2012 International Conference on Telecommunications and Multimedia (TEMU)

Converged Access Network Infrastructure based on Virtual PONs

T. G. Orphanoudakis, C. Matrakidis, C. (T) Politi, A. Stavdas
Dept. of Telecommunications Science and Technology University of Peloponnese Tripolis, Greece {fanis, cmatraki, tpoliti, astavdas}@uop.gr

Helen-C. Leligou
Dept. of Electrical Engineering Technological Educational Institute of Chalkida PsahnaEvia, Greece leligou@teihal.gr

Abstract The continuous evolution in mobile access technologies supporting faster data rates lead to dramatic increases of OPEX backhaul costs. It seems inevitable that the edge of the telecom network will be based on a combination of a wireless part, but also fiber for adequate capacity which is not possible with the wireless infrastructure alone. In this light, PONs offer the significant advantage of cost-effective port and traffic consolidation particularly in their TDM variant. Recently advanced PON technologies based on WDM have appeared. The additional feature of WDM-PONs is their increased flexibility in dynamic resource allocation. In this paper we review different architectures that have been proposed in the literature allowing for dynamic resource allocation via the configuration of Virtual PONs. A virtual PON (VPON) can be created for (potentially dynamically formed) subscriber groups using multiple waves on a single fiber potentially increasing utilization and scalability leading to a converged network architecture. Keywords-component; WDM-POM; convergence; dynamic resource allocation

I.

INTRODUCTION

Since the initial deployment of broadband access networks the steadily rising demand for multimedia and data services, the falling cost of optics and the maturity of Passive Optical Networks (PONs), promise to radically change the landscape in the local loop. At the same time the continuous evolution in mobile access network technologies (GSM/GPRS/EDGE, 3G/HSPA/HSPA+/LTE) combined with the high usage of data services, driven by the availability of new mobile devices (smart-phones, tablets, other portable equipment) supporting faster data rates as well as the rapid rise of mobile applications, lead to dramatic increases of OPEX backhaul costs that may either threaten business viability or be transferred to the enduser. It seems inevitable that the edge of the telecom network will be based on a combination of a wireless part for ubiquitous service provision to mobile users, but also fiber for adequate capacity which is not possible with the wireless infrastructure alone. Therefore Next Generation Access Network architectures should best exploit the advantages of available fiber technology to satisfy both these emerging needs. In this light, PONs offer the significant advantage of cost-effective port and traffic consolidation particularly in their Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) variant. Recently interest is

rising in developing advanced PON technologies based on Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) for wide fiber deployment, ultra-high capacity, converged fixed-mobile network infrastructure and (ultimately) transparent integration of optical access and core networks. The additional feature of WDM-PONs is their increased flexibility in dynamic resource allocation, since they introduce the possibility for extending resource management both in the time as well as in the wavelength domains. WDM PONs promise to deliver increased bandwidth, split ratio and reach over traditional PON technologies. Since, there is no consolidation yet of WDMPON technologies, in this paper we review different architectures that have been proposed in the literature and we identify their suitability for developing a converged wiredwireless infrastructure. Specifically, we investigate potential architectures allowing for dynamic resource allocation via the configuration of Virtual PONs. With WDM PON, a virtual PON can be created for (potentially dynamically formed) subscriber groups using multiple waves on a single fiber. Since virtual shared PON configuration supports dynamic temporal and spatial bandwidth reallocation, we will show how this feature can be exploited to increase utilization and scalability of WDM PONs leading to a converged network architecture allowing for simplified operation, planning and global optimization. II. ARCHITECTURAL OVERVIEW

TDM-PONs have been widely deployed during the last decade based on mature and standardized solutions. When referring to the TDM PON, there are two dominant standards that can be used for the mixed backhaul network: GPON [1] and EPON [2] (and recently the evolution of both to support 10 Gb/s rates). Beyond the single wavelength transmission however, both GPON and EPON already make some use of WDM to achieve single-fiber operation and allow the option of video broadcast via an overlay wavelength in parallel to interactive data services. On the other hand, long-haul and metro networks make extensive use of WDM. Therefore, there are already several proposals for the evolution of next generation optical access networks to exploit the large number of wavelengths made available by WDM technologies in the future. An interesting application of many wavelength channels on PON is wavelength division multiple access (WDMA), in

