0

0
0
0
0

0
0
0

0
0

0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0

0
0
0

7
0
0
1

0
0

1
0

8
0

(bytes)

MFAS
Bits 678

SAPI

DAPI

OMFI Bits
6
5
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0

2
BIP-8

31
32

Decimal
0

1
2
3
4

0
1

79

0
1

000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (bits)

0
15
16

BEI

STAT

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (bits)
BEI/BIAE

RES

APS/PCC
Channel
ODU4 Path

Protection Scheme using

the APS/PCC Channel
ODU4 SNC/N

001

ODU4 TCM1

010

ODU4 TCM2

011

ODU4 TCM3

ODU4 SNC/S, ODU4 SNC/N

100

ODU4 TCM4

ODU4 SNC/S, ODU4 SNC/N

ODU4 SNC/S, ODU4 SNC/N

ODU4 SNC/S, ODU4 SNC/N

LL
0
1
2
3

0
0
0
0

2
0
0
0
0

3
0
0
0
0

OA2 LLM
OA2
LLMBits
Bits
4
5
6
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

0
0

79
80
1

1
1
0
0

1
1

1
0

1
0

101

ODU4 TCM5

ODU4 SNC/S, ODU4 SNC/N

110

ODU4 TCM6

ODU4 SNC/S, ODU4 SNC/N

111

ODU4 server
layer trail

ODU4 SNC/I

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (bits)
Operator
Specifc

BEI/BIAE

RES

63

78
0
1

19
1

0
0

0
0

0
0

1
1

18
19
0
1

1
1
0
0

1
1
0
0

1
1
0
0

0
0
0
0

7
0
0
1
1

8
0
1
0
1

Byte Distribution from OTU4 to the 20 Logical Lanes

Decimal
Decimal
0
1
2
3

0
0

0
1

1
0

1
0

19
20

1
1
0
0

1
1
0
0

1
1
0
0

0
1
0
1

238
239
0
1

Rotate

LL 0
LL 1

1310 (nm)

LL 19

1:16 (FAS)

321:336

17:32

337:352

305:320

625:640

16001:16016

Rotate Rotate

305:320

16017:16032 1:16 (FAS)

...
16305:16320

289:304

16001:16016

Multiple
Rotations

16289:16304

Rotate

17:32

16305:16320

33:48

1:16 (FAS)

16017:16032 1:16 (FAS)

automatic protection switching

backward defect indication
backward error indication
backward incoming alignment error
bit interleaved parity-8
destination access point identifer
experimental
frame alignment signal
forward error correction
fault type and fault location

GCC
General Communication Channel
GMP
generic mapping procedure
IAE
incoming alignment error
JC
justifcation control
JOH
justifcation overhead
LLM
logical lane marker
MFAS
multi-frame alignment signal
ODTU optical channel data tributary unit
ODTUG optical channel data tributary unit group
ODU
optical channel data unit

16033:16048

17:32

16001:16016

305:320

References:
100GE
IEEE 802.3ba, and 802.1Q
OTU4
ITU-T G.709, G.872, G.695, and G.959.1
Line I/F
OIF IA# OIF-SFI-S and IA# OIF2008.388.00

Challenges
Signal integrity, crosstalk, CDR and FIFO, real data signals, and jitter
The price/performance and power capability of todays third-generation 10 G I/O used for most high-speed
data links can be deployed cost-effectively. Even with this established technology, first-generation 100 G
based on 10 x 10 G presents many signal integrity and performance issues such as jitter tolerance and dynamic
skew. The move to 25 G will require resolving many more issues before 100 G (using 4 x 25 G) can become a
true mainstream technology.
The major issues, especially with the first-generation 25 G I/O ICs include:
signal integrity

Bytes from the OTN frame are sequentially ordered in groups of 16 bytes row by row and rotated by OTL

CDR performance

LLM is processed at the OTL layer

APS
BDI
BEI
BIAE
BIP-8
DAPI
EXP
FAS
FEC
FTFL

Transport choices for 100 GE might include 10 x 10 G (used as initial host interface), 4 x 25 G (standard),
2 x 50 G, or 1 x 100 G. Clearly 50 G and 100 G I/O are extremely challenging and likely to carry a significant price-premium for several years so the choice was down to 10 x 10 G or 4 x 25 G. The option of 10 G
could leverage the existing 10 G I/O technology and would build up a body of knowledge over the three
generations of 10 G ICs while 4 x 25 G uses 40 percent of the components (hence reduced volume, cost,
connector size, and PCB trace area). Trends indicated a move toward 100 GE based on 4 x 25 G; although,
a 10 x 10 G host electrical interface was used on the first-generation (CFP) because 25 G technology was
too novel for use as a widely deployed pluggable interface.
Soon 25 G-based I/O will become the de facto I/O speed for many future technologies, including 100 G
Ethernet, OTU4, and Infiniband. Also, you can find 25 G I/O on application specific integrated circuits
(ASICs), clock and data recovery (CDR), and field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) today.

15052.325

PT of 0x07 for
100GBase-R client

Used for logical lane identifcation and skew

FAS Byte Values

1295

15050
15050.518

TSOH
1.25G TS
1
2

255

Logical Lanes

SP Points shown in Multilane Model

To learn more, www.jdsu.com/test

Product specifcations and descriptions in this document subject to change without notice. 2012 JDS Uniphase Corporation

...

3.4 ns (~35 UI)

Optical

Floor
Minimum
Nominal

Ci Relative change indication

II Increment Indicator
DI Decrement Indicator
Di Ci-derived cumulative value

PT
Mapping
& Concat.
Specifc

OPU4 OH

EXP
RES

C1
C9

JC4
JC5
JC6

Justifcation
via GMP

16

RES

TCM4
PM

APS/PCC

15

0.4 ns (~2 UI)

145 ns (~748 UI)

SP6

FAS
RES
TCM3

0.6 ns (~4 UI)

SP5

0x35, 0x36, 0xCD, BIP3, 0xCA, 0xC9, 0x32, BIP7

0.2 ns (~2 UI)

43 ns (~222 UI)
54 ns (~278 UI)

0x83, 0xC7, 0xCA, BIP3, 0x7C, 0x38, 0x35, BIP7

15

SP4

Maximum Skew Variation (10.3 GBd)

29 ns (~150 UI)

