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Optical Transport

technology Overview

Welcome to the Optical Transport Technology Overview e-learning course.

1
Objectives
During this course we are going to focus on:
› An introduction to Optical Transport Networks
› A description of Optical Transport Network technologies

› On completion of this course the participants will be able to:


1.Describe what an Optical Transport Network is and which are its main characteristics.
2.Understand the main technologies used in Optical Transport Networks and how they
developed in time and do interact up to present days

During this course we are going to focus on:


An introduction to Optical Transport Networks
A description of Optical Transport Network technologies

On completion of this course the participants will be able to:


1. Describe what an Optical Transport Network is and which are its main
characteristics.
2. Understand the main technologies used in Optical Transport Networks and
how they developed in time and do interact up to present days

2
Optical Transport Networks
Calling from Sweden to Australia

Tr
an
sp
or
t

Transport
Gateway Gateway

What is everything about Optical Transport Networks?


Simply to provide the transport of the basic bit of information, from any
place to any other place in the world, at the minimum cost and highest
possible reliability for a good service quality.
Let’s take a mobile call from Sweden to Australia as an example.
The call itself starts in Sweden from the calling mobile phone and reaches
the local gateway.
After this, the call has to reach the gateway on the Australia side to be
forwarded to the mobile phone of the called person.
What is there in the middle?
The Transport Network, that delivers the required connectivity.
The Transport Network can be based on copper, microwave and optical
fibers or a mix, but in this course we will concentrate only on Optical Fibre
Transport Technology.

3
Optical Transport Networks
Basics

High Capacity High AVAILABILITY

High QUALITY HUGE SAVINGS

So Optical networks are:


high-capacity telecommunications transmission networks, based on optical
technologies and components that provide routing and grooming of traffic, high
transmission quality and high service availability by means of sophisticated
service protection schemes.
Moreover Optical Networks provide low cost interconnectivity for voice, Internet,
video, multimedia interaction and advanced digital services, therefore Huge
network Savings.

4
Optical Transport Networks
Traditional Network Design
Traditionally, networks have been designed with:
Synchronization layer

DCN layer

Sub 2M layer

TDM/PDH layer = POTs

Packet layer

SDH layer

Optical Layer (WDM &


OTN)

Physical layer

Let’s start first with some basic information on transmission network architecture.
The transport networks are designed in multiple layers, so to simplify the management
and provide maximum flexibility as far as transport of services is concerned.
Networks have been designed traditionally with the following layers:
•Physical layer (Optical fibre for this course, but in general can be also copper or
microwave)
•Optical layer (WDM and OTN), allowing for a more efficient use of the optical fibres
•SDH layer, to provide a controlled and reliable transport environment by providing a
specific encapsulation system for information to be transported
•Packet layer, to transport packet based information
•TDM (Time Division Multiplexing) and PDH (Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy) layer, to
transport voice, that is the POTs (Plain Old Telephony system)
•Sub 2M layer, typically to transport low rate data information
•DCN (Data Connectivity Network) layer, to transport the Network Management
information, possibly through embedded channels, so to be able to provide a full FCAPS
(Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance, Security) controlled environment
•Synchronization layer, to provide synchronization information to any element of the
network.

5
Optical Transport Networks
Today’s Network Design
Today’s networks are designed with:

Synchronization layer

DCN layer

Packet layer

Optical Layer (WDM & OTN)

Physical layer

At present, instead, networks are evolving, and a new simplified approach is


taken, that is the Next Generation, Ethernet based, packet aggregation &
transport network.
In this case the layers are reduced as follows:
•Physical layer
•Optical layer (WDM and OTN)
•Packet layer, unified transport for any kind of information
•DCN ( Data Connectivity Network) layer, still necessary to transport the Network
Management information
•Synchronization layer, in case of synch requirements, especially in mobile
backhauling environment.
This because SONET/SDH are being replaced by ‘Carrier Ethernet’ to support
higher bandwidth demands at a lower cost, as Packet-based services are now
paramount, even if TDM services will not disappear in a short time.
In effect, traffic will increase by a factor of 10 in the next decade, and all this will
be packet based.

6
Optical Transport Networks
Network Areas

Access Metro Core

Megabit Gigabit Terabit

Point to point

Ring
STAR

Ring
Mesh

Ring

Optical Transport Networks are divided in the following areas, in which the NEs
are located according to network topology, switching capacity and also
geographical location:
- Access
- Metro
- Core
The Access Layer is the closest one to business and residential customers. This
layer is composed by all the NEs directly connected to the customer devices or
collecting traffic already multiplexed by other devices. Typical transmission
capacity in this layer starts from Megabits up to hundredth of Megabits and the
network topology can be point-to- point, star or ring.
The Access Layer is usually directly connected to the Metro Layer.
The scope of the Metro Layer is to aggregate the traffic from the Access Layer
and transport it to exchange premises, where the various services (voice, video,
data, mobile and others) are routed to the relevant destinations. Typical
transmission capacity in this layer is measured in Gigabits and the network
topology is usually a ring.
From this Layer it is then possible to access the Core Layer.
The Core Layer is set-up at regional or national or international level and has the
scope to transport traffic already categorized and filtered by the other layers.
Typical transmission capacity in this layer is measured in Terabits and the
network topology can be ring or mesh.

