Cisco Systems DWDM Primer Oct03

ONS 15454 MSTP
DWDM Networking Primer

October 2003
© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Agenda
• Introduction
• Optical Fundamentals
• Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM)

Optical Fundamentals

Some terminology
• Decibels (dB): unit of level (relative measure)

X dB is 10-X/10 in linear dimension e.g. 3 dB Attenuation = 10-.3 = 0.501
Standard logarithmic unit for the ratio of two quantities. In optical fibers, the ratio is
power and represents loss or gain.
• Decibels-milliwatt (dBm) : Decibel referenced to a milliwatt

X mW is 10× log10(X) in dBm, Y dBm is 10Y/10 in mW. 0dBm=1mW, 17dBm = 50mW
• Wavelength (λ ): length of a wave in a particular medium.

Common unit: nanometers, 10-9m (nm)
300nm (blue) to 700nm (red) is visible. In fiber optics primarily use 850, 1310, &
1550nm
• Frequency (ν ): the number of times that a wave is

produced within a particular time period. Common unit:
TeraHertz, 1012 cycles per second (Thz)
Wavelength x frequency = Speed of light ⇒ λ x ν =C
Some more terminology
• Attenuation = Loss of power in dB/km

The extent to which lighting intensity from the source is diminished as it passes through a
given length of fiber-optic (FO) cable, tubing or light pipe. This specification determines
how well a product transmits light and how much cable can be properly illuminated by a
given light source.
• Chromatic Dispersion = Spread of light pulse in ps/nm-km
The separation of light into its different coloured rays.
• ITU Grid = Standard set of wavelengths to be used in Fibre Optic

communications. Unit Ghz, e.g. 400Ghz, 200Ghz, 100Ghz
• Optical Signal to Noise Ration (OSNR) = Ratio of optical signal
power to noise power for the receiver
• Lambda = Name of Greek Letter used as Wavelength symbol
(λ )
• Optical Supervisory Channel (OSC) = Management channel

dB versus dBm
• dBm used for output power and receive

sensitivity (Absolute Value)
• dB used for power gain or loss (Relative Value)

Bit Error Rate ( BER)
• BER is a key objective of the Optical

System Design
• Goal is to get from Tx to Rx with a BER <
BER threshold of the Rx
• BER thresholds are on Data sheets
• Typical minimum acceptable rate is 10 -12

Optical Budget
Basic Optical Budget = Output Power – 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)

Glass Purity
Fiber Optics Requires

Very High Purity Glass
Window Glass 1 inch (~3 cm)

Optical Quality Glass 10 feet (~3 m)
Fiber Optics 9 miles (~14 km)
Propagation Distance Need to Reduce the

Transmitted Light Power by 50% (3 dB)

Fiber Fundamentals
Attenuation
Dispersion
Nonlinearity
Distortion
It May Be a Digital Signal, but It’s Analog Transmission
Transmitted Data Waveform Waveform After 1000 Km

Analog Transmission Effects
Attenuation:
Reduces power level with distance
Dispersion and Nonlinearities:

Erodes clarity with distance and speed
Signal detection and recovery is an analog problem

Fiber Geometry
Core Cladding
• An optical fiber is made of
three sections:
The core carries the
light signals
The cladding keeps the light
in the core
The coating protects the glass Coating

Propagation in Fiber
n2 Cladding
θ θ 1
0 n1 Core
Intensity Profile
• Light propagates by total internal reflections

at the core-cladding interface
• Total internal reflections are lossless
• Each allowed ray is a mode

Different Types of Fiber
n2 Cladding
• Multimode fiber
Core diameter varies n1 Core
50 mm for step index
62.5 mm for graded index
Bit rate-distance product
>500 MHz-km
• Single-mode fiber n2 Cladding
Core diameter is about 9 mm
Bit rate-distance product n1
>100 THz-km Core

Optical Spectrum
UV IR 125 GHz/nm
λ
Visible
• Light 850 nm
980 nm
Ultraviolet (UV) 1310 nm
Visible 1480 nm
Infrared (IR) 1550 nm
• Communication wavelengths 1625 nm
850, 1310, 1550 nm

Low-loss wavelengths C =ƒ x λ
• Specialty wavelengths Wavelength:λ (nanometers)
980, 1480, 1625 nm Frequency: ƒ (terahertz)

