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Tbit/s hero of the backbone transport network

Tbit/s hero of the backbone transport network

Traditional WDM devices can no longer effectively handle transport, grooming, and management of large-bandwidth IP services. A new generation of Tbit/s WDM devices are coming on to bolster the IP backbone.
By Wen Tao

IP backbone networks enter the Tbit/s era

lobal broadband traffic doubles every 12 months, and video services are gobbling up network bandwidth. According to statistics for 2007, backbone IP traffic reached 300Tbit/s in North America, 100Tbit/s in Europe, and 40-50Tbit/s in China. It is estimated that average global backbone IP traffic will exceed 35KTbit/s in 2009. Burgeoning traffic has put pressure on transport line capacity and presented processing challenges for IP backbone network nodes. For example, British Telecoms IP backbone network has 28 core nodes, which carry nearly 400 lines of 10Gbit/s services; most of them have a processing capacity above 1Tbit/s, with the largest reaching 1.5Tbit/s. In the near future, the node processing capacity will have to be 2Tbit/s or even higher. Deutsche Telekom (DT) and France Te l e c o m ( F T ) b o t h re q u i re a n o d e processing capacity above 2Tbit/s, while China Telecom requires a node processing capacity of over 3Tbit/s. In fact, some nodes in China may need a processing capacity of 6Tbit/s in 2009. All these indicate that the IP backbone network is stepping firmly into the Tbit/s era.

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Exploring optimal networking mode

As IP backbone network traffic shifts to Tbit/s, IP backbone network construction modes have also changed. The two-layer networking mode IP over WDM is gradually replacing the traditional threelayer IP over SDH over WDM mode to flatten network structure. In IP over WDM, the SDH layer disappears and new solutions are needed. For example: What should be used for transport functions like connection, protection, and management that were originally provided by the SDH layer? IP or WDM?

IP layer bottleneck
Tr a d i t i o n a l W D M o f f e r s l a r g e bandwidth and long distance pipeline transport, but its poor grooming, management, and protection capabilities make networking unpractical. Whereas IP devices have certain transport capabilities including automatic routing, and savvy operators are using IP devices to take over original SDH functions. In this mode, the WDM function is not changed, and it delivers pipe-line transport while all services are processed and forwarded by routers. Although primarily inheriting the existing transportation network (including sites and fibers) and simplifying operations at the WDM layer, this mode burdens IP devices, resulting in a much higher demand on router capacity, and markedly higher port and grooming costs. Services also must go through many hops, which requires a large stack of routers and may cause time delay, jitter, and even a butterfly effect. In the Tbit/s era, the sheer amount of traffic will certainly max out the processing capabilities of router devices.

provides direct links between routers, and takes charge of service connection, establishment, and distribution. Services are not forwarded by IP devices hop by hop. Bandwidth management is implemented on both the optical and IP layers. This dramatically reduces the strain on routers, slows down demands on router capacity, and saves on the cost of router ports that are normally needed for service forwarding. Consequently, operators CAPEX can be curtailed by about 40%. This method has higher requirements on the WDM layer since the WDM must not only possess the original high transport ability, but also take over the SDHs grooming, management, and protection responsibilities to distribute, aggregate, and forward different services. WDM devices need to provide cross connections to finish the connection and grooming of services effectively. Compared with the SDH devices in the narrow-band era, cross connection granularity shifts from STM-1/4/16 to GE/10GE/40GE and cross connection capability from Gbit/s to Tbit/s. The new generation of switched WDM systems that integrate WDM transport, multi-layer Tbit/s XC(crossconnection), SDH-like management and protection have become the definitive choice for current IP backbone transport network. Externally, the switched WDM can provide networking functions, such as end-to-end connections, OAM, and multi-policy protection. This overcomes the problems caused by the SDH layer disappearance. Internally, the switched WDM can provide efficient configuration of high bandwidth, long distance, low power consumption transport, enabling WDM transform from link to network. As a result, the IP backbone network mode evolves from IP over WDM to IP over switched WDM.

Network (OTN) as the basic architecture for the switched WDM. Creating a complete network system, the switched OTN/WDM covers all aspects including network and system architecture, frame format, encapsulation mapping mode, protection, recover y, management, maintenance, and control layer protocols. OTN can better support the nextgeneration WDM networks. Integrating both SDH and WDM technologies, OTN inherits SDHs standard overheads, differentiated management, highly reliable protection, and flexible grooming. It also inherits WDMs low cost, large bandwidth, and long-distance capabilities. To keep pace with the rapid development of IP services, OTN enhances the transparent transport and processing capabilities of Ethernet services, and defines the 40GE/100GE transport mode for future use. Most importantly, the OTN defines multi-layer cross connections of ODU0/ ODU1/ODU2/ODU3 (from GE to 40Gbit/s), and satisfies Tbit/s service grooming requirements. Construction of next-generation WDM systems based on OTN can effectively solve standardization and industrialization problems. At present, the entire OTN industrial chain is extended and recognized by mainstream operators, such as Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom, and China Telecom, who drive constant OTN development.