7
Basic Transport Topologies
› Point to Point

› Star

› Ring

› Mesh

As we said, we can identify four main topologies:


•Point to Point,
•Star,
•Ring,
•Mesh, with full or partial meshing.
Why different network topologies?
Because each topology has got different level of intrinsic reliability, meaning the
capability to provide multiple routes for the traffic in case of fiber cut.
Point to Point and Star actually cannot be protected, i.e. in case of a fiber cut the
connectivity is lost.
But they provide the minimum use of fiber and therefore connectivity cost, so
they are still much used in the access part of the network, where the risk of losing
a full node is balanced by the fact that the overall quantity of traffic is typically
small.
Instead, when we go deeper into the network, where much higher capacity
begins to be aggregated on a single fibre and node, this is no more acceptable,
therefore Rings or Meshes shall be introduced.

8
Network topologies
Mesh or ring networks?
Ring

Mesh

Availability
Distance
Delay
Traffic

But which is best topology between rings or meshes?


The physical connectivity definitively matters,
when availability, distance and delay are being considered, but also we
must first define the traffic that will be applied to it.
And all networks are different, therefore require a unique analysis.
So the choice actually depends on a mix of factors.

9
Model results - Mesh or Ring?

250
Eqt. Network cost (au)

Ring network
100% traffic
protection
200

150

100
Mesh network
50

0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0
Traffic loading (AU) AU: Arbitrary Units

Let’s try to clarify this.


At a first step we can model as a general reference the Network
Equipment cost (CAPEX) vs. traffic loading.
From the graphics it can be noticed that, for low network loading, rings are
most cost effective and that for high traffic loadings mesh networks are
best.
So, from this point of view, the ideal situation will be to start with rings, add
traffic, add extra fiber connections and finally end into a meshed network.
But the crossover point depends also on other factors like fiber costs, not
only on equipment CAPEX.
And, by far, fiber costs are the most important factor.
They vary a lot according if the fiber cables have to be laid down in a
metropolitan area or on long distance routes: this difference can be easily
in the range of 5 to 10 times more expensive situation for the metropolitan
area.
That’s why typically ring topology is used in metro and mesh in core
networks.

10
Availability

Fraction of total time that a service is available Measured


as a % of time (99.999% - five nines)

MTBF (c )
A (c ) =
MTTR ( c ) + MTBF (c )
Where:
MTBF = Mean Time Between Failures

MTTR = Mean Time to Repair

Let’s now have a look at the concept of availability.


The Availability in a network is defined at a service level, and is showing the total
time that a single service is available e.g. what the customer sees at his transport
delivery points.
Availability is measured as a % of time on a yearly basis (the famous target
carrier grade 99.999%, named normally five nines availability, means that the
service will be available for 99.999% of the year, therefore only around 5 minutes
of out of service conditions will be statistically present for that service).
Availability for a single component of a network depends on its MTBF and MTTR,
linked by a simple formula, that is Availability equal to MTBF divided by MTTR +
MTBF,
Where:
•MTBF = Mean Time Between Failures
That is the fraction of total time in which an object is working and shows
the Reliability of the component itself (MTBF is typically a long time!!)
•MTTR = Mean Time to Repair
That shows how quickly faults can be overcome (typically must be a short
time so to guarantee good availability!!)

11
Availability and protection
Network calculation
Unprotected
125 km Calculation
Trib to line 99.9983%
222 km 237 km fibre1 99.8988%
line to line 99.9976%
fibre1 99.9061%
Glasgow 170 km
line to line 99.9976%
206 km 49 km fibre1 99.9271%
line to line 99.9976%
75 km
fibre1 99.9530%
160 km
67 km
line to line 99.9976%
fibre1 99.9708%
82 km line to line 99.9976%
fibre1 99.9312%
126 km
103 km line to line 99.9976%
fibre1 99.9510%
64 km 93 km
line to trib 99.9983%
151 km
London 107 km
TOTAL 99.521%
down 42 hours per year
1
assumes one break per 300km per year that takes 12 hours to fix

To make the concept easier to understand, let’s look at a sample path


from Glasgow to London.
The physical network can be drawn in a more easily understandable form,
showing a more regular ring based architecture.
So if we implement an unprotected service between Glasgow and London,
we will have to pass through multiple components of the network, meaning
each traffic node, including the starting one, the intermediates and the
final one, plus also the fiber cables themselves.
Each component in the network, including the fiber, has got an availability
value, and the overall availability of this unprotected path can be found by
multiplying the availabilities of each of the elements in the ‘chain’.
At the end we find that the overall availability for this service from Glasgow
to London is equal to 99.521%, therefore implies a possible downtime in
the year of 42 hours.
And this is definitively not particularly acceptable for an operator.

12
Availability and protection
Network calculation
99.521% 99.997% 99.998%
42 hours/year 18 min/year 11 min/year
UNPROTECTED 1+1 PROTECTED Restored
125 km

Vulnerable to a Multiple failure


237 km
222 km

Vulnerable to a single failure

Vulnerable to a Double failure


Glasgow 170 km

206 km 49 km

75 km
160 km
67 km

82 km

103 km 126 km

64 km 93 km

151 km
London 107 km
Main path
Protection path

So that’s why protection is normally introduced in transport networks.