13
14

0xDD, 0x14, 0xC2, BIP3, 0x22, 0xEB, 0x3D, BIP7

0x9A, 0x4A, 0x26, BIP3, 0x65, 0xB5, 0xD9, BIP7

0x1A, 0xF8, 0xBD, BIP3, 0xE5, 0x07, 0x42, BIP7

SP3

0x4D, 0x95, 0x7B, BIP3, 0xB2, 0x6A, 0x84, BIP7

0xF5, 0x07, 0x09, BIP3, 0x0A, 0xF8, 0xF6, BIP7

5
6

Fixed
Stuf

OPU4 Payload

1
2
3
4

0xFD, 0x6C, 0x99, BIP3, 0x02, 0x93, 0x66, BIP7

0x5C, 0xB9, 0xB2, BIP3, 0xA3, 0x46, 0x4D, BIP7

12

3
4

3824
3825

7
8

ODU4 OH

1
BIP

PCS
Lane

0
2

Fixed
Stuf

25 G The new standard for I/O

Over the past decade, 10 G has become the de facto standard for both long and short-reach high-speed
(premium) data communications links. Significant resources have gone into optimizing integrated circuits (ICs) with 10 G input/output (I/O) since the late 1990s to establish a healthy ecosystem for
deploying 10 G links cost-effectively. This scales well for short inter-chip interfaces through to long
reach (LR 10 km) optical modules and beyond. The 10 G technology displaced the expensive (first) 40 G
technology in 40 GE because of its much improved cost scaling. However, it required establishing a new
defacto rate to meet the needs of newer standards, such as 100 GE.

C8 for 100GBase-R client

FA OTU4
OH

Alignment Markers
10

66b Block 20

66b Block 0

...

...

GMP provides a generic mapping method for the justifcation of CBR client signals into OPU

Column (bytes)
Row

PCS Lane 19

Alignment markers are inserted after every 16383 66-bit blocks on each PCS lane
PCS
Lane

Round Robin

66b Block 21
66b Block 1

66b Block 2

...

...

Frame Structure

PCS Block Distribution

PSI
OMFI
41
42

PSI for Multiplexing

Physical Lanes

0 1 2 3

OTM-0.4v4

Optics for OTU4 inter-Domain Interface similar

to 100GBase-LR4 and ER4 applicable to OTU4

physical media attachment

physical media dependent
reconciliation sublayer
start frame delimiter
skew point
virtual local area network

14
15
16
17

S6
S4

PCS Lane 0
PCS Lane 1

PMA
PMD
RS
SFD
SP
VLAN

100 Gbps attachment unit interface

100 Gigabit media independent interface
canonical format indicator
100 Gbps parallel physical interface
frame check sequence
logical link control
LAN wave division multiplexing
media access control
media dependent interface
physical coding sublayer

OPU4 OH

S7

S7

S5

S6

S6

S5

S5

S4

S3

S7

S2

S7

S1

S6

S0

S6

S3

S6

S3

S5

S2

S5

S2

S5

S1

S4

S1

S4

CAUI
CGMII
CFI
CPPI
FCS
LLC
LWDM
MAC
MDI
PCS

S7

S4
RxB<65>

1310 nm SMF
4*25.78 Gbps 30 km or
40 km (engineered links)

OTU4
OH

ODU4 OH

[255]

S3

S0

20 PCS lanes in total

S3

S3

S0

S2

PMA service
interface

100GBase-ER4

1310 nm SMF
4*25.78 Gbps 10 km

FA

OTL4.4

5:1

S2

S2

TxB <1254>
PCS Lane 19

100GBase-LR4

850 nm MMF
100 m in OM3
125 m in OM4

...

OTU4 FEC

5 Logical lanes:1

PMD

SP4 L 0 L 1 L 2 L 3

100GBase-SR10

1
2

Fixed
Stuf

Additional optical implementations such as 10*10G can be considered

S1

S1

TxB <66>

PCS Lane 0
PCS Lane 1

S1

TxB <0>

RxB<1254>
S0

PMA service
interface

RxB<65>
S0

S4

RxB<0>

TxB <1319>

20 PCS lanes in total

S0

S7

TxB <131>

ODU4 OH

OMFI = 79
(TSOH TS80)

Logical
Lanes

19

25.78125Gbps

10 Fibers
TxB <65>

OTU4
OH

OMFI = 1
(TSOH TS2)

39
40

255/227 x 9.953280 Gb/s = 11.180997 Gbps

OTL4.4

79
80
1
2

OTL Nominal Bit Rate

OTL4.10

OTU4

2:1

Physical Lanes 0 1 2 ... 8 9

11.181Gbps

Physical Lanes

...

19
1

2:1

PMA 20:4

5:1

...

Potential Evolution

OTL4.10
...

Lane Block Sync & Deskew & Alignment Marker Removal

Block Distribution and Alignment Marker Insertion

OTL Type

PCS Lanes

19

2:1

5:1

5 PCS lanes:1

0 1 2 3

PMD
Transmit block

...

...

FA

... 18

2:1

0 1 2 ... 8 9

...

79
80

0 1 2

2:1

ODU4 OH

3
4

SP1

SP2

OTU4
OH

TSOH TS2

19

2:1

5:1

S3

FA

PCS

... 18

2:1

Descrambler

ODU4

Column (bytes)
Row

OTM 0.4v4 (4 optical lanes)

OTU4 111.809974 Gbps 20 ppm

0 1 2

PMA 20:10

10.3125 Gbps
D2

S1

Introduction

ODU4 Payload

Tributary Slots (1.25G) for Multiplexing

OTLCG
OMFI = 0
(TSOH TS1)

Potential Evolution
RxD<63>

Physical Lanes
0 1 2 ... 8 9
CPPI
D1

S0

n: number of
physical lanes

OT Lanes

1
2

PCS

PCS Receive

Sync header
D0

OTLCp

39
40

D6

S5

OTL4.n #n-1

39
40
41
42

D4
D4
D4

RxD<0>

D5

S4

D4

Scrambler

OPSM

79
80

D3

S2

OTLCp

OPU4

39
40

D2

S1

(PT=0x21)

79
80

D1

S0

OTL4.n #1

OTLCp

Multilane Model

PCS Lanes

D0

Sync header
(2-bit wide)
01: data block
10: control block
Output of
scrambler function

OTL4.n #0

100 Gigabit Ethernet

103.125 Gbps 100 ppm

C7
C7
C7
C7
C7
C7
C7
D6

CGMII
Sync header

MDI
Optical Medium

C7
D7

ODTUG4

79
80
1
2

D3
D3
D3
D3

TxD <63>

CGMII

PMD

MDI
Optical Medium

D7

C6
D6
0x000_0000
C5
C6
C5
C6
C5
C6
C5
C6
C5
C6
C6
D5
D5

79
80
1
2

D2
D2
D2
D2
D2

D6
C5

D5
C4
C4
C4
C4

ODTU4.ts

ODU

39
40
41
42

D5
C4

D4
O0
C3
C3
C3

PSI
OMFI
41
42

D4
C3

D3
D3
C2
C2

D1
D1
D1
D1
D1
D1

1
2

D3
C2

D2
D2

39
40
41
42

C1
C1

D0
D0
D0
D0
D0
D0
D0

41
42

D2

C0
D1
D1

PCS Transmit

TxD <0>

ODU4
OH

PMD

65
D1

D0
Block Type
Field
0x1E
0x78
0x4B
0x87
0x99
0xAA
0xB4
0xCC
0xD2
0xE1
0xFF

By Paul Brooks and Juan Masmela

ODU

OPU4 Payload

TSOH TS80

10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10

ODU Payload

ODU (0, 1, 2, 2e, 3, 4, fex)

