The future is now: Supercomm brings out the DWDM in vendors

The name of the network game is increasing capacity. Carriers are seeking ways to boost bandwidth, and vendors are tripping over themselves to provide it. Many ways of pumping up capacity have come to the fore. The most prevalent at Supercomm '98 was dense wavelength division multiplexing.

Vendors are marketing DWDM products that can scale from OC-3 (155.5 Mb/s) and OC-12 (622 Mb/s) up to OC-192 (9.6 Gb/s) and have the potential for even further growth. Some companies, such as Osicom Technologies Inc., target the needs of metro systems, while Hitachi Telecom claimed the "OC-192 and beyond" tagline. As long as DWDM vendors offer growth paths, they should succeed.

Of course, DWDM isn't the only way to speed up a network. Access devices, transport systems and the fiber itself play a role. For example, Lucent Technologies developed a method of making more wavelengths in a fiber usable, and a spate of access and switching devices were on the show floor. Vendors showcased multispeed, multimedia switches that pass traffic through the network more efficiently.

The goal is to get information-voice, data and video-through the network as quickly as possible. In the process, the vendor solution must make it easier for carriers to offer flexible services and have a plan for growth. Many vendors succeeded.

The invasion of DWDM The demand for bandwidth continues to push carriers into higher speeds. The advantage of DWDM technology is that it appeals to large, established exchange carriers as well as smaller start-ups, and customers should be able to upgrade as they go.

For example, Osicom demonstrated its GigaMux Metro DWDM product with NEC Corp.'s ITS-2400V, a high-speed Sonet multiplexer for OC-48 (2.4 Gb/s) networks. The GigaMux supports 32 2.5 Gb/s channels for up to 80 Gb/s of bandwidth. Using Osicom's electrical photonic concentrator technology, as many as 512 sub-rate channels can be transported on one fiber, and it supports Ethernet, fiber distributed data interface, ESCON, Sonet, digital subscriber line (DSL), asynchronous transfer mode, frame relay and proprietary signals. The Osicom/NEC combination is designed for short-haul metro and access markets. Carriers can provision DS-3, OC-3 and OC-12 services within an OC-48 payload on two- or four-fiber bidirectional line switched rings (BLSR). The idea is to lower the cost of entry and allow carriers to increase bandwidth incrementally, said Ron Mackey, executive vice president of technology for Osicom.

"We can take one fiber into a business park and multiplex that into multiple channels to achieve greater port density," said Mackey. "Say [a customer] has two offices 10 miles apart. If you have a fast Ethernet backbone, you [might] have to convert it to ATM, then convert it to OC-3, OC-12 and finally to O-48 [at the carrier backbone.] Then you do the reverse on the other side. That's eight hops just to interconnect two offices. We create a PVC on a channel between two offices. It's a new class of services that carriers can offer that eliminates Sonet, ATM multiplexers and routers, and carries the traffic in its native format."

Interoperability is essential for growth, and Cambrian Systems and Lucent are paving the way. Cambrian showcased its OPTera metro DWDM solution interoperating with Lucent's WaveStar OLS 40G and WaveStar 400G.

Fujitsu Network Communications is "leaping into the long-distance [transport] market" with Flashwave 320G, a DWDM device designed for the company's OC-48 and OC-192 multiplexers, said Jay Prichard, marketing manager. With Flashwave, each fiber can support 32 wavelengths, or 320 Gb/s. Customers can add one wavelength at a time and mix and match line speeds, too.

Flashwave runs on a four-fiber BLSR, but also can run on two-fiber BLSR or unidirectional path switched ring. In addition, Flashwave incorporates a spectrum analyzer unit for every wavelength coming out of the system. The analyzer works with the DWDM system to ensure the power is consistent, Prichard explained. Fujitsu is also offering a 16-wavelength, OC-48 solution for metro areas.