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which either each subscribers Optical Network Unit (ONU) or a group of ONUs under a passively split segment operate on different wavelengths resulting in the so-called WDM-PON architecture [3]. As regards the control of the upstream transmissions in case of shared access to upstream wavelengths (e.g. passively distributed stars), a Medium Access Control (MAC) unit is employed at the Optical Line Termination (OLT) node. It collects all the requests for upstream transmission from all the ONUs of a single sub-tree, and decides the upstream time allocations (in case of hybrid TDM/WDM) guaranteeing collision free transmission on the (single) supported upstream wavelength. Each sub-tree ends at a dedicated line-card at the OLT node (Figure 1).
distribution stars Collector ring (b)
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based on passive splitters/couplers (which may still work in WDM-PONs without the benefits of increased split and reach though). In WDM-PONs as a basic multiplexing stage most frequently, a wavelength routing device (like an Arrayed Waveguide AWG, used in a single or in multiple stages) or wavelength filters with specific properties also including power couplers are used, since the power loss of these components is significantly less than that of simple passive couplers. Depending on the WDM multiplexing stages and RN interconnection schemes the above options can result in maintaining the tree-shaped network topology through a single feeder fiber as shown in Figure 1(a) or in a hybrid ring-tree topology as shown in Figure 1(b). Further low-cost solutions that have been investigated as basic elements of WDM-PONs include Coarse DWM (CDWM), which allows ONU design to be based on standard, low-cost CWDM small-form factor pluggable (SFP) tranceivers and tunable or colorless ONUs ( either following a spectrum slicing or shared source/seed approach). The term colorless ONU refers to a reflective device to modulate the upstream data applying an optical carrier sent by the OLT; this technique does not require any light source at the ONU and allows ONUs to be identical. The basic architectural alternatives, the technologies that have appeared and the resulting potential for building converged, dynamically reconfigurable networks serving a mix of mobile, business and residential users will be explored in the rest of this paper III. REQUIREMENTS FOR DYNAMIC RESOURCE MANAGEMEMENT IN NEXT GENERATION ACCESS NETWORKS A basic classification of WDM-PON architectures can be initially based on the trade-off between design cost and flexibility in resource allocation and utilization. It is worth noting at this point that the major impact of each component technology on network performance apart from system cost is the flexibility to dynamically allocate capacity (i.e. wavelengths) for upstream and downstream transmission to specific network end-points depending on the overall network topology. Adopting appropriate technologies and system design the vast capacity and geographical coverage of WDMPONs can be efficiently exploited allowing dynamic capacity (re)allocation through network reconfiguration, introducing new concepts such as virtual shared PON configuration for adaptive temporal and spatial capacity adjustment. Therefore, hybrid TDM/WDM PON are the best candidate technologies to provide efficient backhauling for new types of both fixed and mobile services with increased requirements in terms of mobility and service portability. The enhanced flexibility achieved by designing a network featuring true reconfiguration is the capability to support capacity migration, a requirement frequently observed in converged fixed-mobile networks. The transformation of the PON network subscribers profiles from residential in their largest percentage to a wide mix of residential, business users and mobile network operators has a significant impact on next generation access network planning and operation, requiring adaptation to evolving user requirements [4]. Next generation PONs are expected to face frequently conditions where certain groups of end users require higher bandwidth that exceeds the bit-rate of a single wavelength channel. Novel reconfigurable PON architectures, in contrast to networks operating under

Figure 1. High-level overview of WDM-PON architectures based either on tree (a) or hybrid ring-tree (b) topologies

WDM-PONs, possibly complemented by TDMA techniques are considered the next step in the evolution of PONs. They offer higher per-ONU bandwidths, splitting ratios, and reach, as compared to EPON and GPON architectures. The use of WDM-PONs enables new broadband business and residential applications on a broad scale, and enables the evolution of metro area networks towards a unified access and backhaul infrastructure. Different per-wavelength bit rates ranging from 1 to 10 Gb/s have to be supported, and full integration into a management system and also into a control plane is necessary. They can also offer additional functionality like protection, and they can support various fiber topologies not restricted to physical tree or star structures. WDM-PONs are considered a promising technology due to their advantages mentioned above and for several years there have been on-going efforts to evaluate and develop appropriate components that could be potentially used in building efficient and robust WDM-PONs. The differences between approaches merely depend on the technology alternatives for introducing the potential of WDM and the implementation of appropriate wavelength allocation mechanisms in a manner that can exploit the appropriately designed specific photonic components. Each solution is based on specific assumptions about the potential resource utilization, system design complexity, cost and performance. A WDM-PON architecture mainly depends on the use of the so-called Remote Nodes (RNs), which are used as wavelength (de)multiplexing points (Figure 1) and the design of ONUs. In legacy PONs fiber and wavelength sharing was