Optical Attenuation
• Specified in loss per kilometer

(dB/km)
0.40 dB/km at 1310 nm
0.25 dB/km at 1550 nm 1550
Window
1310
• Loss due to absorption Window
by impurities
1400 nm peak due to OH ions
• EDFA optical amplifiers
available in 1550 window

Optical Attenuation
• Pulse amplitude reduction limits “how far” Examples

• Attenuation in dB 10dBm 10 mW
0 dBM 1 mW
• Power is measured in dBm: -3 dBm 500 uW
-10 dBm 100 uW
-30 dBm 1 uW
Pi
P0
T T

Types of Dispersion
• Chromatic Dispersion
Different wavelengths travel at different speeds
Causes spreading of the light pulse
• Polarization Mode Dispersion (PMD)

Single-mode fiber supports two polarization
states
Fast and slow axes have different group
velocities
A Snapshot on Chromatic Dispersion
Interference
• Affects single channel and DWDM systems

• A pulse spreads as it travels down the fiber
• Inter-symbol Interference (ISI) leads to
performance impairments
• Degradation depends on:
laser used (spectral width)
bit-rate (temporal pulse separation)
Different SM types
Limitations From Chromatic Dispersion
• Dispersion causes pulse distortion,

pulse "smearing" effects
• Higher bit-rates and shorter pulses are less robust
to Chromatic Dispersion
• Limits "how fast“ and “how far”
10 Gbps
t
60 Km SMF-28
40 Gbps
4 Km SMF-28 t
Combating Chromatic Dispersion
• Use DSF and NZDSF fibers

(G.653 & G.655)
• Dispersion Compensating Fiber
• Transmitters with narrow spectral width

Dispersion Compensating Fiber
• Dispersion
Compensating Fiber:
By joining fibers with CD of
opposite signs (polarity) and
suitable lengths an average
dispersion close to zero can
be obtained; the
compensating fiber can be
several kilometers and the
reel can be inserted at any
point in the link, at the
receiver or at the transmitter

Dispersion Compensation
Cumulative Dispersion (ps/nm) Total Dispersion Controlled
+100
0
-100
-200
-300
No Compensation
-400 With Compensation
-500 Distance from
Transmitter (km)
Dispersion Shifted Fiber Cable
Transmitter
Dispersion
Compensators
How Far Can I Go Without Dispersion?
Specification of Transponder (ps/nm)

Distance (Km) =
Coefficient of Dispersion of Fiber (ps/nm*km)
A laser signal with dispersion tolerance of 3400 ps/nm

is sent across a standard SMF fiber which has a Coefficient of
Dispersion of 17 ps/nm*km.
It will reach 200 Km at maximum bandwidth.
Note that lower speeds will travel farther.

Polarization Mode Dispersion
• Caused by ovality of
core due to:
Manufacturing process
Internal stress (cabling)
External stress (trucks)
• Only discovered in
the 90s
• Most older fiber not
characterized for PMD

Polarization Mode Dispersion (PMD)
Ey
nx
Ex ny
Pulse As It Enters the Fiber Spreaded Pulse As It Leaves the Fiber
• The optical pulse tends to broaden as it travels down the

fiber; this is a much weaker phenomenon than chromatic
dispersion and it is of little relevance at bit rates of 10Gb/s or
less

Combating Polarization Mode Dispersion
• Factors contributing to PMD

Bit Rate
Fiber core symmetry
Environmental factors
Bends/stress in fiber
Imperfections in fiber
• Solutions for PMD
Improved fibers
Regeneration
Follow manufacturer’s recommended installation techniques for
the fiber cable

Types of Single-Mode Fiber
• SMF-28(e) (standard, 1310 nm optimized, G.652)
Most widely deployed so far, introduced in 1986, cheapest
• DSF (Dispersion Shifted, G.653)
Intended for single channel operation at 1550 nm
• NZDSF (Non-Zero Dispersion Shifted, G.655)
For WDM operation, optimized for 1550 nm region
– TrueWave, FreeLight, LEAF, TeraLight…
Latest generation fibers developed in mid 90’s
For better performance with high capacity DWDM systems
– MetroCor, WideLight…
– Low PMD ULH fibers

Different Solutions for
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 •OK for DWDM (With Dispersion Mgmt
the traditional water peak
region) •Good for CWDM (>8 wavelengths)
The primary Difference is in the Chromatic Dispersion Characteristics