Also targeting the OC-192 market, Hitachi showcased its AMN 5192 and 6000 products. The AMN 5192 Sonet Node, for long-haul and metro applications, supports 4-fiber BLSR. It features mixed Sonet/synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) and concatenated tributaries, giving carriers a migration path to OC-192 (320 Gb/s with DWDM).

The AMN 6000 DWDM system can work with the 5192 or as a stand-alone device. It accommodates OC-48 and OC-192 inputs, which can be mixed in one shelf. It's a unidirectional system, and a bidirectional version will be available later this year, as will an optical cross-connect system. When the 5192 is used with the 6000, transponders are not required. Both AMN products are monitored by a common management system.

Hitachi's upcoming optical cross-connect system "targets any company that is building a network that is not Sonet," says Steve Carter, senior manager in account marketing. "It brings restoration to the optical layer. Some carriers are going optical, which allows you to have Sonet and any bit rate. Our optical restoration switches fibers around, not bits." Hitachi's system allows vertical integration and a common management system.

Newcomer Tellium is bringing Sonet-like capabilities to the optical layer, explained Dick Barcus, vice president of marketing and product management. "Sending preformatted data through Sonet doesn't make sense," he said. "We provide elements for a high-speed optical layer with Sonet capabilities."

Tellium displayed its Marathon and MetroExpress 64-channel DWDM terminals for long and short-haul applications. They directly connect Internet protocol (IP) and ATM switches with OC-48 interfaces to the optical layer, eliminating the need for a time division multiplexer (TDM) and OC-192 upgrades. The company also showcased the Aurora optical cross-connect switch designed to transport any optical signal up to OC-48 speeds.

Positron Fiber Systems developed the Osiris Sonet broadband access multiplexers. They incorporate a low-speed Sonet multiplexer and a router and let carriers migrate from OC-3 or OC-12 rates up to OC-48 with a card swap, said Andrew Knott, Positron's vice president of sales and marketing. The Osiris multiplexer supports direct access from Ethernet, fast Ethernet, DS-1 (1.54 Mb/s) and DS-3 (44.7 Mb/s) to OC-48. To upgrade line speeds, carriers swap out an optical card, and the network incurs no downtime.

"We offer customers the capability to upgrade to OC-48 on the same platform, [and have] direct access from DS-1 and Ethernet directly into the OC-48 payload," Knott said. The direct access eliminates external bridges, routers and low-speed Sonet multiplexers usually required when a carrier upgrades the line speed. "We put all that in the box," he said. The device has a small footprint, making it well suited for competitive local exchange carriers and competitive access providers.

Striving toward end-to-end wavelength services, Alcatel demonstrated its Optinex 1640 add/drop multiplexer (ADM), a 40-channel DWDM product for interoffice or backbone environments. It supports OC-48 and OC-192, and features 100 GHz channel spacing and out-of-band forward error correction (FEC). The FEC quadruples channel count and increases bit rates by 20% to 30%, said Dana Hartgraves, director of marketing and business development for optical networks. Alcatel also showcased the Optinex 1680 Optical Gateway Cross Connect and the Optinex 1610 long- and short-haul DWDM multiplexing terminals.

NEC also showcased the SpectralWave system, which can multiplex and demultiplex up to 128 OC-48 channels into one cable using narrowband DWDM technology. The multiplexed signal can transmit at 400 kilometers, deploying up to four optical line amplifiers. ADM functionality lets carriers dynamically provision wavelengths remotely.

Ciena Corp. announced that it has developed a version of its DWDM system for metropolitan and local access applications. The vendor's MultiWave Metro is designed as a ring architecture that allows carriers to reap the bandwidth benefits of DWDM in applications where high-bandwidth services must be carried all the way to customers.

"In a WDM environment, the cost of provisioning high-bandwidth services is a function of what's being dropped at the customer, not what's being carried on the ring," said Steve Chaddick, senior vice president of products and technology at Ciena. "We're taking DWDM from multiplying fiber bandwidth to now providing end-to-end connectivity."

