Let’s simplify the process by breaking it into two main parts: electrical service configuration and optical service configuration.
1. Electrical Service Configuration
This involves encapsulating the client-side traffic into the Optical Transport Network (OTN). The client-side flow could be Ethernet, SDH, SONET, or another protocol.
In the OTN framework, the client traffic is first encapsulated into an Optical Data Unit (ODU) and then mapped into an Optical Transport Unit (OTU).
For example:
- ODU4 → OTU4 → 100 Gbps service
2. Optical Service Configuration
Once encapsulated into OTU, the signal is transmitted over the optical layer:
- The OTU is carried over an optical channel.
- Multiple carriers can be multiplexed together.
- Signals are amplified and then transported over the line fiber.
Optical routing refers to how signals are directed through the optical network, primarily through ROADM (Reconfigurable Optical Add-Drop Multiplexer) functionalities.
ROADM determines the degree (direction) in which the signal will flow. Using Wavelength Selective Switches (WSS), the ROADM can:
- Add new signals.
- Drop specific signals.
- Allow signals to pass through (express).
In the next post, we’ll look at the specific steps involved in service creation.
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