Telecom equipment Ciena today announced the introduction of WaveLogic Photonics that improves visibility, control and programmability of packet optical networks.
WaveLogic Photonics includes Ciena’s coherent optics, optical line elements and embedded and discrete software tools.
Global telecom operators will benefit significantly because WaveLogic Photonics enables them to leverage software programmability to transform their network from a fixed asset that provides commodity connectivity to one that is automated for faster service responsiveness and differentiation.
“During our live Terabit field trial, the Raman and PinPoint components of Ciena’s WaveLogic Photonics solution were instrumental in helping us recover material decibels of system margin and extend unregenerated signal reach for maximum performance,” said Kevin McElearney, senior vice president Network Engineering, Comcast.
Ciena said WaveLogic Photonics combines with adjustable packet and OTN traffic management capabilities to enable a programmable, future-proof service platform. This makes the network more dynamic and responsive to changing demands and applications needs.
In addition, WaveLogic Photonics accelerates service responsiveness while reducing the need for upfront forecasting and traffic capacity planning. The capabilities include flexible line elements such as programmable line amplifiers, Smart Raman and customizable Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer (ROADMs) configurations – from metro to core.
Ciena’s OneConnect Intelligent Control Plane now includes additional distributed intelligence across the photonic and OTN layers. This ensures that operators can offer a broad selection of service level guarantees and new service offerings.
The company said its Smart Raman provides simple and automatic turn-up by autonomously testing and ensuring proper fiber conditions are met prior to self-activation. The ability to plug and play Raman into the network helps service providers optimize span and system designs and minimize the use of costly regenerators.
Ciena’s fiber analytic software leverages Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) capabilities that are integrated directly into the network elements to create a complete fiber loss profile – analogous to a CT scan of the network. This allows operators to localize and deal with potential trouble spots, reducing the risk of outages and accelerating repair times from days to hours.
“WaveLogic Photonics enables network operators to reliably shift their operating model from configuring to actually programming’ the network in real-time – increasing service velocity while eliminating the potential for manual errors and the cumbersome tracking processes that plague networking today,” said Steve Alexander, chief technology officer, Ciena.
