IP over Intelligent Optical Networks

Kumar N. Sivarajan
CTO, Tejas Networks
kumar@tejasnetworks.com
www.tejasnetworks.com

January 5, 2001

Optical Networks
Fiber
Provides the physical transport

Optical Access

medium

Optical networks: Create the

pipes
WDM: Fast pipes for voice/data
Optical amplification: Long pipes
IP Routers, ATM switches, SDH
equipment: Fill the pipes
Operations Support System (OSS)
Manage all aspects of the network

IP

ATM

Optical Network
SONET/SDH

Higher Layer Networks

Evolution of Transmission Technology

1st Generation: Copper is transmission medium
2nd Generation: Optical Fiber (late 80s)
Higher

data rates; longer link lengths

Dense Wavelength-Division Multiplexing (DWDM,

1994)

Fiber

exhaust forces DWDM

Erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) lower DWDM
transmission cost

3rd Generation: Intelligent optical networking (1999)

Routing

and signaling for optical paths

Dense Wavelength-Division
Multiplexing (DWDM)
1
2
3
-

DWDM Evolution
Faster (higher speed per wave),
40

Gb/s on the horizon

Thicker (more waves),

160

waves possible today

Longer (link lengths before regeneration)

A few

thousand km possible today

160 waves at 10 Gb/s = 1.6 Tb/s

25

million simultaneous phone calls

5 million books per minute

IP over ATM
ATM
n e tw o rk
N e tw o rk
D a ta lin k
N e tw o rk

IP ro u te r

D a ta lin k
IP ro u te r
(a )

P h y s ic a l
(b )

ATM over SONET

SO N ET
n e tw o rk
N e tw o rk
A T M s w itc h
D a ta lin k
N e tw o rk
D a ta lin k
A T M s w itc h
(a )

P h y s ic a l
(b )

IP over ATM over SONET

N e tw o rk
D a ta lin k
N e tw o rk

D a ta lin k
P h y s ic a l

SO N ET

N e tw o rk

AT M

IP

D a ta lin k

Optical Pass-Through (Routing)

Node A
IP/ATM/
SDH

Node B
IP/ATM/
SDH

Node C
IP/ATM/
SDH

No optical pass-through

Node A
IP/ATM/
SDH

Node B
IP/ATM/
SDH

Node C
IP/ATM/
SDH

With optical pass-through

Intelligent Optical Networking

Optics is not merely a transmission technology
Optics provides a flexible layer upon which to deliver
network service

DWDM provides enormous link capacities

DWDM: Physical layer of Intelligent Optical Network
Routing and signaling of optical paths
Provides significant economies over conventional

network architectures
Enables revolutionary new services
2.5

Gb/s path from Bangalore to Boston, on demand!

SONET over Optical Layer

P ath

S e c tio n

C hannel
M u ltip le x
s e c tio n
A m p lifie r
s e c tio n

O p tic a l la y e r

P h y s ic a l

S O N E T la y e r

L in e

IP over SONET over Optical Layer

IP
P ath

S e c tio n
P h y s ic a l
C hannel
M u ltip le x
s e c tio n
A m p lifie r
s e c tio n

O p tic a l la y e r
S O N E T la y e r

L in e

IP over Optical Layer

IP
D a ta lin k /F ra m in g

C hannel
M u ltip le x
s e c tio n
A m p lifie r
s e c tio n

O p tic a l la y e r

P h y s ic a l

IP over Intelligent Optical Networks

Establish high-speed optical layer connections (lightpaths)
IP routers connected through lightpaths rather than fiber
Switching (WDM crossconnects) add flexibility to the
optical layer
Flexible, potentially rich, topology at IP layer
IP ro u te r
B

L ig h tp a th s

E W a v e le n g th
c ro ssco n n e c t

A
D

Intelligent Optical Networking

Developments
Incorporate SONET/SDH multiplexing capability into
interface cards of DWDM equipment
Connect IP routers with STM-1/4 interfaces directly to DWDM
equipment transporting STM-16/64 wavelengths

Move protection function from SONET/SDH to optical

layer
Rerouting all wavelengths affected by a fiber cut is more
efficiently done by optical switches than SDH equipment at ends
of lightpaths

Add intelligence to optical layer

Borrow algorithms/protocols from data (IP) networks
Routing: OSPF, Signaling: MPLS

Optical Network Architectures

Ring
Simplest topology with
redundant paths

Interconnected Rings
Mesh
More efficient routes
Mesh with Switching
Efficient routing
Flexibility in demand
management

IP over Intelligent Optical Networks:

Summary
Application traffic predominantly IP-based
Perhaps including voice in the near future
Intelligent optical networks: physical layer of all highbandwidth networks
IP over intelligent optical networks is the natural evolution
Incorporate QoS functionality of ATM in IP
Incorporate reliability functions of SDH within DWDM
IP protocols (OSPF, MPLS) basis for intelligent algorithms
in optical networks
OSPF for autodiscovery
OSPF for routing circuits
MPLS for signalling circuit setup