Using Tbit/s optical and electrical cross connections

To provide flexible end-to-end service connections, the wave division system needs to provide cross connections at the Tbit/s level. After comparing the costs and networking performance of different technologies, Huawei chose the ROADMbased optical cross connection and the OTN switch-based large-capacity electrical cross connection, to form a double-layer (optical and electrical) cross connection plane. Optical and electrical cross connections are suitable for different service nodes from a financial perspective. On nodes where add/drop ratios are less than 30%, ROADM technology is more costNOV 2008 . ISSUE 44

A way out at the WDM layer

Operators are now turning to another solution: letting the WDM layer take over original SDH functions. The WDM layer

Constructing Tbit/s switched OTN/WDM

Based on OTN architecture
Huawei has chosen Optical Transport

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Tbit/s hero of the backbone transport network

The new generation of switched WDM systems that integrate WDM transport, multilayer Tbit/s XC, SDHlike management and protection have become the definitive choice for current IP backbone transport network.

effective. On nodes where add/drop ratios are greater than 30%, the OTN switch is more economical. A single cross connection technology cannot satisfy all networking scenarios. Operators need to select proper cross connection modes according to the add/drop ratio and node dimensions to realize optimal CAPEX throughout the whole network. The optical and electrical mixed networking mode also greatly improves network performance. In a pure ROADM networking mode, wavelength blocking in a full mesh network always exists, and the more nodes the wavelength routing covers, the larger the blocking rate. Due to optical transport distance limits caused by signalto-noise ratio, dispersion, and the nonlinear effect, ROADM is unsuitable for large scale networking. In the pure OTN switch networking mode, frequent OEO processing will result in signal delay increases, so it is recommended that an optical and electrical mixed networking mode is used. ROADM is employed for the small and medium nodes that feature a lot of crossing service traffic and little add/drop traffic. The large-capacity OTN switch is used for core grooming nodes that process large add/drop traffic. In this way, the optimal CAPEX configuration can be implemented, and the OTN Switch can serve as a network gateway, separating the WDM network into a series of smaller networks. This reduces the wavelength blocking rate and decreases signal delays. The OEO function of the OTN switch also eliminates the optical transport distance limit and makes network planning easier. In 2008, Huawei introduced the first OTN/WDM system OSN 8800 with Tbit/s capacity. The systems OTN switchbased electrical cross connection capacity can reach 1.28Tbit/s, and if supplemented with the optical layer cross connection, the total cross connection capacity can reach over 10Tbit/s. The OSN 8800 system can fully satisfy current mainstream operators requirements for the grooming capacity of backbone network nodes. In 2009, Huaweis OTN/WDM system will support a 2.56Tbit/s electrical cross connection capacity to accommodate future upgrades

and expansion.

Introducing the ASON/GMPLS control plane

In the IP over switched OTN/WDM mode, the original separated WDM networks become a unified mesh network, making network topologies complicated and re nd e ring se r vice and network management more difficult. Because this mode utilizes both optical and electrical cross connections, optical and electrical cooperation becomes essential to implement end-to-end service connections. The entire network management level needs to be raised to a new, higher level, and multi-policy protection is necessary, especially rerouting protection to deal with the problem of multipoint fiber breakages. Traditional network management system is inadequate, and a separate control plane is needed for more effective and reliable service provision and network management. Huawei has addressed these issues by constructing the OTN/WDM system software architecture based on ASON/ GMPLS. SDH-based ASON/GMPLS technology has been widely deployed commercially, and Huawei has continued to dedicate considerable resources to the optical layer ASON/GMPLS. The direct result was the breakthrough proposal of WSON (Wavelength ASON) technology. In late 2007, WSON was officially admitted as a standard by the IETF. In 2008, Huawei rolled out the OSN 8800 system providing OTN-based ASON/ GMPLS technology and integration with WSON. The OSN 8800 has become the only OTN system that supports unified and intelligent management of both the optical and electrical layers. If the traditional WDM networks are different sections of the same road with stop and go traffic, then the mass-capacity Tbit/s switched OTN/WDM system is a high speed freeway. The whole network is fast and efficient, intelligently grooming, and fulfills the requirements for extra-broad bandwidth transport in the Tbit/s era. This is truly a milestone in the development of the IP backbone transport network. Editor: Li Xuefeng xuefengli@huawei.com

19 NOV 2008 . ISSUE 44