The 3 “R”s of Optical Networking
A Light Pulse Propagating in a Fiber Experiences 3 Type of Degradations:
Pulse as It Enters the Fiber Pulse as It Exits the Fiber
Loss of Energy
Shape Distortion
Phase Variation
Loss of Timing (Jitter)

(From Various Sources) t t
ts Optimum ts Optimum
Sampling Time Sampling Time

The 3 “R”s of Optical Networking (Cont.)
The Options to Recover the Signal from Attenuation/Dispersion/Jitter
Degradation Are:
Pulse as It Enters the Fiber Pulse as It Exits the Fiber
Amplify to Boost the Power
Re-Shape DCU
Phase Variation Phase Re-Alignment
O-E-O
Re-Generate
t t t
ts Optimum ts Optimum Re-gen, Re-shape and ts Optimum
Sampling Time Sampling Time Remove Optical Noise Sampling Time

DWDM

Agenda
• Introduction
• Components
• Forward Error Correction
• DWDM Design
• Summary

Increasing Network Capacity Options
Same bit rate, more fibers
More Fibers Slow Time to Market
(SDM) Expensive Engineering
Limited Rights of Way
Duct Exhaust
Same fiber & bit rate, more λ s

Fiber Compatibility
W Fiber Capacity Release
D Fast Time to Market
M Lower Cost of Ownership
Utilizes existing TDM Equipment
Faster Electronics Higher bit rate, same fiber

(TDM) Electronics more expensive

Fiber Networks
• Time division multiplexing

Single wavelength per fiber Channel 1 Single
Fiber (One
Multiple channels per fiber Wavelength)
Channel n
4 OC-3 channels in OC-12
• Wave division multiplexing

l1
Multiple wavelengths per fiber
l2 Single Fiber
4, 16, 32, 64 channels (Multiple
per system Wavelengths)
Multiple channels per fiber ln

TDM and DWDM Comparison
• TDM (SONET/SDH)
DS-1
Takes sync and async signals DS-3
and multiplexes them to a OC-1
SONET Fiber
single higher optical bit rate OC-3
OC-12 ADM
E/O or O/E/O conversion OC-48
• (D)WDM
Takes multiple optical
signals and multiplexes OC-12c
DWDM
onto a single fiber OC-48c Fiber
OADM
OC-192c
No signal format conversion

DWDM History
• Early WDM (late 80s)

Two widely separated wavelengths (1310, 1550nm)
• “Second generation” WDM (early 90s)
Two to eight channels in 1550 nm window
400+ GHz spacing
• DWDM systems (mid 90s)
16 to 40 channels in 1550 nm window
100 to 200 GHz spacing
• Next generation DWDM systems
64 to 160 channels in 1550 nm window
50 and 25 GHz spacing
Why DWDM—The Business Case
Conventional TDM Transmission—10 Gbps

40km 40km 40km 40km 40km 40km 40km 40km 40km
TERM 1310 1310 1310 1310 1310 1310 1310 1310 TERM
TERM RPTR
1310 RPTR
1310 RPTR
1310 RPTR
1310 RPTR
1310 RPTR
1310 RPTR
1310 RPTR
1310 TERM
TERM RPTR
1310 RPTR
1310 RPTR
1310 RPTR
1310 RPTR
1310 RPTR
1310 RPTR
1310 RPTR
1310 TERM
TERM RPTR
1310 RPTR
1310 RPTR
1310 RPTR
1310 RPTR
1310 RPTR
1310 RPTR
1310 RPTR
1310 TERM
RPTR RPTR RPTR RPTR RPTR RPTR RPTR RPTR
OC-48
DWDM Transmission—10 Gbps OC-48
OC-48 OC-48
OC-48
OC-48
OC-48 120 km 120 km 120 km OC-48
OA OA OA OA
4 Fibers Pairs 1 Fiber Pair

32 Regenerators 4 Optical Amplifiers

Drivers of WDM Economics
• Fiber underground/undersea
Existing fiber
• Conduit rights-of-way
Lease or purchase
• Digging
Time-consuming, labor intensive, license
$15,000 to $90,000 per Km
• 3R regenerators
Space, power, OPS in POP
Re-shape, re-time and re-amplify
• Simpler network management

Delayering, less complexity, less elements

Characteristics of a WDM Network
Wavelength Characteristics
• Transparency
Can carry multiple protocols on same fiber
Monitoring can be aware of multiple protocols
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400

• Wavelength spacing
50GHz, 100GHz, 200GHz
Defines how many and which wavelengths can be used
• Wavelength capacity
Example: 1.25Gb/s, 2.5Gb/s, 10Gb/s