ODU

ODTUG4 (PT=0x21)
OPU4
OH

OTU4 Section

1
2

01

C 0C 1C 2C 3/C4C 5C 6C 7
S 0D1D2D3/D4D5D6D7
O0D1D2D3/Z4Z 5Z 6Z 7
T 0C 1C 2C 3/C4C 5C 6C 7
D0T 1C 2C 3/C4C 5C 6C 7
D0D1T 2C 3/C4C 5C 6C 7
D0D1D2T 3/C4C 5C 6C 7
D0D1D2D3/T4C 5C 6C 7
D0D1D2D3/D4T 5C 6C 7
D0D1D2D3/D4D5T 6C 7
D0D1D2D3/D4D5D6T 7

ODTU4.ts
JOH

OTU4 TC L6

ODU4
TCMOH

OTU4 FEC

PMA

S Block Payload
Y
N
C

Bit Position 0 1 2
Data Block Format
D0D1D2D3/D4D5D6D7
Control Block Formats

ODTU4.ts
JOH

ODU4 Tandem
Connection

OTU4
OH

PMA

79
80
1
2

CAUI

ODTU4.ts
JOH

OTU4 TC L1

ODU4
PMOH

ODU4
TCMOH

CGMII
100GBase-R PCS

PMA

Input Data

Output of
encoder function

ODU Multiplexing

Client
(e.g.,100GE)

OPU4
OH

Information
Containers

MAC
Reconciliation

CGMII

79
80
1
2

MAC
Reconciliation

100GBase-R PCS

39
40
41
42

IEEE Model with CAUI

79
80
1
2

FCS

39
40
41
42

4 bytes

MAC Payload

39
40
41
42

46 to 1500 bytes

Type/ Values > 1535 are Ethernet Types

Length Values 1500 are for Length of the MAC frame with preamble/SFP and typically
used with LLC/SNAP in the MAC Payload

79
80
1
2

4 bytes 2 bytes

VID: VLAN ID

64B/66B PCS Block Format

PSI
OMFI
41
42

4 bytes

VLAN
VLAN
Type/
(optional) (optional) Length

(to interconnect chip devices)

C
F
I

User
Priority

PM

Source MAC
address

BDI

6 bytes

Destination
MAC address

BDI

6 bytes

SFD

TCMi

1 byte

SM

7 bytes
Preamble

PCS

BDI
IAE

MAC

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OTU4

802.3 MAC Frame Structure

OH
OMFI
OPSM
OPU
OTL
OTLCG
OTN
OTU
PCC
PM

overhead
OPU multi-frame identifer
optical physical section multilane
optical channel payload unit
optical channel transport lane
optical transport lane carrier group
optical transport network
optical channel transport unit
protection communication channel
path monitoring

PMA
PMOH
PSI
PT
RES
SAPI
SM
SNC
SNC/I
SNC/N

physical media attachment

performance monitoring overhead
payload structure identifer
payload type
reserved
source access point identifer
section monitoring
subnetwork connection
SNC protection with inherent monitoring
SNC protection with non-intrusive monitoring

SNC/S
SNC protection with sublayer monitoring
STAT
status
TC
tandem connection
TCM
tandem connection monitoring
TCM ACT TCM activation
TCMOH tandem connection monitoring overhead
TS
tributary slot
TTI
trail trace identifer

jitter tolerance
dynamic skew tolerance
pattern sensitivity

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11/12/14 11:47 AM

EDITORIAL

NOV/DEC 2014

STEPHEN HARDY

The next 30 years

long as possible and some subscribers
will continue to blanche at having a hole
drilled into their homes. But even with
advances such as DOCSIS 3.1, G.fast,
and whatever comes next (G.faster?
G.wickedfast?), eventually
bandwidth demands will
outstrip coppers (and
Click to view
coaxs) ability to keep pace.
Stephen's video blog
So those carriers who
havent already invested in
(Having trouble? Click here.)
FTTP will face a choice of
fiber or wireless. Certainly
wireless broadband will
I think we should end the year with a
prove an appealing option. Mobile broadlook at how optical communications will
band capacity will continue to increase,
evolve over the next three decades.
and you wont need to dig up someones
It seems clear already that fibers
lawn to enable wireless services.
main competition for medium of choice
However, I think most in-home bandwidth
when it comes to future service provision
requirements will continue to demand fiber
is wireless. Copper will hold on longer
for the next several decades. Therefore, the
than we currently think it has any right to,
future should continue along the lines of
because some carriers will postpone fiber
what we see today: a big wireline pipe into
to the premises (FTTP) investment for as
most homes and buildings, supplemented
aving marked the start of the
year of our 30th anniversary
with a look at how much fiberoptic communications has progressed
over our three decades of existence,

FOLLOW STEPHEN ON

1411lw_3 3

with high-speed wireless services

for on-the-go service requirements.
And that wireline pipe will be fiber.
The interesting question decades from
now will be who owns that pipe? Here
in the U.S., I dont see fiber connections
becoming a utility anytime soon. But
elsewhere, as functional separation and
open access networks proliferate and
over the top (OTT) content consumption
becomes widespread, some government
thats investing in infrastructure expansion
will see a utility model as logical and a
way to earn a return on the taxpayers
investment. It will happen somewhere
its just a question of where and when.
In the enterprise and data center, the
same multimedia dynamic will play out. I
think fiber will have a harder time becoming
ubiquitous in the enterprise; fiber to the
desk wont be as necessary as FTTP in
the next three decades. Wireless also will
prove adequate for most desktop/tablet/
whatever-we-come-up-with applications.

11/12/14 11:47 AM

EDITORIAL

Wireline and Optical

continued

Inside data centers, however,

fiber will rule eventually. The
bandwidth demands are too high,
and photonic advances that shrink
cost, footprint, heat dissipation, and
power requirements will bring the
technology in line with data-center
needs. I dont see wireless as a
significant threat to fiber inside the
data center for a long, long time.
Consumer products represent
a potential new area for optical

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So fiber should remain an
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And the current and future staffs
of Lightwave look forward to
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1411lw_4 4

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11/12/14 11:47 AM

PRESSURE
POINTS FOR

I
2015

By STEPHEN HARDY

An uneven 2014 is coming to an end.