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fixed wavelength allocation, could provide virtual shared PON configuration in support of dynamic temporal and spatial bandwidth reallocation. Thus, ONUs could request the OLT to momentarily increase their allocated bandwidths without affecting other ONUs in the same PON. Such a scenario is schematically described in Figure 2. The case shown in Figure 2 is expected to frequently appear as more mobile Base Stations (commonly called BTS or eNodeB depending on the technology; we keep the broader term BTS hereafter) are connected to the fiber infrastructure provided by PON access systems. In this case the high mobility of end-users will cause dynamic traffic fluctuations under specific patterns determined by the spatial distribution of users between BTSs. This in turn causes the phenomenon of capacity migration, where the traffic load of some BTSs decreases and of neighboring BTSs increases. Hence, the fixed network serving the ONUs in the respective areas should dynamically reallocate resources to optimize user experience. Optimal resource utilization could be achieved only when dynamic network reconfiguration is possible allowing network operators to distribute traffic potentially in both the wavelength and time domain irrespectively of the ONU location. Thus, in the example of Figure 2 the simultaneous decrease of traffic load of the upper BTS and the increase of the load of the lower BTS could be best served by reorganizing the ONU groups either by reducing the degree of sharing of specific wavelengths (blue VPON_1 vs. VPON_3 in Figure 2) or by providing additional wavelengths (green VPON_3 in Figure 2) to specific ONU groups facing increasing capacity demand (hence, reducing the group size in all cases). Thus, increased network scalability is achieved in order to adapt to global/regional capacity upgrades, flexible service provisioning (e.g. wavelength leasing) and ondemand capacity allocation to serve emerging hot-spots. Since WDM-PONs are expected to serve thousands of customers over large geographical areas [5], it is very important to design appropriate solutions that can efficiently exploit statistical multiplexing and allow for flexible ondemand reservation of valuable optical network resources.

To achieve this next-generation WDM-PONs should have the capabilities of flexible wavelength routing to sub-trees and in turn provide some sort of wavelength agility in the ONU side. Different degrees of flexibility in wavelength routing could be provided (mainly depending on the RN node and ONU capabilities) by supporting sharing of wavelength across different sub-trees, which in turn requires broadcasting capability on the RN, as well as routing of multiple wavelengths on the same sub-tree. The latter option in turns assumes either some sort of filtering on the ONUs to distinguish among different wavelengths, which in turn can be provided by tunable filters (relatively cost efficient devices, which however may be slow) or alternatively by coherent transmission systems, which mandate the use of tunable lasers at the ONU side. Both options may be employed on the same network. The above possibilities in wavelength allocation are summarized in Figure 3.
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Figure 3. Wavlength routing alternatives depending on the WDM-PON architecture: wavelength sharing among sub-trees (a) multi wavelength subtrees with sharing (b) and multi wavelength sub-trees with dedicated wavelengths

VPON_1
RN ONU RN ONU ONU ONU ONU ONU RN ONU RN ONU ONU ONU ONU ONU RN OLT RN OLT

Capacity increase through VPON reconfiguration

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Next-generation solutions aiming to support the requirements of the converged networking scenario should deliver functionality beyond that of existing approaches, ultimately employing reconfigurable/active components at the 51 SRWHQWLDOO\ EDVHG RQ -agile switches), and wavelength agility (through filters, tunable transceivers or bank of transceivers) at the ONU side. In the following section we review potential fixed and reconfigurable architectures that can provide different degrees of flexibility in wavelength management and performance of WDM-PONs. IV. ARCHITECTURES SUPPORTING DYNAMIC VIRTUAL PON RECONFIGURATION

Figure 2. Network reconfiguration scenario to accommodate spatial fluctuations in traffic demand (i.e. supporting capacity migration due to mobility of users) through Virtual PON implementation

A. Basic building blocks It is worth noting at this point that the major impact of each component technology on network performance, apart from system cost, is the flexibility to dynamically allocate capacity (i.e. wavelengths) for upstream and downstream transmission to specific network end-points depending on the overall