To understand the impact of protection, let’s extend the example to two different types of protection scheme, a
1+1 simple protection and a restoration type of protection, introducing some meshing, therefore possibility of
multiple routes for the protected service.
Please note that the way to calculate the overall availability in this case can be summarized in the following
steps:
1) Firstly multiply the availabilities of the unprotected parts together (in this case the tributary card at either end of
the path)
2) Then calculate the availabilities of the two diverse paths by multiplying the availabilities of each of the
elements in both ‘chains’.
3) Combine the two chains by multiplying their Unavailability (unavailability = 1 - availability)
4) Finally multiply the availability from step 1 with the availability from step 3.
Doing this, we find that that the overall availability for this service from Glasgow to London with 1+1 protection is
equal to 99.997%, therefore a possible downtime in the year of only 18 minutes instead of 42 hours of the
unprotected one.
And if we apply restoration, availability becomes even better, that is 99.998%, 11 minutes per year, very near to
the five nines best target.
To be noted that the unprotected service cannot survive to a single fault, the 1+1 cannot survive to a double fault,
but the restored can survive to multiple faults, with number of faults depending on the degree of meshing of the
network.
All this to demonstrate that in transport networks a good availability is fundamental to guarantee a good quality of
service.
And availability depends a lot on topology.
So, at the end, the choice between meshes or rings must be done as a trade off between costs and reliability.

13
Optical Transport Networks
Transport technologies

evolution

› FDM
› TDM and PDH
› SDH/SONET, NG-SDH/SONET and MSPP
› WDM
› OTN
› ASON
› Packet Transport

Let’s now introduce transport technologies.


Telecommunication networks evolved during a century plus history of
technological step forwards and social changes.
The networks that at the beginning just provided basic telephone service through
a friendly local operator are now transmitting the equivalent of thousands of
encyclopedias per second.
Throughout this history, the transmission networks evolved in fundamental
stages, that are :
Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM)
Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) and Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy (PDH)
Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) or Synchronous Optical Network (SONET),
Next generation SDH (NG-SDH) or SONET and Multi Service Provisioning
Platforms (MSPPs)
Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM)
Optical Transport Network (OTN)
Automatic Switched Optical Network (ASON)
Packet Transport.

14
FDM

FREQUENCY Division Multiplexing

Let’s start with FDM.

15
TrANSMISSION TECHNIQUES EVOLUTION:
starting from FDM

FDM

In the late ‘70s, only analogue transport technology was available.


Each voice channel was transported at an analogue level, and an analogue
multiplexing technique called FDM, Frequency Division Multiplexing, was
available to transport large quantities of voice channels in the same signal.

16
TDM and PDH

Time Division Multiplexing


and
Plesio-chronous Digital Hierarchy

Let’s now move to the TDM and PDH technologies, that have been the first digital
technologies introduced into transport networks.

17
From Voice to Primary rate
TDM

32x64 Kbits/s =

20 kHz 2048 Kbits/s (E1)

8,000 samples per second +1x64 Kbits/s alignment

8 bits per sample +1x64 Kbits/s signalling

4 kHz
Quantized
& TDM
400 Hz Encoded =64
20 Hz Kbits/s

Conversion of voice from an analogue to a digital signal has been the first step to achieve full digital
transmission.
This was introduced in the early ‘80s.
So let’s start with the digital voice basics.
The voice is an analogue signal that can be perceived by the human ear.
The human hearing range is in the region from 20 Hz to 20 000 Hz (20KHz). In telephony, most
information in speech is contained within the range 400 Hz to around 4KHz, so, to get a message
across, we don’t need all the very high and also the very low frequencies. This is why music over the
phone seems very poor quality.
So the voice in the range 400 Hz to around 4KHz is converted into a digital signal by means of an
analogue to digital converter, and this is done by sampling the voice, that means measuring the voice
at specific point in time, at a rate of 8KHz (that is 8 000 sample per second) and providing the value of
the sample with a number of 8 bits, therefore 8 bits time 8000 times per second equal to 64 thousands
bits per second.
Quantization and Encoding are then applied: these means that a few more manipulations are done on
digital signal to allow the proper transmission of the information in a digital environment.
A basic aggregated data stream of 2.048 Mbps can be then obtained by putting together 30 times 64
kbps channels plus two 64 kbps channels used for signalling and synchronization.
All this allows to get more than one phone call on a single pair of wires and is called Time Division
Multiplexing, TDM.

18
TDM: What happens?
Sampling several channels

TDM

How multiple signals are put together with TDM?


This technique is called multiplexing, and is represented in this slide in
very simple terms.
What is happening is that we are taking samples from each analogue
voice channel, convert them in digital format as explained before, and put
them one after the other in a time sequence.
On the end side, the serial data packet are converted back to parallel
streams and to analogue format, with a so fast process that, from a
human ear point of view, there is just a perception of a very small noise.

19
PDH AND TIME DIVISION MULTIPLEXING

2 Meg
2
TDM

30

PDH:
PDH: Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy

So with TDM we can create higher capacity data stream in terms of number of
transported voice channels.
And we said that the first step is to create an aggregated stream including 30
voice channels, with a rate of 2.048Mbps.
This 2.048 Mbps signal, called also 2Mb/s to simplify, or even shorter 2 Meg, or
also E1, is the actually first order of the Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy, PDH.
The term plesiochronous is derived from Greek plesio, meaning near, and
chronos, time, and refers to the fact that PDH networks run in a state where
different parts of the network are nearly, but not quite perfectly, synchronized.
This, in effect, creates some problems, typically individual signal time input /
output slips, that do introduce some transmission errors, but PDH, at the same
time, from a technological point of view, guaranteed a very simple equipment and
network design, with high quality standard for the transmission of voice channels,
therefore has been very appreciated and successful, also taking into account the
mean poor transmission quality of the previous FDM systems, in particular on
long distances.