The Metro system will be deployed as a series of optical ADM nodes connected by a two-fiber ring. The system is targeted at a range of carriers, but Chaddick expects competitive local exchange operators both in and outside the U.S. to be early adopters.

A switch in time Having a DWDM system isn't enough, however. Supporting devices, including switches, must be able to handle the vast amounts of traffic swamping the network. Traffic is increasingly a mixture of voice, data and video, and vendors are providing ways to support all three efficiently.

To this end, Alcatel showcased its IP@ATM solution interoperating with Cisco Systems' 7200 and 7500 tag switching routers. Alcatel's 1100 HHS multiservice switch incorporates Cisco's IOS and transports IP traffic over carriers' established ATM backbones.

Addressing the multiple media types traveling across networks, Lucent showcased its 5ESS-2000 AnyMedia Switch. "The 5ESS is our main switching system [designed] for local switching, wireless, long-distance and other optical services," said Diane Herr, who heads switching and access product marketing for the Americas. Modem pooling capabilities will be added to the switch in July, she said. "The point of the 5ESS is to bridge the network, to offer public switching with interconnections."

Northern Telecom debuted its Universal Edge 9000 at the show. The multiservice switch combines voice, video and data on a single platform and supports voice over IP. It can be used for POTS-only, data-only or POTS and data environments. The Universal Edge 9000 supports the company's AccessNode Express and digital multiplex system applications and lets carriers offer value-added services such as advanced voice services and telephony/Internet services.

Nortel also announced the AccessNode Express 24L. It supports 24 POTS lines on a single card and requires no splitter to connect multiple service types such as POTS and asymmetrical DSL, said Vivian Hudson, vice president of brand management in Nortel's high capacity transport group.

"We are uncovering the networking value," she said. "The value is not [based on] network interactions, but how the network will be used."

In other news, Microsoft and Nortel are pushing forward with the deployment of a splitterless DSL technology based on the Universal ADSL specifications. Nortel also announced that it is using Windows NT Server for its Internet telephony applications.

Siemens Telecom Networks is moving into the U.S. market with the TransXpress ALine, a multiservice local transport system. "It combines ATM and Sonet technologies on a single platform," said Mike McLaughlin, vice president of transport networks. "It can carry voice and data services on a single interface. It's more flexible for data services because it has high utilization [of the fiber optic system], and it is software provisionable."

Carriers can set up permanent virtual circuits from the ATM switch for the customers in increments of 64 kb/s, unlike the 1.5 or 45 Mb increments used today, he said. "It gives carriers a new range of services, [and] they can respond quickly to customers."

A TransXpress MasterNode in the central office can connect up to nine RingNodes. RingNodes sit on the customer premises and handle subscriber access. The entire system is managed by the Edge Network Management System. McLaughlin expects CLECs to deploy the system first, although "we have seen interest from themore aggressive local exchange carriers," he said.

Ground transportation Targeting metro and feeder ring applications, ADC Telecommunications introduced its Cellworx Service Transport Node (STN). Cellworx provides carriers a way to create OC-12-based, survivable fiber rings using a combination of Sonet and ATM, not TDM, said Steven Plote, senior marketing manager of ADC's ATM transport division.

As many as 50 Cellworx devices can sit on feeder rings, aggregating multiple traffic types across the rings to the backbone. "It's aggregation on the trunking side," Plote said. An OC-48 version will be unveiled next year.

The combination of Sonet and ATM virtual path ring technology lets carriers create virtual paths based on bandwidth needs. Cellworx STN can support frame relay, ATM cell relay, ATM over ADSL, and private line circuit emulation. ADC demonstrated full-rate ADSL and ADSL Lite Cellworx solutions that integrate a DSL access multiplexer, an access concentrator, a Sonet ADM and subnetwork management.