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network topology. The implementation of the high-level WDM-PON architecture shown in Figure 1 at the OLT side requires an appropriate multi-wavelength transmission and multiplexing system for and a wavelength discrimination and receiver system for the downstream (DS) and upstream (US) data transmission respectively. The multiplexing of both directions over the same fiber and even the same wavelength is also possible (greatly reducing the cost of deploying a large number of resources). Use of the same wavelength in both directions, in most cases is achieved through the use of optical circulators as shown in Figure 4(a) directing the multiplexed streams from and to the banks of lasers and receivers respectively. Using a circulator before the RN to separate US and DS flows in separate fibers helps to avoid Rayleigh backscattering effects. Wavelength agility at the ONU side can be achieved as mentioned above through either tunable (Figure 4(b)) or reflective optical components (Figure 4(c-d)). While a basic WDM-PON implementation can be based on colored ONUs (i.e. employing fixed transmitters/receivers) this would greatly limit the flexibility in inventory management (since different sub-trees would require different components) as well as the reconfiguration capabilities. Tunable filters in the DS and lowcost tunable lasers in the US (Figure 4(b)) can overcome these limitations and also make different virtual PONs in US and DS feasible, a feature which may prove useful in systems with different US and DS rates. Using the same wavelength in the DS and US can be made possible with colorless ONUs using phase modulation in DS and amplitude modulation in US or by employing coherent detection. The latter option however using the local oscillator laser for US transmission requires external modulation increasing ONU cost. However, no filter is necessary when multiple wavelengths span the same tree. Colorless ONUs in turn are usually implemented through reflective SOA, reflective EAM or injection-locked FabryPerot lasers [3].
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reconfiguration. Dedicated dynamic wavelength allocation schemes are based on the properties of wavelength routing devices like AWGs. The most straightforward implementation of this architecture ([5]) is shown in a simplified diagram focusing in the DS direction in Figure 5(a). The architecture of Figure 5(a) could support multi wavelength sub-trees with dedicated wavelengths as shown in Figure 3(c). This architecture can provide a limited flexibility in VPON formation in either hybrid TDM/WDM or coherent systems (using the appropriate ONU architecture respectively) based on dynamic management of customer's connections in wavelength domain together with dynamic customers rearrangements on the different PON interfaces. These rearrangements are done periodically, according to criteria defined by the network operator. The main concept behind these architectures is to make available to the network operator the choice of wavelength selection over sub-trees together with the potential for mutli-wavelength sub-trees allowing for network upgrades on demand. The use of AWGs allows network operators to route preselected (during network planning and deployment or upgrade phases) wavelengths to sub-trees and groups of ONUs. This type of RN acts as a wavelength splitter and can be configured (in a semi-static fashion) to offer multiple wavelengths per TDM PON (the number of wavelengths per sub-tree and the number of sub-trees being determined by the network operator through the number of wavelength combiners and wavelength interconnection pattern). This type of RN features good power budget, but limited flexibility since VPONs can be configured only in a semi-static way and sharing is limited to multi-port AWG implementations and WDM systems supporting large numbers of wavelength which is not practical. Shared-wavelength WDM-PON schemes on the other hand employ passive coupling devices. An equivalent shared WDMPON could be implemented as shown in Figure 5(b) resulting in virtual sub-trees through the coupling of pre-selected shared wavelengths to ONU groups via Coarse WDM (CWDM) filters [7]. A third alternative exploiting the Free Spectral Range (FSR) spacing of AWGs assuming passively coupled sub-trees ([8]) is shown in Figure 5(c). This implementation has the same functional characteristics with the one proposed in [7] but an additional limitation in wavelength grouping, which is constrained by the FSR property of the AWG. Since both of these two schemes require extra dedicated light sources to provide dynamically assigned wavelength channels increasing the implementation cost, in [9] an alternative implementation has been proposed, which follows the architecture shown in Figure 5(d). In this alternative a number of laser diodes (LD) are used to provide the dedicated wavelengths per sub-tree whereas the additional dynamically assigned shared wavelengths are obtained through an alternate modulation of the same LD sources coupled to the original flow through CWDM couplers. Exploiting the FSR properties of an AWG at the OLT side the dedicated and dynamically shared wavelengths are routed over different fibers to the RN. There, dedicated wavelengths are routed normally to sub-trees through an additional AWG, whereas the dynamically shared wavelengths are selectively passively coupled to multiple input

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Figure 4. WDM-PON OLT (a) and different ONU architectures: tunable ONU (b), multi wavelength reflective ONU (c) and single wavelength reflective ONU (assuming DPSK) (d)

B. Semi-static wavelength allocation Using the building blocks described above several dynamic wavelength allocation schemes have recently been proposed to increase the bandwidth of ONUs and support VPON

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ports of the AWG resulting in a dynamic routing of wavelength sets to sub-trees.