20
A brief overview of PDH (Plesiochronous
multiplexing)
Bit Interleaved

2
8
8
34
34

2Mbit/s 8Mbit/s 34Mbit/s 140

8 OTE
2 140Mbit/s
34
8

Now we have a basic building block of 2.048 Mbps (commonly known as a


“2 Meg”) and we can begin to multiplex groups of 2 Megs together in
bundles of 4 to create an 8.448Mbps aggregated signal.
Moreover a bundles of four 8 Megs can be multiplexed together to create
34.368Mbps signals (normally called 34Meg) which can be multiplexed up
again to give a 139.264Mbps signal, commonly referred to as “a 140 Meg”.
There is always extra capacity added at each stage to ensure correct frame
synchronization, by the use of a frame alignment word (FAW) and also
extra information is added to help describe faults that may occur in the
system.
At the end of the multiplexing process the aggregated signal can be sent to
an Optical Terminal Equipment (OTE) for proper transmission on optical
fiber cable.

21
disadvantages of pdh networks
PDH Add/Drop Mountain

2 2

8 8

8
8
34
34
34 34

140 140
OTE OTE

Which are the main Drawbacks of a PDH Network?


The main disadvantage is that, to extract a tributary signal from a
multiplexed stream of the upper hierarchy, it is actually necessary to
demux the entire flow and then multiplex all again.
This is the so called PDH add/drop mountain.
This characteristic severely limits the flexibility in network configurations
and makes them complex and expensive.

22
disadvantages of pdh networks
Standardization

Hierarchical bit rates (kbit/s) for networks with the digital


hieraRchy based on a first level bit rate of …
Digital hierarchy level
1544 kbit/sec 2048 kbit/sec

64 64

1 1544 2048

2 6312 8448

3 32064 44736 34368

4 97728 274176 139264

No standardised protection capability


& limited network management

Moreover there aren’t standardized rates above 140 Mbps (565Mb/s was
introduced but only at a proprietary level by some vendors).
Another disadvantage is that the PDH Hierarchy is not unique everywhere in the
world, but has three different standards (European, American and Japanese),
which, while sharing the same basic mechanism, differ in many details of
operation and multiplexing hierarchies that actually hinder interoperability.
Standards in the USA and JAPAN are based on the same initial rate (64kbps),
but with a different coding law for the voice, a basic rate set at 24 times 64Kb/s,
that is 1.5Mb/s (T1), and maximum standardized transmission rates are at
270Mb/s and 100Mb/s respectively.
And, last but not the least, very limited surveillance and management features for
in-band monitoring and self-protection from failures in real time.
This last implies that PDH does not provide standardised traffic protection
capabilities, and, most important, only very limited proprietary network
management.

23
SDH/SONET,
NG-SDH/SONET
MSPP

Let’s now introduce SDH / SONET, Next GENERATION –SDH/SONET and


MSPPs, Multi Service Provisioning Platforms.

24
Why SDH/SONET?
› To transport PDH without PDH draw back

› Standardized higher bit rate systems

› Common set of line rates

› Synchronous networking

› Powerful Management and Communications

› Standardized Protection functionality

Why SDH and SONET were created?


They both appeared in the 1980s, SDH in the Western European world and SONET in US
and Japan with the following drivers:
•To transport PDH traffic without the typical draw back of PDH technology, accessing to
low rate channels without unpacking everything
•To have standardized higher bit rate systems
•To have common set of line rates between SONET and SDH, therefore cheaper
components thanks to higher volumes
•To achieve synchronous networking so that all signals are tightly synchronized across the
entire network, using atomic clocks. This synchronization system allows entire inter-country
networks to operate synchronously
•To achieve powerful management and communications
•And to have standardized protection functionality, with line and path protection options.

25
SDH Traffic mappings

PDH SDH Container OH

63 x 2M

3 x 34M

3 x 45M STM-
STM-1

1 x 140M

In SDH the incoming PDH signals are mapped inside SDH hierarchy (Container)
and then, by means of a number of multiplexing and by adding several
management bytes (OverHead, OH), the base SDH frame called STM-1
(155Mbs) is built.
According to the incoming PDH traffic type, an STM-1 can contain:
•63x2Mb
•3x34Mb or 45 Mb
•1x140Mb
The PDH signals are considered simple payloads inside the STM-1 frame, while
management bytes are added at different levels in order to monitor and manage
the signals during the transmission.

26
SDH Multiplexing Structure

STM-
STM-1

4x STM-
STM-1 = STM-
STM-4

16x STM-
STM-1 = 4x STM-
STM-4 = STM-
STM-16

64x STM-
STM-1 = 4x STM-
STM-16 = STM-
STM-64

256x STM-
STM-1 = 4x STM-
STM-64 = STM-
STM-256

It is also to be considered that, starting from an STM-1, further


multiplexing in steps of 4 can be performed, increasing each time the bit
rate of the SDH frame.
Therefore:
4 times STM-1 = STM-4 (622Mb/s), made up of 4 STM-1 frames.
4 times STM-4 = STM-16 (2.5Gb/s), made up of 16 STM-1 frames.
4 times STM-16 = STM-64 (10Gb/s), made up of 64 STM-1 frames.
4 times STM-64 = STM-256(40Gb/s), made up of 256 STM-1 frames.
Considering these numbers it becomes obvious that, using SDH
transmission instead of PDH, the cable capacity will be optimized.