Heres a look at what 2015 may bring
in the way of optical communications
technology trends.

1411lw_5 5

N MANY WAYS, 2014 was

the year of the data center.

Data centers became the
hot new market area for optical
communications for two reasons:
Interest in fiber has grown
significantly there, and data-center
technology cycles churn more
rapidly than in carrier networks.
The data-center niche established
itself as the epicenter or at least
the inspiration of innovation. Its
where development of softwaredefined networking (SDN) and
network functions virtualization
(NFV) began. Most silicon
photonics efforts target data-center
requirements. The mega data
centers have emerged as a potential
market for photonic switches.
About the only technology
players perhaps not entirely
intrigued by the data center were
the standards developers. When
the target application is the carrier
environment, it can take three to five
years to create a new standard. But
network managers of big data centers
dont have that kind of patience. And

NOV/DEC 2014

they dont require the imprimatur

of the IEEE or the ITU-T on their
technology choices. So 2014 also
saw a bumper crop of multisource
agreements (MSAs) for various
non-standard Ethernet applications.
This upheaval promises an
interesting 2015. As is the tradition
here at Lightwave, Ill close our
2014 coverage with an outline of
the technical topics I believe will
prove important over the next
12 months. The discussion will
encompass five application areas:
1. Networking (except for the last mile)
2. Fiber to the X
3. Trends specific to cable operators
4. Test and measurement
5. Equipment design
The following predictions derive
from basic research, conversations
at trade shows, phone interviews,
and the arrangements of the leaves
at the bottom of my mug when the
teabag split open one morning
last week. As always, actual
outcomes and results may differ
materially from what is expressed or
forecasted. No wagering allowed.

11/12/14 11:48 AM

FEATURE

Pressure points for 2015

Defining SDN for optical networks

THE NEXT 12 MONTHS will see

transport SDN and NFV kick

into a higher gear. In particular,
anticipated Tier 1 operator field
trials should indicate how SDN/
NFV concepts will be deployed
and what effect theyll have on
optical communications networks.
The increased clarity will be
welcome, because transport SDN/
NFV development so far has been
rather chaotic. This scenario probably
shouldnt come as a surprise, given
the stated goal of flexibility and an
open environment. Anyone potentially
can contribute something and,
so far, it appears almost everyone
has tried. An alphabet soup of
standards bodies (ONF, OIF, IETF,
ETSI, etc.), third parties (such as the
Open Networking Lab), industry
groups such as Open Daylight,
and several individual vendors all
have tried to stake a claim to some
corner of SDN/NFV or assert their
expertise. That means carriers will
have a lot of options from which to
choose. With luck, enabling SDN/

1411lw_6 6

NFV capabilities and creating new

apps will be as straightforward as
working with LINUX eventually.
(Oh, thats rightOpen Daylight
is leveraging LINUX already)
Clearly, there wont be a single
path to SDN/NFV. But look for Tier
1 carriers to join China Telecom
and implement these principles
soon including, in some cases,
2015 as others have done already.
Meanwhile, as has already
been forecasted by several market
research firms, 2015 will begin the
deployment of metro-focused 100G.
As was the case in long haul, vendors
with in-house DSP expertise will
hit the market first. With pluggable
coherent CFPs available now and
coherent CFP2 devices following
in 2015, those systems houses
dependent on their module partners
will be online starting late in the year.
Web 2.0 providers have joined
traditional service providers
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FEATURE

shape metro-focused optical

communications technology. Ciena
and Infinera, among others, asserted
in 2014 that the influence of such
companies in the metro creates a
demand for new classes of packet
and optical systems, rather than
just footprint- and cost-optimized
versions of long haul equipment.
Other companies that have focused
on the metro have made similar
assertions previously. Regardless of
whether youre a traditional carrier,
cable operator, new wave datacenter connectivity seeker, or content
service provider, therell be plenty
of optical transport options available
for metro/regional requirements.
And many of these systems will
feature encryption capabilities.
While 100G invades the metro,
technology options for supporting
even greater speeds will become
increasingly available. Systems
that support 200G and 100G via
the same linecard have reached
the field from at least one vendor;
we can expect to see more in 2015.
This sets the stage for 400G. Yet

1411lw_7 7

Pressure points for 2015

while I expect we may see another
deployment or two in 2015, the main
action here wont occur until later
years. Most of what well see in
2015 is preparation for future 400G
deployments, as carriers ensure
that they have the right flexible
grid ROADM and amplification
technology in place (or at least on
standby). Remote optically powered
amplifiers (ROPAs) may become
more ubiquitous. And well hear
discussion of the fiber requirements
for coherent networks that require
ROPAs and Raman as well.
As 100G becomes more ubiquitous
to link data centers together,
technology to support the same data
rates within these data centers (or
among buildings in a data-center
campus) should finally see more
than token deployment in 2015 with
higher-end users, thanks to the
availability next year of CFP4- and
QSFP28-enabled ports. Still, 10 and
40 Gigabit Ethernet technology
will remain more popular with the
majority of data centers that dont
have mega-scale requirements.

NOV/DEC 2014

How fast is G.fast?

SORRY, FIBER TO THE HOME fans.

The most influential FTTx technology

in 2015 is going to be G.fast, which
is designed to bring fiber-like
capabilities to copper in the last
mile (or, more precisely, the last
couple of hundred meters or so).
With the gigabit broadband era
clearly upon us, G.fast backers
promise the technology will fit right
in. But until we see the results of
the field trials that 2015 will bring,
the distance/copper quality/user
number conditions under which
G.fast consistently can support
1-Gbps rates remain unclear.
In fact, the definition of gigabit
speeds is somewhat unclear, since
G.fast transmission estimates generally
aggregate downstream and upstream
capacity. In terms of consistent
throughput, a G.fast connection will
have to support greater than 1 Gbps
to match a downstream 1-Gbps fiber
connection and the first generation
of G.fast technology doesnt look
like it will support symmetrical
1-Gbps transmission at all.

Nevertheless, initial trials conducted

this year have demonstrated
connections with greater than 1-Gbps
capacity, so its not out of the question
that copper-loving carriers will use
G.fast to tout up to 1 Gbps services.
And in scenarios where the competitive
environment doesnt require more
than 100 to 500 Mbps or where
fiber connections arent practical
G.fast will prove very attractive.
All of this is not to say that
FTTH technology development
will stand still. The first time and
wavelength division multiplexed
PON (TWDM-PON) products that
support a total capacity of 40 Gbps
should reach the market early in 2015,
and weve seen announcements of
100-Gbps TWDM-PON prototypes
as well. The first skirmishes in the
battle between TWDM-PON and
10G PON for post GPON/EPON
supremacy therefore could begin
as early as the end of the year.
Otherwise, were likely to see
more evolutionary than revolutionary
technology advances in 2015.