Optical Transmission Bands
Band Wavelength (nm)

820 - 900
1260 – 1360
“New Band” 1360 – 1460
S-Band 1460 – 1530
C-Band 1530 – 1565
L-Band 1565 – 1625
U-Band 1625 – 1675

ITU Wavelength Grid
1530.33 nm 1553.86 nm
λ
0.80 nm
195.9 THz 193.0 THz ν
100 GHz
• ITU-T λ grid is based on 191.7 THz + 100 GHz

• It is a standard for laser in DWDM systems
Freq (THz) ITU Ch Wave (nm) 15201/252 15216 15800 15540 15454
192.90 29 1554.13 x x x x x
192.85 1554.54
192.80 28 1554.94 x x x x x
192.75 1555.34
192.70 27 1555.75 x x x x x
192.65 1556.15
192.60 26 1556.55 x x x x x
Fiber Attenuation Characteristics
Attenuation vs. Wavelength S-Band:1460–1530nm
L-Band:1565–1625nm
2.0 dB/Km Fibre 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

Characteristics of a WDM Network
Sub-wavelength Multiplexing or MuxPonding
Ability to put multiple services onto a single

wavelength

Why DWDM?
The Technical Argument
• DWDM provides enormous amounts of

scaleable transmission capacity
Unconstrained by speed of
available electronics
Subject to relaxed dispersion and
nonlinearity tolerances
Capable of graceful capacity growth

Agenda
• Introduction
• Components
• DWDM Design

DWDM Components
λ 1
850/1310 15xx λ 1...n
λ 2
λ 3
Transponder
Optical Multiplexer
λ 1
λ 1
λ 2 λ 1...n
λ 2
λ 3
λ 3
Optical De-multiplexer
Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer

(OADM)

More DWDM Components
Optical Amplifier Optical Attenuator

(EDFA) Variable Optical Attenuator
Dispersion Compensator (DCM / DCU)

Typical DWDM Network Architecture
DWDM SYSTEM DWDM SYSTEM
VOA EDFA DCM
DCM EDFA VOA
Service Mux Service Mux

(Muxponder) (Muxponder)

Transponders
Converts broadband optical signals to a specific wavelength via optical to electrical to optical conversion (O-E-O)
• Used when Optical LTE (Line Termination Equipment) does not have tight tolerance ITU optics
• Performs 2R or 3R regeneration function
• Receive Transponders perform reverse function
•
λ
OEO 1
λ
From Optical 2
To DWDM Mux
OLTE OEO
λ
n
OEO
Low Cost Wavelengths

IR/SR Optics Converted
Performance Monitoring
• Performance monitoring performed on a

per wavelength basis through transponder
• No modification of overhead
Data transparency is preserved

Laser Characteristics
Non DWDM Laser DWDM Laser
Fabry Perot Distributed Feedback (DFB)
Power λ c
Power λ c
λ λ
• Spectrally broad • Dominant single laser line

• Unstable center/peak wavelength • Tighter wavelength control
Partially transmitting
Mirror Mirror
Active medium Amplified light

DWDM Receiver Requirements
• Receivers Common to all Transponders

• Not Specific to wavelength (Broadband)

Optical Amplifier
Pin Pout = GPin

G
• EDFA amplifiers
• Separate amplifiers for C-band and L-band
• Source of optical noise
• Simple

OA Gain and Fiber Loss
Typical
Fiber Loss
25 THz
4 THz
OA Gain
• OA gain is centered in 1550 window

• OA bandwidth is less than fiber bandwidth

Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier
Isolator Coupler Coupler Isolator
Erbium-Doped
Fiber (10–50m)
Pump Pump
Laser Laser
“Simple” device consisting of four parts:

• Erbium-doped fiber
• An optical pump (to invert the population).
• A coupler
• An isolator to cut off backpropagating noise

Optical Signal-to Noise Ratio (OSNR)
Signal Level
X dB
Noise Level
• Depends on : EDFA Schematic

Optical Amplifier Noise Figure: (OSNR)in (OSNR)out
(OSNR)in = (OSNR)out NF Pin

NF
• Target : Large Value for X

Loss Management: Limitations
Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier
Each EDFA at the Output Cuts at Least in a Half
(3dB) the OSNR Received at the Input
Noise Figure > 3 dB