27
SONET Traffic mappings

SDH STM-
STM-1
155 Mbit/s
STS-
STS-3c
SONET
OC-
OC-3c

STS-
STS-1 = STS-
STS-3c
52 Mbit/s STM-
STM-0
3

As we said, the basic unit of framing in SDH is the STM-1, which operates at
155.52 Mbit/s.
SONET, instead, refers to the basic unit as an STS-3c (Synchronous Transport
Signal 3, concatenated) or OC-3c, depending on whether the signal is carried
electrically (STS) or optically (OC), but its high-level functionality, frame size and
bit-rate are the same as STM-1.
SONET offers an additional basic unit of transmission, the STS-1 or OC-1,
operating at 51.84 Mbit/s - exactly one third of an STM-1/STS-3c/OC-3c carrier.
In SONET, the STS-3c/OC-3c signal is composed of three multiplexed STS-1
signals.
Some manufacturers also support the SDH equivalent of the STS-1/OC-1, known
as STM-0.

28
SONET Multiplexing Structure

STS-
STS-3/OC-
3/OC-3 STM-
STM-1

STS-
STS-12/OC-
12/OC-12 STM-
STM-4

STS-
STS-48/OC-
48/OC-48 STM-
STM-16

STS-
STS-192/OC-
192/OC-192 STM-
STM-64

STS-
STS-768/OC-
768/OC-768 STM-
STM-256

Exactly as for SDH, also SONET, starting from the basic unit STS-3/OC-3,
further allow multiplexing in steps of 4, increasing each time the bit rate of
the frame.
Therefore:
4 times STS-3/OC-3 = STS-12/OC-12 = STM-4 (622Mb/s),
4 times STS-12/OC-12 = STS-48/OC-48 = STM-16 (2.5Gb/s),
4 times STS-48/OC-48 = STS-192/OC-192 = STM-64 (10Gb/s),
4 times STS-192/OC-192 = STS-768/OC-768 = STM-256 (40Gb/s).

29
NEXT GENERATION SDH/SONET

European
PDH network

SDH / SONET
Ethernet
transport
American network
pdh network

100%

80%
NG-SDH/SONET fuelled
Next-
Next-Generation
SDH/SONET
by adoption of:
60%
• GFP
40%
Legacy • VCAT
20% SDH/SONET
0%
• LCAS
1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2009
Source: RHK (EMEA - October 2004)

Let’s now introduce Next GENERATION–SDH/SONET.


As we said SDH/SONET was originally created just to better transport PDH
traffic.
But transport of Ethernet traffic became an important requirement at the end of
the1990s.
Therefore NG-SDH/SONET was introduced, implementing carrier-class Ethernet
transport through the existing SDH infrastructure, allowing the support of
Ethernet point to point Leased Line services.
This has been achieved by adding Layer 1 Ethernet transport capabilities on
SDH/SONET, named EoS, Ethernet over SDH/SONET, using specialized
technologies named:
•GFP, General Framing Procedure, that is a light-weight adaptation scheme that
permits the transmission of different types of traffic over SONET/SDH,
•VCAT, Virtual Concatenation of SDH containers, so to match the Ethernet
variable rates (10, 100, 1000, 10,000 Mb/s) with the SDH fixed container capacity
(VC-12= around 2Mb/s, VC-3 = around 34 or 45Mb/s and VC-4 = around
140Mb/s),
•LCAS, Link Capacity Adjustment Scheme, for in service modification of Ethernet
traffic transported capacity and protection purposes.

30
MSPP- MULTI SERVICE PROVISIONING PLATFORM

Switch Switch

Layer 2 Layer 2

SDH Network

Layer 2 Layer 2

Multipoint to Multipoint
Switch
Switch E-LAN Service

And now the last step forward for SDH/SONET technology, the evolution into
Multi Service Provisioning Platforms, MSPPs, that has been achieved starting
from the mid of the 2000s.
MSPPs in effect adds Layer 2 Ethernet switching functionalities embedded in the
same EoS environment, therefore additional Ethernet services can be provided
through the SDH layer, like Ethernet Local Area Network, E-LAN, multipoint to
multipoint services.
With this added capability, complete Ethernet Metro Area networks can be
created embedded into an SDH/SONET layer, that provides the necessary
connectivity, with intrinsic robust network reliability.

31
WDM

Wavelength Division Multiplexing

Let’s now introduce the Wavelength Division Multiplexing Technology.

32
Why WDM?

WDM

Providers needed more capacity between two sites, but higher bit rates or more
fibers were not available. The only options in these situations were either to
install more fiber, which is an expensive and labor-intensive chore, or place
multiple signals on the same fiber.
WDM provided many "virtual" fibers on a single physical fiber.
By transmitting each signal at a different frequency, network providers could send
many signals on one fiber just as though they were each traveling on their own
fiber.

33
CWDM and DWDM
Number of Distance Bit Rates Cost
Channels

CWDM
8 (16) 300 km 2.5G
Coarse WDM

2.5G
DWDM 10G
80 3000 km
Dense WDM 40G
(100G)

There are two different types of WDM.


CWDM, which means Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing, and DWDM,
which means Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing.
This is because the principle of multiplexing wavelengths can be applied with
different levels of complexity and performance.
Now, let’s look at the different characteristics of CWDM and DWDM.
CWDM uses only 16 coarsely spaced wavelengths spanning over pretty large
bandwidth, allowing for the use of low-cost photonic technology, but achieved
transmission distances are limited to a few hundred Kilometers. Moreover, it is
very common to see CWDM applications limited to only 8 channels. This
because, exceeding this number of wavelengths, DWDM becomes normally more
appropriate. Additionally, capacity per channel is also limited, normally to
2.5Gb/s.
DWDM, instead, provides much narrower wavelength spacing, with a typical 80
overall wavelength capacity, that can be amplified for long distance coverage of
more than 3000Km.
Capacity per wavelength can be 2.5Gb/s, 10Gb/s, 40Gb/s and 100Gb/s in the
near future.