11/12/14 11:48 AM

FEATURE

Pressure points for 2015

Cable MSOs target 1 Gbps

Test speeds along

WITH COMPETITORS SUCH AS

WHETHER WERE TALKING LAB

Google Fiber and CenturyLink

offering 1-Gbps services via their
FTTH networks, cable operators
have started to respond. Some
have already deployed FTTH
themselves. Others are awaiting the
arrival of DOCSIS 3.1 technology,
which should generate the most
buzz in the space in 2015.
DOCSIS 3.1 promises to support
a shared 10 Gbps downstream,
certainly enough to keep up with the
average cable MSOs competitors if
the number of subscribers per node
is kept relatively low. The traditional
weakness in DOCSIS and hybrid
fiber-coax infrastructure has resided
in the upstream. For now, most
DOCSIS 3.1 technology vendors quote
an upstream target of 1 to 2 Gbps.
The first wave of DOCSIS 3.1-related
products surfaced this fall; trials
should begin soon, and CableLabs
product certifications should begin
to appear in the first half of 2015.
Meanwhile, CableLabs is hard
at work on new specifications for

1411lw_8 8

operators who have recognized

the power of fiber, particularly for
business services. At the top of the
to-do list sits a GPON version of
the DOCSIS Provisioning of EPON
(DPoE) specifications, driven by
the many operators who decided to
fight FTTH fire with fire via GPON
architectures. Completion of the
first set of DPoG specifications sets
the stage for a GPON vs. EPON
turf war for DOCSIS-friendly
all-fiber infrastructures. GPONs
FTTH popularity aside, at least
one source active in the space
suggests that because its more
easily compatible with DOCSIS and
provides a clearer path to 10-Gbps
support, EPON eventually will win.
Deployments of Converged
Cable Access Platform (CCAP)
technology, which supports IP
services delivery, also will continue
in 2015. These deployments should
push fiber deeper into operator
networks, further solidifying the
role of optical communications
in cable MSO networks.

and production applications or field

use, increasing data rates continue
to drive test and measurement
technology development.
In the lab environment, many of the
drivers we saw this year will continue
in 2015. These catalysts include the
need to support the development of
400 Gbps and greater transmission
technology for carrier networks
and expected 400 Gigabit Ethernet
transmission for the data center.
The oscilloscope provides the
foundation for most of the lab test
applications in question. Vendors will
continue to expand capacity; now
that Teledyne LeCroy has announced
the first 100-GHz real time oscilloscope,
the competition will play catch up.
As the bandwidth and capabilities
of real time scopes scale, so will the
cost. That will leave users wondering
how much bandwidth and related
horsepower they need, and whether
they could use cheaper sampling
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11/12/14 11:48 AM

FEATURE

optical modulation analysis capabilities

developed for sampling scopes. The
next 12 months should see more
advancements along these lines.
Elsewhere in the lab, this years
run of PAM4-related-capability
introductions should continue in
2015. Many of these announcements
react to the expectation that the
IEEE 400 Gigabit Ethernet Task
Force will leverage this modulation
format as it creates its specifications.
Most discussions of PAM4 testing
currently focus on 28- and 56-Gbps
transmission rates, particularly for
board traces, backplanes, and the
lane rates 400GbE semiconductors
likely will demand. But if the 400GbE
standards makers decide to target
single-wavelength 100 Gbps, we
will see new demands for multilevel
signaling test support emerge rapidly.
Out in the field, carriers have
already begun to deploy 200-Gbps
technology, according to AlcatelLucent. Such deployments foreshadow
400-Gbps implementation and there
isnt any field-test equipment available
for either 200G or 400G as far as I

1411lw_9 9

Pressure points for 2015

know. Operators likely are relying
on diagnostic capabilities built into
the transmission systems, a trend I
think will continue in 2015 as systems
vendors increase the breadth and
performance of such capabilities.
Besides this competitive challenge,
field-test equipment vendors will
have to start wrestling with what SDN
means for them and their customers.
This question has two facets. First,
how to monitor and troubleshoot the
software-driven flexible delivery of
virtual functions in an infrastructure
whose configurations will change
more quickly and frequently than
before. Second, it seems reasonable
for users to wonder whether SDN/
NFV principals can apply to test and
measurement. Can test functions
be virtualized? We can foresee
demand for flexible test sets whose
capabilities could be optimized
for whatever the technician had
on the agenda for a given day.
Test equipment vendors have
made progress along this second axis
already via cloud-enabled test sets.
We should expect more of this in 2015.

NOV/DEC 2014

Data-center requirements reshape

equipment design
THE DATA-CENTER SPACE has not

only offered an inviting frontier for

optical communications; it also has
changed the rules for technology
development. Well see these new
parameters continue to evolve in 2015.
The data-center market differs
significantly from the carrier world.
Deployment cycles are in the
neighborhood of three to five years,
which means products dont have to
be engineered (or certified) to last 20
years. And standards requirements
are becoming less strict; MSAs,
particularly those that leverage
more traditional standards, are
frequently seen as good enough.
Nowhere was this last influence more
apparent in 2014 than in the proliferation
of optical-transceiver MSAs targeting
100 Gigabit Ethernet applications
between 500 m and 2 km. The market
is still sorting out winners and losers
among these efforts, but that wont
stop additional standards-alternative
MSAs from springing up in 2015.
For example, debate has emerged

within the IEEE 400 Gigabit Ethernet

Task Force regarding the practicality
of a 4100-Gbps approach versus
850 Gbps. Aside from 400-Gbps
communications, both approaches
could lead to new methods of 100GbE
support. It wouldnt be surprising to
see MSAs along these lines in 2015.
Well see the effects of 400GbE
requirements in the fiber-optic cable
realm as well. The TIA has opened
discussion of specifications for a new
multimode fiber class that would
support four wavelengths. Multimode
PMDs for 400GbE are expected to
be based on 25-Gbps wavelengths
transmitted in parallel. Using current
technology, thats 32 fibers (16 in both
the transmit and receive directions).
The new fiber class would offer
a more efficient approach and,
again, might have use at 100 Gbps.
Meanwhile, well see what
the 25 Gigabit Ethernet effort
and debates about 50 Gigabit
Ethernet will reveal as well.
continued on p. 17

11/12/14 11:48 AM

FEATURE

NOV/DEC 2014 10

By JIM THEODORAS

Impact of Big Data transport on network innovation

The Internet and
data services
have evolved
significantly
which means
a new set of
requirements for
transport networks.