Typically between 4 and 6
• Each amplifier adds noise, thus the optical SNR

decreases gradually along the chain; we can have only
have a finite number of amplifiers and spans and
eventually electrical regeneration will be necessary
• Gain flatness is another key parameter mainly for long
amplifier chains

Optical Filter Technology
Dielectric Filter
λ 1,λ 2,λ 3,...λ n
λ λ 1, ,λ 3,...
2
λ n
• Well established technology, up to 200 layers

Multiplexer / Demultiplexer
DWDM
DWDM
Mux
Demux
Wavelength Wavelength
Multiplexed Multiplexed
Signals Signals
Wavelengths
Converted via Wavelengths
Transponders separated into
individual ITU
Specific
lambdas
Loss of power for each Lambda
Optical Add/Drop Filters (OADMs)
OADMs allow flexible add/drop of channels
Drop
Channel
Drop &
Insert
Add
Channel
Pass Through loss and Add/Drop loss

Agenda
• Introduction
• Components
• DWDM Design
• Summary

Transmission Errors
• Errors happen!
• A old problem of our era (PCs, wireless…)
• Bursty appearance rather than distributed
• Noisy medium (ASE, distortion, PMD…)
• TX/RX instability (spikes, current surges…)
• Detect is good, correct is better
Information Noise
Information
Transmission
Transmitter Receiver
Channel
Error Correction
• Error correcting codes both detect errors and

correct them
• Forward Error Correction (FEC) is a system
adds additional information to the data stream
corrects eventual errors that are caused by the
transmission system.
• Low BER achievable on noisy medium

FEC Performance, Theoretical
FEC gain ∼ 6.3 dB @ 10-15 BER
Bit Error Rate
BER without FEC
10 -10
Coding Gain
BER floor
10 -20
BER with FEC
10 -30
Received Optical
power (dBm)
-46 -44 -42 -40 -38 -36 -34 -32

FEC in DWDM Systems
9.58 G 10.66 G 10.66 G 9.58 G
IP FEC FEC IP
SDH FEC FEC SDH
. .
. .
ATM FEC FEC ATM
2.48 G 2.66 G 2.66 G 2.48 G
FEC implemented on transponders (TX, RX, 3R)

•
No change on the rest of the system
•

Agenda
• Introduction
• Components
• DWDM Design
• Summary

DWDM Design Topics
• DWDM Challenges
• Unidirectional vs. Bidirectional
• Protection
• Capacity
• Distance

Transmission Effects
• Attenuation:
Reduces power level with distance
• Dispersion and nonlinear effects:

Erodes clarity with distance and speed
• Noise and Jitter:

Leading to a blurred image
Solution for Attenuation
Optical
Loss Amplification
OA

Solution For Chromatic Dispersion
Saw Tooth
Dispersion
Compensation
Dispersion
DCU DCU
Fiber spool Fiber spool
Total dispersion averages to ~ zero

+D -D
Length
Uni Versus Bi-directional DWDM
DWDM systems can be implemented in two different ways
• Uni-directional: λ
λ
λ
λ
1
3
5
7
λ
λ
λ
2
4
6 Fiber
λ 8
wavelengths for one direction travel λ 2

λ 1
within one fiber

λ 3
λ 4
λ 6
λ 5 Fiber
λ 7
λ 8
two fibers needed for Uni -directional

full-duplex system
• Bi-directional: Fiber
a group of wavelengths for each λ

λ
λ
λ
5
6
7
8
λ
λ
λ
1
2
3
direction
λ 4
single fiber operation for full-duplex Bi -directional

system
Uni Versus Bi-directional DWDM (cont.)
• Uni-directional 32 channels system
Full band
32 λ
32 ch
full 32 λ
Channel
Spacing
duplex 100 GHz
Full band
• Bi-directional 32 channels system

Blue-band
16 ch 16 λ 16 λ
full Channel
Spacing
duplex 16 λ 16 λ 100 GHz
Red-band

DWDM Protection Review
Unprotected Client Protected
Splitter Protected
Y-Cable and Line Card
Protected