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OTN

Optical Transport Network

Let’s now introduce OTN.


OTN is a digital layer that was added on top of the WDM technology, so to
transparently transport any client signal through the DWDM network in a
controlled and efficient way.
Let’s now have a look to some technical details.

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OTN - ITU-T G.709 digital wrapper

OTN Frame

OTU0

OTU1

OTN OTU2

OTU3

OTU4

ITU-T defines Optical Transport Network (OTN) as a set of Optical Network


Elements connected by optical fibre links, able to provide functionality of
transport, multiplexing, switching, management, supervision and survivability of
optical channels carrying client signals.
ITU Standard G.709 is commonly called OTN, or digital wrapper technology.
Any type of input client signal, be it Voice, Video or Data, can be transported by
OTN.
OTN basically wraps these clients, in the sense that it encapsulates them, into an
OTN digital frame.
It is currently offered in five line rates:
• OTU0, which is currently under development to transport a 1 GbE signal.
• OTU1, which has a line rate of approximately 2.7 Gbit/s and was designed to
transport SONET OC-48 or synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) STM-16 signals.
• OTU2, which has a line rate of approximately 10.7 Gbit/s and was designed to
transport OC-192, STM-64 or data 10Gbit/s WAN signals. OTU2 can be also
over clocked (non standard) to carry signals faster than STM-64/OC192 (9.953
Gbit/s) like 10 Gigabit Ethernet LAN PHY coming from IP/Ethernet switches and
routers at full line rate (10.3 Gbit/s). This is specified in G.Sup43 and called
OTU2e.
• OTU3, which has a line rate of approximately 43 Gbit/s and was designed to
transport OC-768 or STM-256 or 40GbE signals.
• OTU4, which has a line rate of approximately 112 Gbit/s and was designed to
transport a 100 Gigabit Ethernet signal.

36
OTN Benefits
Carrier-class networking
› Transport of any kind of signal

› Transparency

› Extended optical reach

› Full transport quality control

› Flexibility

› Interoperability

Benefits of OTN G.709 Framing, providing an overall Carrier Class


networking capability, are the following:
•Transport of any kind of signal
•Transparency, meaning that the transported signal is not touched at all by
the OTN process and is delivered exactly as it was at the end point
Extended optical reach by means of Error correction coding (FEC)
•Full transport quality control by means of advanced Operation,
Administration and Maintenance features plus error monitoring.
•Flexibility: different kinds of signal and bit rates can be transported
together and terminated where required thanks to lambda and OTN
switching
•Interoperability in multi-vendor domain.

37
ASON

Automatic Switched Optical Network

Let’s now have a look at ASON and at what it means for an Optical Transport
Network.

38
ASON
True network intelligence

NE NE
NE

NE
OCS/WDM NE
NE

OCS/WDM
OCS/WDM

OCS/WDM
OCS/WDM

NE
NE NE
NE  Auto-
Auto-discovery Savings

NE
NE  Fast-
Fast-provisioning
 Network resilience

ASON (Automatically Switched Optical Network) is a general concept for the


evolution of transport networks, allowing for dynamic policy-driven control of
transport networks based on the GMPLS, Generalized Multi Service Label
Switching control plane.
The aim is to automate the resource and connection management within the
network, minimizing costs.
The GMPLS control plane is an alternative to NMS – Network Management
System - centralized connection management, avoiding manual planning and
configuration of optical routes.
In general ASON fulfils the requirement for an optimized dynamic optical network
such as:
•Auto discovery, allowing for automatic recognition of the resources of new
equipment introduced into the network,
•Fast provisioning, with quick set up of end-to-end connections, so reducing
OPEX,
•Advanced network resilience, providing fast and efficient re-routing of traffic also
in case of multiple faults, therefore achieving optimal network availability, less
CAPEX, thanks to shared protection bandwidth, and, at the same time, relaxing
the required guaranteed intervention time on the network in case of failure,
therefore moving OPEX to very minimum levels.

39
Packet Transport

Ethernet, MPLS and MPLS-TP

Let’s now have a look to Packet Transport Technology, and, in particular, to


some details on Ethernet, MPLS and MPLS-TP.

40
Ethernet
› Frame-based

› Name from ether

› Standardized as IEEE 802.3

› Used since 1980

Ethernet has been borne as a family of frame-based computer networking


technologies for local area networks (LANs).
The name came from the physical concept of the ether. It defines a number of
wiring and signaling standards for the first two layers of the OSI networking
model. Ethernet is standardized as IEEE 802.3. The combination of the twisted
pair versions of Ethernet for connecting end systems to the network, along with
the fiber optic versions for site backbones, is the most widespread wired LAN
technology. It has been used from around 1980 to the present, largely replacing
competing LAN standards such as token ring, FDDI, and ARCNET.

41
Ethernet
an evolving technology

Ethernet is an evolving technology. Evolutions have included higher bandwidth,


improved media access control methods, and changes to the physical medium.
Ethernet evolved into the complex networking technology that today underlies
most LANs. The coaxial cable was replaced with point-to-point links connected by
Ethernet repeaters or switches to reduce installation costs, increase reliability,
and enable point-to-point management and troubleshooting. There are many
variants of Ethernet in common use.
Ethernet stations communicate by sending each other data packets, blocks of
data that are individually sent and delivered. Each Ethernet station is given a 48-
bit MAC address. The MAC addresses are used to specify both the destination
and the source of each data packet. Network interface cards (Nics) normally do
not accept packets addressed to other Ethernet stations. Adapters come
programmed with a globally unique address. Despite the significant changes in
Ethernet from a thick coaxial cable bus running at 10 Mbit/s to point-to-point links
running at 1 Gbit/s and beyond, all generations of Ethernet use the same frame
formats.