FUNDAMENTAL transformation

seems to have transpired so

swiftly and imperceptibly that
few have even noticed. The Internet has
evolved from being vertically accessed
caches of information (for example, a user
making a request at a search engine then
receiving that content) that demanded
massive north- and southbound links
to instead being dominated by more
horizontally oriented traffic patterns across
virtualized clouds of data (see Figure 1).
The astronomical growth of the Internet is
a story thats frequently told, but the growth
of internal networks to accommodate it and
the evolution required to adapt to new usage
models such as relationship mapping and
lifescaping compose the most important
story happening in the data-center industry
today. This change has driven significant and
diverse innovation for data-center operators
transport networks in areas such as capacity,

JIM THEODORAS

is senior director of technical

marketing at ADVA Optical Networking.

1411lw_10 10

efficiency, security, and

programmability to
optimize infrastructures
for the shift from vertical to
horizontal traffic dominance.

How data centers

have changed

Small pipes

Front edge

Big
pipes

Small
pipes

Front edge
Big pipes

Data centers now hold

within their vaults so
much information on
FIGURE 1. Internet transport has evolved from a predominantly
users profiles, habits,
northsouth flow to eastwest.
and relationships that the
amount even exceeds that
of the actual data those users are accessing. network all from a single click of a mouse.
What happens across global data-center
Also, there are massive horizontal,
infrastructures today with any single packet
relational databases being gathered and
coming in from a user is mind-blowing.
maintained across global data centers
As of 2012, Facebook was said to be
for every data point stored on each
processing 2.7 billion Like actions per day.
person. It has been widely reported that
Each Like can be linked to traffic across
each data-center operator maintains
more than 1,000 servers around the world.
several thousands of data points on
And like a first domino falling, that first
each user for advertising and marketing
ripple caused other ripples, driving a huge
purposes. And, earlier this year,
amount of horizontal traffic across their global
it was disclosed in public court filings that

11/12/14 11:48 AM

FEATURE

Big Datas impact

Google gathers much data on each

Gmail user for purposes beyond
simple advertisement matching.
Whether the practice is right
or wrong, it cannot be argued
that this huge amount of data not
only has to be stored somewhere,
but also cached and transported
globally. A significant percentage
of the transport industry is now
servicing a global virtual cloud
of load balancing, caching,
and automatic routines.
Google has said that its private
backbone network interconnecting
data centers and transporting siteto-site bandwidth is already larger
and growing more quickly than its
public network that accommodates
in-and-out bandwidth. Furthermore,
based on Amdahls lesser known
law 1 Mbps of I/O is needed
for every 1 MHz of computation in
parallel computing Google figures
it will need a 100-Gbps connection
for every one of its virtual machines
(VMs). That translates into 100 Tbps
for the transport pipe between their
clusters of 1,000 VMs apiece.

1411lw_11 11

The implication of such insights

for transport networks is clear:
Big Data demands big pipes, and
the transport industry is adjusting
because thats now the source of the
bulk of bandwidth demand. Many
have plotted the astounding and
continuing growth of the Internet, but
the growth of the private supporting
networks is like the Internets growth
on steroids. The transport industry
was caught napping but is now
responding to this new dynamic.

What this change means

for transport
Its critical that data-center operators
take advantage of transport-network
technology optimized for the new
era (see Figure 2). Running a Big
Data transport network can more
than double the performance
of a data centers VMs.
Previously undreamt-of capacity
in fibers among data-center sites
is needed for Big Data. Of course,
the number of fibers crisscrossing
the globe is finite thus the
imperative to get as much out of

NOV/DEC 2014 11

Programmability
Massive private
networks

Network
hypervisor
Network Storage Compute

Big Data
transport

In-fight encryption

High
effciency

High channel counts

High bit rates

FIGURE 2. The new era of Big Data transport networks relies on several interrelated technologies.

each fiber as possible. Therefore,

as many colors as possible must be
crammed into each fiber, and as
much data as possible needs to be
encoded on these wavelengths.
To meet this seemingly impossible
challenge, we see more complex
modulation formats put into use today
because higher-order modulation
helps enable higher data rates for
a given spectral width. Line-side
100 Gigabit Ethernet (100GbE)
transport ushered in the age of
coherent networking, bringing an
end to worries about dispersion
maps, polarization mode dispersion
tolerance, and gain budgets.

Today, 400 Gbps has started

discussion of such schemes as
16-quadrature amplitude modulation
(QAM) and 64-QAM, among
others, in the standards bodies.
Software-defined networking
(SDN) is a must in todays transport
infrastructure for data centers.
There already are use cases for
SDN-enabled transport boxes
with Googles Andromeda SDN
platform being a prime example.
Transport SDN turns the network
interconnecting data centers into a
programmable resource capable of
supporting bandwidth on demand
on a calendared or ad hoc basis.

11/12/14 11:48 AM

FEATURE

Big Datas impact

Through integration with cloud

orchestration, resources become
virtualized across and beyond the
data center, working in tandem
for truly elastic cloud services.
Extending SDN beyond its localarea-network roots to the transport
layer for interconnection holds the
key to virtualizing everything inside
and outside the data center. For
operators of data-center networks,
that translates into the ability to
easily and fluidly shift VMs and data
among geographically dispersed
locations and automatically turn up
or tear down circuits as necessitated
by bandwidth demands as they
evolve. End-to-end multilayer
flows can now be fully optimized.
Applications can be seamlessly
migrated from data-center cores to
local caching for better end-user
experience and back again.
Efficiency in terms of power,
space, and cost is another important
area of Big Data transport networks.
Given the astronomical growth in
internal bandwidth demand driven
by the substantial ripple effect of user

1411lw_12 12

activity horizontally across networks

globally, data centers simply cant
keep building more capacity to
accommodate the need indefinitely.
Data centers must be able to wring
more capacity out of the infrastructure
they already have deployed.
Data centers require the highest
performance, whether measured
by watt, dollar, or square meter of
floor space. Requests for proposals
to transport providers in effect ask
more and more frequently, What
can you do in a given amount of
space? Terabits of capacity per
rack is becoming an increasingly
important benchmark in the
transport industry. And given that
it takes a 100-Tbps pipe to keep
from throttling the performance of
a 1,000-VM cluster, its no wonder.
Finally, with so much sensitive
user data being stored, concerns
around information privacy and
security issues continue to gain
importance. Security must now
assume a place alongside cost, space,
and power consumption as a defining
factor when operators of data-center

networks make decisions about

transport connectivity. As data-center
networks have become virtualized
global clouds, they increasingly shift
sensitive personal data around their
cloud to be in the local cache closest
to the end user. Users personal
data isnt sitting securely in some
data vault deep in a cave but rather
constantly transported all over the
globe. And these transport links
become a key point of vulnerability.
The answer is encryption, but
transport pipes run at 100 Gbps, and
any encryption engine must keep
up. Encrypting traffic at the transport
layer is called in-flight, or wire-speed,
encryption since it happens in real
time, in line with the traffic. Unlike
encrypting traffic at higher layers in the
network stack, in-flight encryption uses
no overhead and thus maintains 100%
throughput as packet sizes get smaller.