Unprotected
1 Transponder 1 Client
Interface
• 1 client & 1 trunk laser (one transponder)

needed, only 1 path available
• No protection in case of fiber cut, transponder
failure, client failure, etc..
Client Protected Mode
2 Transponders 2 Client
interfaces
• 2 client & 2 trunk lasers (two transponders)

needed, two optically unprotected paths
• Protection via higher layer protocol
Optical Splitter Protection
Working
lambda
Optical Splitter
Switch
protected
lambda
• Only 1 client & 1 trunk laser (single

transponder) needed
• Protects against Fiber Breaks
Line Card / Y- Cable Protection
working Only one
lambda TX active
2 Transponders
“Y” cable protected

lambda
• 2 client & 2 trunk lasers (two transponders)

needed
• Increased cost & availability
Designing for Capacity
Distance
Bit Rate
Solution
Space
Wavelengths
• Goal is to maximize transmission capacity and system

reach
Figure of merit is Gbps • Km
Long-haul systems push the envelope
Metro systems are considerably simpler

Designing for Distance
L = Fiber Loss in a Span
Pin Pout
S Pnoise
G = Gain of Amplifier
Amplifier Spacing
D = Link Distance
• Link distance (D) is limited by the minimum acceptable

electrical SNR at the receiver
Dispersion, Jitter, or optical SNR can be limit
• Amplifier spacing (S) is set by span loss (L)
Closer spacing maximizes link distance (D)
Economics dictates maximum hut spacing

Link Distance vs. OA Spacing
Wavelength Capacity (Gb/s)

20
Amp Spacing
60 km
10
80 km
100 km
5
120 km
140 km
2.5
0 2000 4000 6000 8000
Total System Length (km)
• System cost and and link distance both depend strongly

on OA spacing
OEO Regeneration in DWDM Networks
aul
Long H
• OA noise and fiber dispersion limit total

distance before regeneration
Optical-Electrical-Optical conversion
Full 3R functionality: Reamplify, Reshape, Retime
• Longer spans can be supported using back
to back systems
3R with Optical Multiplexor and OADM
Back-to-back DWDM 1 1
• Express channels must be 2 2
regenerated 3 3
4 4
• Two complete DWDM
terminals needed
N
7 N
7
Optical add/drop multiplexer

• Provides drop-and- continue
1 1
functionality
2 OADM 2
• Express channels only 3 3
amplified, not regenerated 4 4
• Reduces size, power
N
7 N
7
and cost

Agenda
• Introduction
• Components
• DWDM Design
• Summary

DWDM Benefits
• DWDM provides hundreds of Gbps of scalable

transmission capacity today
Provides capacity beyond
TDM’s capability
Supports incremental, modular growth
Transport foundation for next
generation networks

Metro DWDM
• Metro DWDM is an emerging market for next

generation DWDM equipment
• The value proposition is very different from the
long haul
Rapid-service provisioning
Protocol/bitrate transparency
Carrier Class Optical Protection
• Metro DWDM is not yet as widely deployed

Cisco Systems DWDM Primer Oct03

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ONS 15454 MSTP

DWDM Networking Primer

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

• Decibels (dB): unit of level (relative measure)

• Decibels-milliwatt (dBm) : Decibel referenced to a milliwatt

• Wavelength (λ ): length of a wave in a particular medium.

• Frequency (ν ): the number of times that a wave is

• Attenuation = Loss of power in dB/km

The separation of light into its different coloured rays.

• ITU Grid = Standard set of wavelengths to be used in Fibre Optic

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

• dBm used for output power and receive

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

• BER is a key objective of the Optical

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Basic Optical Budget = Output Power – Input Sensitivity

Optical Budget is affected by:

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Fiber Optics Requires

Window Glass 1 inch (~3 cm)

Propagation Distance Need to Reduce the

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

It May Be a Digital Signal, but It’s Analog Transmission

Transmitted Data Waveform Waveform After 1000 Km

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Dispersion and Nonlinearities:

Signal detection and recovery is an analog problem

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

• Light propagates by total internal reflections

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

850, 1310, 1550 nm

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

• Specified in loss per kilometer

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

• Pulse amplitude reduction limits “how far” Examples

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

• Polarization Mode Dispersion (PMD)

• Affects single channel and DWDM systems

• Dispersion causes pulse distortion,

• Use DSF and NZDSF fibers

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cumulative Dispersion (ps/nm) Total Dispersion Controlled

Specification of Transponder (ps/nm)

A laser signal with dispersion tolerance of 3400 ps/nm

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

• The optical pulse tends to broaden as it travels down the

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

• Factors contributing to PMD

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

The primary Difference is in the Chromatic Dispersion Characteristics

Loss of Timing (Jitter)

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

Amplify to Boost the Power

Phase Variation Phase Re-Alignment

© 2003, Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.