42
Ethernet Data rates

10BASE-
10BASE-xx 10 Mb/s

100BASE-
100BASE-xx 100 Mb/s

1000BASE-
1000BASE-xx 1 Gb/s

10GBASE-
10GBASE-xx 10 Gb/s

40GBASE-
40GBASE-xxx 40 Gb/s

100GBASE-
100GBASE-xxx 100 Gb/s

The first Ethernet standardized interfaces have been 10BASE-xx, 100BASE-xx,


and 1000BASE-xx, called Ethernet, Fast Ethernet and Giga-Ethernet, GE.
They run around at 10 Mbit/s, 100 Mbit/s, and 1 Gbit/s, respectively.
The last two letters indicate if they run over copper or fiber and main physical
interface characteristics.
The next step, meaning the 10GbE standard, was first published in 2002: it
defines a version of Ethernet with a nominal data rate of 10Gbit/s, ten times as
fast as gigabit Ethernet. It can nominally run on copper, but optical fibers are
much more used due to very short range coverage on copper.
New standardized bit rates are now 40 GbE and 100GbE, 4 and 10 times faster
compared to previous step.
The standardization process for the last one started in November 2007 and was
ratified in June 2010.

43
Connection-Less and Connection-Oriented
PSN
› Connection-less networks:
– Reliant on unique destination address information
– Information in each packet on where to deliver the data
unit
– Not specified intermediate routing points for the sent
data units

› Connection-oriented networks:
– A logical connection is implemented across the network
– no information from inside the packet for forwarding
decisions
– a “connection identifier” provided

But Ethernet in time evolved also to be a network technology for service


providers, and, to do so, it had to introduce new functionalities.
To explain this we have first to introduce the concept of Connection-Less and
Connection-Oriented Packet-switched networks (PSN).
Connection-less networks do have the following characteristics:
•Reliant on unique destination address information
•Information in each packet on where to deliver the data unit
•Not specified intermediate routing points for the sent data units
Connection-oriented networks, instead, have the following characteristics:
•A logical connection is implemented across the network
•Once associated with such a connection, no information from inside the
packet is required for forwarding decisions: a “connection identifier” is
instead provided, specifying start, end and intermediate routing points.

44
Carrier Ethernet
Provider packet technologies: connectionless

IEEE 802.1Q VLAN

IEEE 802.1ad Provider bridging

IEEE 802.1ag Connectivity Fault Management

IEEE 802.1ah Provider Backbone bridging

In both Connection-Less and Connection-Oriented Ethernet environment,


Ethernet technology followed a specific evolution.
In Connection-Less PSN, Ethernet was enhanced with:
•Traffic segregation with VLAN (IEEE 802.1Q)
•Scalability and customer/provider separation by introduction of
Provider Bridging (IEEE 802.1ad) with service VLAN stacking
•Connectivity Fault Management (IEEE 802.1ag)
Moreover, to even more increase scalability,
•Provider Backbone Bridging, called also MAC-in-MAC encapsulation, was
introduced (IEEE 802.1ah).

45
Carrier Ethernet
Provider packet technologies: Connection-oriented

MPLS Pseudo Wire

T-MPLS Transport -MPLS

MPLS-
MPLS-TP MPLS Transport Profile

But transport service provider does not like very much the Connection-Less environment
for their large geographical networks, so Ethernet was enhanced even more in the
Connection-Oriented Ethernet environment.
In Connection-Oriented PSN, Ethernet has followed two different routes.
The first starts with MPLS, Multi Protocol Label Switching, that was developed and
standardized by IETF, firstly just with the aim of fast forwarding of IP packets (this is why
we often call it “IP/MPLS), and, later on, extended to any type of traffic with the
introduction of Pseudo Wire technology.
This technology has been widely deployed in operator's core networks and proved to be
powerful and reliable, but how to extend it to several thousands network nodes in the
metro-access area with simplicity, control and same characteristics as traditional
transport networks?
For this purpose modifications were required, so the first attempt was made by ITU-T with
the creation of T-MPLS, meaning Transport MPLS.
Unfortunately major objections were raised by the IETF to T-MPLS, especially on the re-
use of various IP/MPLS code points that were making T-MPLS incompatible with the
IP/MPLS itself.
Therefore T-MPLS was abandoned and a Joint Working Team (JWT) between IETF and
ITU-T created with a new jointly developed project,
called MPLS-TP, that is MPLS Transport Profile.
MPLS-TP is a subset to existing MPLS, that reuses MPLS forwarding component, but
also extends current MPLS scope, adding functionalities like transport OAM and static
control plane without changing the general MPLS architecture.
To be noted that MPLS-TP is just the project for MPLS in transport networks and it is
NOT a new technology!
So, in this way, MPLS becomes an unified data transport technology for all network
layers.

46
Carrier Ethernet
Provider packet technologies: Connection-oriented

PBB-
PBB-TE PBB Traffic Engineering

MPLS-
MPLS-TP

The second route to a Connection-Oriented Ethernet environment derived


instead from PBB, and was called PBB-TE, that is PBB with Traffic
Engineering (IEEE 802.1Qay).
This was first proposed by a vendor with the name of PBT (Provider
Backbone Transport) and then standardized by IEEE with above name of
PBB-TE.
PBB-TE actually introduced a controlled end-to-end path for each packet,
including definition of intermediate nodes and simple linear protection
schemes.
But this route, at the end, proved to be unsuccessful, especially because
the massive presence of already deployed IP/MPLS core networks was
impairing the possibility to achieve the unified data transport technology
that the MPLS is instead guaranteeing.
So MPLS, with its MPLS-TP extension, is the clear winner as Connection-
Oriented PSN technology.