DSC Communications introduced a new OC-48 interface module for its Integrated Multi-rate Transport Node digital cross-connect system. The iMTN now scales up to 4608 DS-3 ports and supports Sonet and SDH. Each OC-48 line can support up to four user channels, each carrying 620 Mb/s, so the product can now cross-connect 52, 155 and 620 Mb payloads. The iMTN uses a non-blocking, three-stage switching fabric and supports DWDM applications. In addition, DSC increased the rack density for network terminations.

The design makes it one of the largest and most flexible broadband cross-connect systems available today, said Gradie Winslow, regional sales director. DSC increased the optical termination options and enhanced support for mesh and ring topologies to appeal to established and emerging carrier markets.

In the ring Lucent announced its AllWave Fiber, which frees up more wavelengths within a fiber. No El Nino effect here: The company's breakthrough technology stems from taking water out of the fiber, producing 50% more usable wavelengths than traditional fiber. The AllWave fiber provides 100 nm more bandwidth than current fiber, according to Lucent. It is under production in Atlanta. To support this new system, Lucent announced its WaveStar All-Metro OLS, a multi-terabit DWDM system designed for use with AllWave fiber. The company is combining the two products in the All-Metro Network bundle.

In addition, Lucent explained its supplier agreements with Microsoft and CTR Group. Microsoft is deploying Lucent's DWDM technology in its own campus network, which combines ATM, IP and optical networking technologies. Microsoft is deploying Lucent's 16-channel WaveStar OLS 40G metro system to transport ATM traffic between four buildings on the Microsoft campus. The WaveStar OLS 40G supports OC-3, OC-12 and OC-48 Sonet rates as well as data formats in the 150 to 750 Mb/s range, if used with the broadband optical translator unit. The 16 channels can be configured as rings or linear and flexible add/drops, and it spans up to 132 kilometers.

CTR Group is using Lucent equipment in its Project Oxygen undersea network. In addition to providing the fiber optic infrastructure, CTR is installing Lucent software to manage the network operations. Lucent's WaveStar BandWidth Manager system will route the voice, ATM, IP and video traffic across the network, and the Integrated Transport Management and Actiview Service Management software will provide network management capabilities. The WaveStart Optical Line System 400G will provide up to 80 high-capacity wavelengths over each fiber strand.

"It's a living network," said David Martin, vice president of business development for CTR Group. "We will continue to build and add to it as needed. We are building a series of point-to-point [links]. It's the cloud [concept] not the cable, and Lucent equipment makes it work."

Addressing the last mile, Reltec Corp. showed its DISC-S solution for copper or fiber digital local loops. The DISC-S system can support analog and digital broadcasts using FiberCast, the company's AM-VSB solution. A video signal can be merged with narrowband, wideband and broadband ATM traffic and sent to the optical network unit (ONU) over the same fiber using DWDM. A single shelf can support 56 ONUs, and it brings fiber to within 500 feet of the home. The FiberStar application also brings high-speed Internet access to the home.

Breakneck speeds The message from Supercomm '98 came through loud and clear. Networks need to be faster, more versatile and better equipped to handle multiple media types. Data is infiltrating voice networks, and carriers need gear that will help them profit. Of course, new equipment should be forward-looking. While some devices require forklift upgrades to gain advantages, many rely on a simple software upgrade to keep things moving.

Supercomm exhibitors were surprisingly tuned into the needs of the up-and-coming carrier and Internet service provider markets. Surprising only because many have established relationships with the LECs, which have the same bandwidth-boosting needs, but with legacy issues. Developing products for CLECs brings its own challenges and creativity. Vendors have to plan for future technologies that will affect these high-speed networks but are not available-and in some cases not even developed.

Now is an ideal time for telecom equipment vendors to look at the network under a new light. Incorporating functionality into devices and lessening the upgrade risk are key to making networks more efficient and deployable. Finding ways to provide bandwidth on demand will lead to satisfied customers and more profitable carriers.