Big changes for Big Data

A user making an Internet request
might imagine those traffic packets
going to a hard drive in the sky where
the desired content is accessed and

NOV/DEC 2014 12

served back to the user downstream.

Thats an antiquated notion; such
a simple, vertically oriented
transaction is no longer the norm.
The architecture of the cloud has
quietly, yet profoundly, changed over
the last couple of years. Everything
done on the Internet today will
within a few seconds set into motion
horizontal traffic among hundreds
of servers around the world.
Data centers therefore are
ballooning in size and number,
and the applications they run are
outgrowing the walls. Truly massive
amounts of data must be transported
among the various geographic sites,
whether for load balancing or perhaps
replication and/or business continuity.
Early interconnection networks
for data centers simply made the best
use of whatever network resources
and technologies were readily
available. But with the percentage of
total transport bandwidth consumed
by data centers eclipsing that of
traditional telecommunications, network
technology optimized for the new reality
of Big Data transport is needed.

11/12/14 11:48 AM

FEATURE

NOV/DEC 2014 13

By PAULINE RIGBY

The fifth dimension

Commercial
applications for
space-division
multiplexing could
arrive sooner
than we think.

PTICAL COMMUNICATIONS

technology has made

phenomenal progress in recent
decades, with new ways to boost the
transmission capacity of a single optical
fiber. Almost every available degree of
freedom has been exploited modern
coherent optical systems multiplex
signals using wavelength, polarization,
amplitude, and phase. Each new degree
of freedom has provided an exponential
increase in transmission capacity.
Future gains will not be so readily
achieved, however. There is widespread
recognition that the base of installed
optical fiber is close to reaching
the theoretical transmission limits
described by Shannons theorem.
Interface cards have made this huge
jump from 10G to 100G, and theyve been
able to make this jump in capacity without
sacrificing reach or performance. But if

PAULINE RIGBY is

a freelance writer and regular

contributor to Lightwave and www.lightwaveonline.com.

1411lw_13 13

you look forward, you will never

see this kind of step again, says
Maxim Kuschnerov, DWDM
e
e
o
e
LP01
LP11
LP11
LP02
product manager at Coriant.
We have reached a plateau
[in transmission capacity].
Yet, one potentially massive
e
o
e
o
source of additional capacity
LP21
LP21
LP12
LP12
has been left virtually
untapped. Space-division
multiplexing (SDM) uses parallel
e
o
e
o
spatial channels to transmit
LP31
LP31
LP41
LP41
multiple independent optical
A variety of different modes can be supported via
signals simultaneously.
few-mode fiber.
Optical fibers can easily
PHOTO COURTESY OF CORIANT
support hundreds of spatial
modes, but todays commerin fact its almost as old as fiber-optic
cial systems singlemode or multimode
communications itself, with the fabrication
make no attempt to use these as
of fibers containing multiple cores
parallel channels, notes Prof. David
reported as far back as 1979. But interest
Richardson, deputy director of the
in the technology has really picked up
Optoelectronics Research Centre at the
over the last few years, and now postUniversity of Southampton in the U.K.
deadline paper sessions at the major
The notion of increasing fiber
optical conferences are dominated by
capacity with SDM is not new, he says;
new results obtained using SDM.

11/12/14 11:48 AM

FEATURE

The fifth dimension

s
Photonic
Phoenix

s
Photonic
Phoenix

Packaged photonic lanterns,

which couple power from N
input fibers to N fiber modes,
are commercially available.

optimize

SOURCE: PHOENIX PHOTONICS

New fibers
Unfortunately, while conceptually
simple, SDM turns out to be extremely
challenging in practice. SDM will
require optical vendors to design
completely new transmission fibers
as well as the associated optical
components to multiplex, amplify,
and switch the spatial modes and
electronic circuitry to untangle
the information they contain.
Placing optical signals in close
proximity also generates crosstalk
that must be compensated.
It almost goes without saying that
carriers are reluctant to put new fiber
in the ground. But they recognize
that they need to be prepared
for the day when the capacity of
their existing plant is exhausted,
even if it seems far away right now.
There is probably enough fiber in
the ground to deal with capacity

upgrades until 2025, but when you

look at whats required [in terms of
technology development], thats a
very short time, says Ian Giles, CEO
of Phoenix Photonics in the U.K. and
project manager for MODE-GAP,
a collaborative European project
investigating the potential of SDM.
Several different approaches have
been proposed and investigated.
Multi-core fiber (MCF) contains
multiple independent optical cores
inside a single cladding up to 19
have been demonstrated. Few-mode
fibers (FMFs) are designed to
guide a restricted number of spatial
modes, typically 612 distinct modes,
inside a single core slightly larger
than that of a typical singlemode
fiber. Photonic crystal fibers (PCFs)
guide light through a hollow core,
which has additional properties of
interest, including ultra-low optical

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1411lw_14 14

11/12/14 11:48 AM

FEATURE

The fifth dimension

nonlinearity, lower
Another result
latency, and the
worthy of note
potential for lower
came out of
losses than solidthe U.S. later
core fibers.
that same year.
Researchers have
Researchers
already achieved
from NEC Labs
results that establish
in Princeton, NJ,
10 m
the potential for high
and Cornings
Cross-sectional view of a hollowcapacity transmission
Sullivan Park
core fiber.
via SDM. In Japan, the
Research Center
SOURCE: MODE-GAP
National Institute for
in Corning, NY,
Communications Technologies (NICT)
claimed a new record, achieving
has sponsored collaborative research
1.05-Pbps transmission over an MCF
into SDM based on MCF. In 2012,
that contained 12 singlemode and two
NTT and its partners demonstrated
few-mode cores. Its interesting to see
petabit optical transmission over a
that different types of spatial guidance
single optical fiber at a distance
can be combined in the same fiber, but
of 52.4 km. In the experiment, the
it does raise the question of whether a
researchers generated polarizationcommon approach across the industry
multiplexed 32-QAM signals at 380
would enable more rapid progress.
Gbps on each of 222 wavelengths
In Europe, SDM research is being
to yield a transmission capacity
pushed forward by the MODE-GAP
of 84.5 Tbps for each core, for an
project, which favors an approach
aggregate capacity of 1.01 Pbps. The
based on multiple modes and PCF
fiber contained 12 cores arranged
(also known as photonic bandgap
in a nearly concentric pattern to
fiber). The problem with [spatially
reduce crosstalk by reducing the
overlapping modes in] solid-core fiber
number of nearest neighbors.
is the nonlinear effects, whereas with

