Steven Gringeri

Flexible architectures for optical transport nodes and networks

Flexibility to support mesh topologies, dynamic capacity allocation, and automated network control and light path setup are key elements in the design of next-generation optical transport networks. To realize these capabilities, reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers with dynamic add/drop structures, embedded control planes, and lightpath characterization are required. This article presents the architectures and various ROADM implementations including colorless, directionless, and contentionless add/drop structures. The effect of scaling bit rates beyond 100 Gb/s on ROADM architectures is reviewed including providing variable channel bandwidth depending on bit rate. Automated provisioning and restoration using the GMPLS control plane and optical measurement approaches for lightpaths are also discussed.

Extending software defined network principles to include optical transport

Software defined networks are based on the principle of a centralized control plane separated from the network forwarding or switching plane that it controls. The switching plane can be heterogeneous, composed of network elements from multiple vendors, and it can provide distinct services with different characteristics, configurations, and control at the packet and/or optical layers. Abstracting the control plane from the network elements allows network-platform- specific characteristics and differences that do not affect services to be hidden. In addition, software defined networking (SDN) is based on the principle that applications can request needed resources from the network via interfaces to the control plane. Through these interfaces, applications can dynamically request network resources or network information that may span disparate technologies. For instance, the application layer can dynamically request and obtain network resources at the packet flow, circuit, or even optical level based on application layer requirements. Current SDN implementations focus on Ethernet switching primarily for data center resource optimization. This article reviews the benefits and challenges of extending SDN concepts to various transport network architectures that include optical wavelength and fiber switches, circuit switches, and sub-wavelength optical burst switches. Control plane implementations for optical networks are more complex since they must account for physical constraints including optical signal reachability, bandwidth availability and granularity, light path routing, and light path reconfiguration speed. The longterm goal is to apply SDN concepts across multi-layer multivendor networks in order to support a unified control structure.

Architectural tradeoffs for reconfigurable dense wavelength-division multiplexing systems

Advances in optical technology now allow practical reconfigurable wavelength networks to be constructed. These networks use wavelength-switching components to dynamically route wavelengths, and provide a level of flexibility and scalability previously not possible. Other components such as low-noise optical amplifiers, electronic dispersion compensators, and advanced modulation techniques simplify system operation, increase capacity, and extend reach. From an application perspective, the architecture of optical transport networks is evolving based on the requirement to support a higher bandwidth access infrastructure. The network architecture also needs to provide the flexibility to incrementally expand on the basis of customer demand and to provide key features such as optical broadcast to lower the cost of video services. The development of new architectures for optical transport networks and how these networks are influenced by critical system parameters and emerging component technologies is reviewed

Technical considerations for supporting data rates beyond 100 Gb/s

As traffic demands continue to grow, supporting data rates beyond 100 Gb/s will be required to increase optical channel capacity and support higher-rate client interfaces. Advanced modulation formats that adapt to optimize spectral efficiency over a range of channel signal-tonoise ratio conditions are required. Channels can be constructed by varying parameters such as symbol rate, bits per symbol, number of polarizations, and number of optical and electrical subcarriers. Channel capacity can also be increased using advanced techniques such as optical time-division multiplexing, and fibers that support multiple cores and modes. Many channel designs can support higher data rates, but there are trade-offs between complexity, spectral efficiency, and optical reach.

Robust compression and transmission of MPEG-4 video

This paper discusses issues related to the delivery of MPEG-4 video over the Internet and wireless channels. MPEG-4s built-in error resilience capabilities such as flexible re-synchronization markers, data partitioning, header protection, reversible VLCs, and forced intra-frame refresh are described. Methods for using these techniques to build a “smart” network decoder are discussed, and the decoders video quality is measured for various channel error conditions. The effectiveness and overheads of the various error resilience techniques are compared using both peak signal-to-noise ratio measurements and expert viewing. The use of forward error correcting strategies and the effects of packet sizes and boundaries on video quality are also examined.

Technologies and protocols for data center and cloud networking

Data center and cloud architectures continue to evolve to address the needs of large-scale multi-tenant data centers and clouds. These needs are centered around seven dimensions: scalability in computing, storage, and bandwidth, scalability in network services, efficiency in resource utilization, agility in service creation, cost efficiency, service reliability, and security. This article focuses on the first five dimensions as they pertain to networking. Large data centers are targeting support for tens of thousands of servers, exabytes of storage, terabits per second of traffic, and tens of thousands of tenants. In a data center, server and storage resources are interconnected with packet switches and routers that provide for the bandwidth and multi-tenant virtual networking needs. Data centers are interconnected across the wide area network via routing and transport technologies to provide a pool of resources, known as the cloud. High-speed optical interfaces and dense wavelength-division multiplexing optical transport are used to provide for high-capacity transport intra- and inter-datacenter. This article reviews various switching, routing, and optical transport technologies, and their applicability in addressing the networking needs of large-scale multi-tenant data centers.

High-capacity optical transport networks

Network traffic demands are forecast to increase for the foreseeable future, with the challenge being to meet the demand while maintaining or lowering network costs. Simply increasing capacity will not be sufficient; overall bandwidth utilization also needs to improve. A combination of improved transport capacity through increased spectral efficiency and bit rate along with better network utilization by integrating subchannel electrical grooming into the transmission system will be required. Smarter ways to utilize optical capacity are key since transmission costs have been decreasing slower than grooming and switching costs. Integrated transport and switching can improve the efficiency of the client network using techniques such as port virtualization and transit traffic reduction. The baseline for transport networks will be 100 Gb/s PM-QPSK using 50 GHz channel spacing. Moving from a fixed DWDM channel arrangement to support flexible grid and super channels will allow tighter channel (carrier) spacing and should increase capacity by 30 to 50 percent. For shorter distances higher-order modulation such as 16-QAM can double network capacity. To better optimize network efficiency, an architecture that flexibly combines lower rate (sub-100 Gb/s) clients to form channels (carriers) and then superchannels will be required.

Transmission of MPEG-2 video streams over ATM

Experiments investigated the relationship between MPEG video quality and ATM network performance. Preliminary results reveal the effects of network impairments on video quality for MPEG-2 transport streams delivered over ATM. The issues in mapping variable-rate MPEG to ATM are also examined, including the trade-off between bandwidth savings and video quality.

DWDM long haul network deployment for the Verizon GNI nationwide network

We present a 226 node, 128 channel Raman gain based DWDM system being deployed by Verizon GNI to create a nationwide automated optical network carrying 10 Gb/s traffic and offering 40 Gb/s traffic capability.

DWDM system architecture and design trade-offs

The architecture of metropolitan transport equipment is evolving based on the changing requirements needed to support a high bandwidth access infrastructure that is video rich and the availability of a new generation of optical components including wavelength switches