Optical Switching
More than just another
single point of failure?
© Copyright 2006 Glimmerglass. All Rights Reserved.
Agenda
• Optical Switching
• What it is
• What can it do
• Why you might care
© Copyright 2006 Glimmerglass. All Rights Reserved.
The Gartner Hype Cycle
VISIBILITY
TIME
Technology
Trigger
Peak of
Trough of
Slope of
Inflated
Disillusionment Enlightenment
Expectations
© Copyright 2006 Glimmerglass. All Rights Reserved.
Plateau of
Productivity
Source: Gartner Group
OOO or OEO
• Photonic (All Optical) Switch
– The same photons that go into the switch come
out of the switch.
• Optical Switch
– Incoming light is converted to electrical signals
for switching. Outputs are converted to new
photons for further transmission.
Optical
Fabric
© Copyright 2006 Glimmerglass. All Rights Reserved.
Electrical Optical Switch
QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (LZW) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
© Copyright 2006 Glimmerglass. All Rights Reserved.
OEO Benefits & Drawbacks
• Benefits
–
–
–
–
–
• Drawbacks
It’s the Status Quo
3R Regeneration
Bandwidth Grooming
Statistical Multiplexing
BER Monitoring
–
–
–
–
–
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‘Upwardly Inflexible’
Bandwidth Scalability
Expensive for high bit-rates
Power & Heat
Latency
Photonic Switch
© Copyright 2006 Glimmerglass. All Rights Reserved.
OOO Benefits & Drawbacks
• Drawbacks
• Benefits
–
–
–
–
–
–
Protocol transparent
Price independent of bit rate
Waveband switching
Small size
Low power consumption
Enhanced performance
monitoring
– Wavelength Granularity
– No Grooming /
Bandwidth Management
– Control Plane issues
– Wavelength collisions
– Concatenation of
multiple spans
– Protocol monitoring
© Copyright 2006 Glimmerglass. All Rights Reserved.
OEO vs OOO…
Enemies?
or Friends!
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Applications
• Litmus Test
– Lots of fiber
– Frequent changes
– Current project
© Copyright 2006 Glimmerglass. All Rights Reserved.
Applications
•
•
•
•
Circuit Provisioning
Topology Migration
Circuit Protection
Physical Layer Monitoring
© Copyright 2006 Glimmerglass. All Rights Reserved.
Network Topology Migration
• Example: Migrate from a Ring to a Star
• Goal: Introduce Flexibility to the network
– Better accommodate rapid network growth
• Inter-node bandwidth issues with rings
• Keep high volume customers at one location
• Pave the way for future growth
– Minimize downtime due to fiber re-configuration
– Provide a path to roll back changes
– Accommodate 10G customers without swamping the
backbone
© Copyright 2006 Glimmerglass. All Rights Reserved.
Network Topology Migration
Edge 1
Edge 3
Core 1
PSW 1
Edge 2
10GE Links
Active Link
Inactive Link
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Edge 4
Network Topology Migration
Edge 1
Edge 3
Core 1
PSW 1
Edge 2
10GE Links
Active Link
Inactive Link
© Copyright 2006 Glimmerglass. All Rights Reserved.
Edge 4
Network Topology Migration
Edge 1
Edge 2
Edge 3
Core 1
Core 2
PSW 1
PSW 2
10GE Links
Active Link
Inactive Link
© Copyright 2006 Glimmerglass. All Rights Reserved.
Edge 4
Network Topology Migration
Edge 1
Edge 2
Edge 3
Core 1
Core 2
PSW 1
PSW 2
10GE Links
Active Link
Inactive Link
© Copyright 2006 Glimmerglass. All Rights Reserved.
Edge 4
Network Topology Migration
Edge 1
Edge 3
Core 1
Core 2
PSW 1
PSW 2
New
Core 1
Edge 2
10GE Links
Active Link
Inactive Link
© Copyright 2006 Glimmerglass. All Rights Reserved.
Edge 4
Network Topology Migration
Edge 1
Edge 3
Core 1
Core 2
PSW 1
PSW 2
New
Core 1
Edge 2
10GE Links
Active Link
Inactive Link
© Copyright 2006 Glimmerglass. All Rights Reserved.
Edge 4
Network Topology Migration
Edge 1
Edge 3
New
Core 1
Core 2
PSW 1
PSW 2
10G
Router
Edge 2
10GE Links
Active Link
Inactive Link
© Copyright 2006 Glimmerglass. All Rights Reserved.
Edge 4
Network Topology Migration
Edge 1
Edge 3
New
Core 1
Core 2
PSW 1
PSW 2
10G
Router
Edge 2
10GE Links
Active Link
Inactive Link
© Copyright 2006 Glimmerglass. All Rights Reserved.
Edge 4
STM-64 Protection
• Improve customer’s perception of the network
• Reduce the cost impact of unplanned outages
– Reduce length of outages for failed line cards
– Avoid damage to line cards during rushed replacement
– Avoid the need to add staff in remote locations
• Improve the quality of information available regarding network
performance and availability
– Enable long-term performance testing of undersea circuits
– Remotely monitor network health at the physical layer without
interrupting traffic
© Copyright 2006 Glimmerglass. All Rights Reserved.
STM-64 Protection
Traffic PSW
64 λM
U
X
Wet
DWDM
Tap
on Tx
Tap
on Tx
Dry
DWDM
Patch Cords
Monitoring PSW
Test Facility
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M
U
X
64 λ
Network Node Management
• HOPI – Hybrid Optical Packet Infrastructure
– Internet2 facility established in 2005
– New node design, integrating packet and circuitswitched infrastructures
• HOPI Goals
– Create different architectures at all levels of the
protocol stack
– Gain sufficient experience with hybrid infrastructure
to understand next-generation architectures.
© Copyright 2006 Glimmerglass. All Rights Reserved.
Router Bypass with HOPI
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HOPI Node Design
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Something Different
“Photonic Switching is a new class of tool that lets us run our exchange in
ways that were not previously possible.
With Glimmerglass we have
increased our flexibility, availability,
reliability, stability and overall
performance.
Knowing it exists, and what it has
done for us, we would never try to
run our business without this
capability.”
-Job Witteman, CEO of AMS-IX BV
© Copyright 2006 Glimmerglass. All Rights Reserved.
Contact Information
John Taylor
Sales & Marketing Director
Glimmerglass Europe
mobile: +44 7775 840270
office: +44 1590 642869
jmtaylor@glimmerglass.com
www.glimmerglass.com
© Copyright 2006 Glimmerglass. All Rights Reserved.
30% Optical Tap
Go Back
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