1411lw_15 15

photonic bandgap fiber the limits are

much higher. You can increase the
capacity of the fiber just by pumping
more power down it, explains Giles.
The project team has successfully
transmitted data of 57.6 Tbps (73.7
Tbps including error-correction
overheads) over hollow-core fiber
supporting several spatial modes,
which has now been certified as
a Guinness World Record. The
consortium detailed the feat in a
post-deadline paper at OFC 2014
in San Francisco last March.
In addition to Phoenix Photonics,
project members include
Southampton University (where PCF is
manufactured in research quantities),
the COBRA Institute at the Technische
Universiteit Eindhoven, Tyndall
National Institute at Irelands University
College Cork, OFS Fitel Denmark,
Eblana Photonics, ESPCI ParisTech,
Aston University in Birmingham, U.K.,
as well as the German business of
optical systems vendor Coriant. The
systems house has provided a testbed
for demonstrations and a perspective
on systems development. To help

NOV/DEC 2014 15

define the customer requirements

of an optical transport system
based on SDM, Coriant talked
to more than 20 customers from
around the world, both traditional
telecom operators and cloud content
providers, Kuschnerov asserts.

Cost of SDM
Reaching higher capacities isnt the
only motivation to develop SDM,
of course; the metric that carriers
really care about is cost per bit. To
help inform this discussion before
such systems have actually been
built, Coriant also modeled the
cost of building from scratch an
optical transport system based on
10 parallel fibers and compared it
to the cost of building a system of
equivalent capacity running over a
single fiber using 10 spatial modes.
Roughly half the system cost is
in the optical interfaces, which is
difficult to reduce even with SDM. But
overall the SDM system is up to about
20% cheaper to build because the
amplifiers and ROADMs are more
integrated and more efficient, and

11/12/14 11:48 AM

FEATURE

The fifth dimension

therefore less expensive. It doesnt

strike you at first as revolutionary,
says Kuschnerov. You have to
argue for benefits of SDM in a
different way. Its not a pure capex
discussion; it is also about operational
simplicity, power savings in the
amplifiers, and the lowest possible
footprint. This conversation is not
as obvious to the customer.
Coriant found that telecom
operators had a different view from
the cloud content providers. Telecom
operators were generally reluctant
to think about new fiber types,
according to Kuschnerov. Carriers
have had bad experience with
these kinds of choices in the past,
he explains. They were told that
lower dispersion in the fiber was
good at 10G, but then new coherent
technology came along, and it was
actually good to have high dispersion
because it reduces nonlinearities.
People installed a lot of fiber that
turned out to be very bad for coherent
and they never saw this coming.
Telecom operators also said
that once the full ecosystem of

1411lw_16 16

The variable LP01-LP11 mode coupler

pictured here creates a periodic mode
coupling in dual-mode fibers at the
beat length between the two modes.
SOURCE: PHOENIX PHOTONICS

components and systems has been

developed and thoroughly tested, they
would need a smooth transition to the
new technology. In the ideal scenario,
components and systems designed
for SDM will also be compatible with
standard transmission systems based
on singlemode fiber and could be
installed as part of a gradual upgrade.
In response, Coriant set up a field
trial with Austrian cable operator A1
to show that it was possible to

upgrade individual links in the

network. The field trial, carried
out in 2013, used 100G and 200G
optical carriers running over a
660-km route between Salzburg
and Vienna that included a span
containing FMF and a multimode
amplifier. We showed A1 that fitting
in new technology is not disruptive.
The customer can begin to extract
the benefits of the new technology
without disturbing the equipment
in the field, says Kuschnerov.
Cloud content providers, on the
other hand, are less tied to legacy
infrastructure as they build out new
data-center networks in response to
spiraling levels of data traffic. With
shorter network upgrade cycles
and tremendous pressure to deliver
connectivity at the lowest cost, cloud
providers are also more receptive to
new technologies, Kuschnerov reports.
Cloud providers perked up when
they heard about hybrid-core fiber
(HCF) because it delivers a 30%
improvement in latency compared
to solid-core fiber, simply because
light travels faster in air. The

NOV/DEC 2014 16

connection length inside a data center

is typically between 500 m and 2
km. You could save up to 3 msec over
this distance, reasons Kuschnerov.
That would boost response times
and overall performance inside the
data center, an advantage to any
data-center operator, but especially
those with customers in the financial
sector. This is a niche application
that could use SDM technology as
soon as it is ready, he adds.
Theres still plenty of work to
do, but progress has been steady.
Over the last 12 months, the
MODE-GAP project has increased
the transmission distance over HCF
by a factor of 10. Researchers at OFS
Laboratories and Coriant recently
demonstrated a 100G linecard
running over a 2.75-km length of
HCF, which is long enough to cover
every link inside most data centers.
The work will be presented as an
invited paper at OFC 2015. This
experiment has put HCF on our
product roadmaps; it could become
real as soon as three years from
now, concludes Kuschnerov.

11/12/14 11:48 AM

PRODUCT

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Now that much of the breathless hype surrounding silicon photonics
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Register for the webcast series at:

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1411lw_17 17

Terahertz Technologies Inc. ................................... 17

2015

cont from p. 9

Last but not least, 2015 also should

bring the results of some of the
second generation silicon photonics
efforts (after the first generation
represented by such companies as
Luxtera and Kotura/Mellanox).
Out on the line side, data centers
also will have an effect, particularly
on 100G for the metro. As already
mentioned, we should see pluggable
coherent modules become generally
available from a variety of sources
(and keep direct detect 100G a niche
technology). At least some of those
modules will also support 200G,
thanks to new third-party DSPs.
The effects of SDN and NFV
on equipment design also will
become more pronounced next
year. Optical-system vendors
generally brush off the idea of white
box optical transport gear. But as
developers learn to support delivery
of optical-network abstractions
to controllers and orchestrators,
some sort of optical function
virtualization will be discussed
and demonstrated next year.

NOV/DEC 2014 17

SALES OFFICES
MAIN OFFICE

98 Spit Brook Road, LL-1,

Nashua, NH 03062-5737
(603) 891-0123; fax (603) 891-0574
GROUP PUBLISHER

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Kathleen Skelton
tel (603) 891-9203; fax (603) 891-0587
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972-9-899-5813; fax 972-9-899-5815
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852-2-838-6298; fax 852-2-838-2766
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11/12/14 11:48 AM

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11/12/14 11:48 AM