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([11]) retaining the same functional characteristics is shown Figure 6(b). By using a number of wavelength selective switches (WSS) ([14]), a partially flexible remote node can built. When a WSS is used as optical demultiplexer, it can steer each optical channel present on its common input port towards one of its output ports according to the wavelength of the channel. Multicast capable WSS can eliminate the requirement of the power couplers shown in Figure 6(b) resulting in fully flexible wavelength selection and switching allowing the implementation of any kind of multi wavelength sub-trees with sharing or dedicated wavelengths shown in Figure 3 (b),(c). Finally an alternative architecture of a wavelength-flexible network, which can satisfy the requirements dynamic wavelength routing over sub-trees exploiting a drop-andcontinue architecture has been proposed in [12], where RNs are connected in a ring topology to the OLT by a standard single mode fiber (Figure 6(c)). Bidirectional transmission over a single fiber is provided via bidirectional RNs. A semipassive switch at the OLT side is added for protection and restoration purposes. The optical switch connected to the circulator and to the two branches of the ring allows the communication to be directed via the upper or lower part of the ring. Dynamic wavelength allocation is achieved by employing colorless integrated ONUs based on a reflective intensity modulator and a fully reconfigurable RN implementing an integrated OADM based on thermally tunable microring resonators Figure 6(c). The temperature dependency of the refractive index is used to apply a phase shift to the optical field. The thermal-optic effect is a slow process (milliseconds); thus it is suitable only for switching applications. With this device a single wavelength channel can be dropped to multiple users, or a single user can be assigned a wavelength at any given time.
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Figure 5. WDM-PON arhchitectures supporting dedicated and shared multiwavelngth sub-trees (groups of wavelengths decided in a semi-static way during netoerk planning)

In the context of converged fixed-wireless networks adapting to the increased requirements of mobile backhauling in terms of dynamic resource allocation described above the architectures described in this section can support limited VPON reconfiguration. The RN designs presented in this section allow neighboring nodes to share wavelengths with partial wavelength range overlap between adjacent nodes enabling dynamic adaptation to capacity migration events. Each of the above cases has different properties with respect to protection, power budget efficiency, reconfigurability and specifically the range of wavelengths supported and scalability. C. Fully dynamic wavelength allocation A full-scale reconfigurable WDM-PON architecture overcoming the limitations of the semi-static architectures presented above would ultimately require dynamically reconfigurable RNs. Some approaches towards this direction have been recently evaluated in [10]-[12]. In this case the RN employs some form of reconfigurable wavelength switching functionality allowing the completely dynamic formation of VPONs at a time scale determined by the switching reconfiguration time. The most straightforward implementation of a flexible wavelength router can be based on discrete switching elements in a broadcast and select architecture. Amplification both at the feeder segment as well as per subtree output compensates the increased losses due to coupling in order to achieve the broadcast operation. This type of RN architecture ([10]) is shown in Figure 6(a) and can be based in either fast or slowly reconfigurable all-optical switching elements ([13]) depending on cost limitations. However, fast reconfiguration is not a strong requirement for building VPONs serving as mobile backhaul networks. Alternative RN implementations are possible resulting in multicast-capable cross-connects that avoid the limitations of broadcast and select switches, which employ a lot of power splitters, photonics switches and optical gates limiting physical layer performance. A wavelength selective switched PON

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Figure 6. WDM-PON arhchitectures supporting shared multi-wavelngth subtrees in a fully dynamic way

V.

CONCLUDING REMARKS

In this paper we presented different hybrid WDM/TDM PON variants, and highlighted their main functional characteristics focusing especially on the flexibility to provide capacity on demand and dynamic reconfiguration. These features are considered highly desirable in order to develop next generation access networks able to fulfill several roles ranging from broadband service delivery platforms to residential customers to backhauling infrastructure for mobile

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base stations and enterprise users. The fast take-up of fiber infrastructure, the evolving user requirements and increased user and service mobility in the framework of converged fixedmobile networks dictate solutions that can support efficient resource management leading to optimal resource utilization and network development and operation expenses. At the moment several technologies are available and network design should take into account several factors ranging from energy efficiency, scalability for network migration and dynamic network reconfiguration and on-demand capacity provisioning. It is clear that there is no one-fits-all solution that can offer high flexibility in combination with low cost, high power budget and reach. Two main architectural options exist for the RN design based on either AWG or WSS routing devices, whereas tunable ONUs offer adequate solutions for dynamic reconfiguration. Evolution of optical components costs in the future will determine the role of tunable vs. reflective ONUs and an overall optimized WDM-PON architecture. ACKNOWLEDGMENT This work was performed in the framework of the DRAGON project, which is partially funded by the Greek General Secretariat of Research and Technology (GSRT). REFERENCES

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[12]

[13] [1] [2] ITU-T, Rec. G.984.1, Study Goup 15, Gigabit-capable Passive Optical Networks (GPON): General characteristics, March 2003. 802.3 Media Access Control (MAC) parameters and minimal augmentation of the MAC operation, IEEE Std 802.3ah-2004, 2004.

[14]

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