47
Multiprotocol label switching

MPLS
Network

Let’s now explain a little bit more the MPLS technology.


Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) is a mechanism in high-performance
packet telecommunications networks which directs and carries data from one
network node to the next with the help of labels. MPLS makes it easy to create
"virtual links" between distant nodes. It can encapsulate packets of various
network protocols.
Packet-forwarding decisions are made only on the contents of this label, without
the need to examine the packet itself. This allows to create end-to-end circuits
across any type of transport medium, using any protocol. The primary benefit is
to eliminate dependence on a particular Data Link Layer technology, such as
ATM, frame relay, SONET or Ethernet, and eliminates the need for multiple Layer
2 networks to satisfy different types of traffic. MPLS belongs to the family of
packet-switched networks.
It can be used to carry many different kinds of traffic, including IP packets, as well
as native ATM, SONET, and Ethernet frames.

48
MPLS-TP

MPLS-
MPLS-Tp

Transport Network

provide connection-oriented transport for packet and TDM services

And what is MPLS-TP in more details?


The fundamental idea behind MPLS-TP is to extend MPLS with Operations,
Administration and Maintenance (OAM) tools that are already widely applied in
existing transport network technologies such as SONET/SDH or OTN networks.
The goal of MPLS-TP is to provide connection-oriented transport for packet and
TDM services over optical networks, leveraging the widely deployed MPLS
technology.
Key to this effort is the definition and implementation of OAM and resiliency
features to ensure the capabilities needed for carrier-grade transport networks,
scalable operations, high availability, performance monitoring and multi-domain
support.

49
MPLS-TP characteristics
› Connection oriented

› Client agnostic

› Physical layer agnostic

› OAM functions

›Several protection schemes

›Network provisioning (control plane)

The MPLS-TP key characteristics are:


•strictly connection oriented
•client-agnostic (it can carry L3, L2, L1 services)
•physical layer agnostic (it can run over IEEE Ethernet PHYs, SONET/SDH and
OTN, using GFP, WDM, etc.)
•strong operations, administration and maintenance (OAM) functions similar to
those available in traditional optical transport networks (e.g., SONET/SDH, OTN);
these OAM functions are an integral part of the MPLS-TP data plane and are
independent from the control plane.
•several protection schemes at the data plane similar to those available in
traditional optical transport networks.
•network provisioning via a centralized NMS and/or a distributed control plane
The GMPLS control plane is also applicable to the MPLS-TP client or server
layers and allows usage of a common approach for management and control of
multi-layer transport networks.

50
MPLS and MPLS-TP

IP/MPLS MPLS-
MPLS-Tp

Therefore MPLS-TP is intended to enable next-generation converged packet


networks, tying together with IP/MPLS service routing in an Unified MPLS
environment.
Major advantages are consistent operations and OAM functions across the
different network layers and the interworking with IP/MPLS networks.
MPLS-TP is highly scalable due to its multiplexing capability that can be used to
create a network with multiple hierarchical layers.
MPLS-TP supports a huge variety of services that are encapsulated into pseudo-
wires and it can be carried over the existing and evolving transport network
infrastructure.

51
Summary
An introduction to Optical Transport Networks
›Network areas
›Network topologies
›Protections
A description of Optical Transport Network technologies
›FDM
›PDH
›SDH/SONET
›WDM
›OTN
›ASON
›Packet Transport

Summary.
This Overview Course has been focused on an introduction to Optical Transport Networks and a
description of Optical Transport Network technologies.
Regarding the first point we made an introduction in terms of capacity, availability and quality. In
particular, we presented network areas (access, metro and core), network topologies (point to
point, star, ring, mesh) and we introduced the benefits of each solution, including protection
concept, which increase the network availability.
Then we gave an overview on the most important technologies used in Optical Communication,
presenting them in a chronological order of appearance, starting from the now disappeared
analogical Frequency Division Multiplexing used in the’70s, and continuing with the digital PDH,
then introducing SDH and SONET technologies, adopted, at the beginning, to transport PDH
traffic without the typical draw backs of this technology.
Moreover, we introduced Next Generation SDH (NG-SDH) or SONET, that became important
when Ethernet traffic started to be a major requirement at the end of the1990s, implementing
carrier-class Ethernet transport through the existing SDH infrastructure, and then Multi Service
Provisioning Platforms (mid of the 2000s), which added new Layer 2 Ethernet services and
features. In this way, complete Ethernet Metro Area Networks can be created embedded into an
SDH/SONET layer.
And then Wavelength Division Multiplexing, introduced so to exploit the full fiber capacity,
transporting multiple signals on the same fiber pair.
Later on, the OTN framing system, providing functionality of transport, multiplexing, switching,
management, supervision and survivability of optical channels carrying client signals.
On top of above, the ASON, Automatic Switched Optical Network technology, allowing for
dynamic policy-driven control of transport networks based on the GMPLS control plane, so to
automate the resource and connection management within the network, minimizing costs.
And finally, a look to Packet Transport Technology, and, in particular, to some details on Ethernet,
MPLS and MPLS-TP, the last one intended to enable next-generation Unified MPLS packet
networks.

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Thank you for attending this technology overview e-learning course. For more
technical information on this subject, please view the relevant Overviews and
Fundamentals technology e-learning courses.

53

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