WHITE PAPER

OPTICAL EXPRESS
The Key to Facilitating Cost-Effective and
Efficient Network Growth

Driven by a new generation of high-bandwidth consumer and business

services and applications, the demand for bandwidth continues to pose
significant challenges for operators of transport networks. This white paper
explores innovations in Optical Express capabilities that can help network
operators reduce costs, simplify operations, and extend service flexibility to a
wider variety of network types and closer to the network edge.
 INTRODUCTION
Transport networks come in different shapes and sizes – from transcontinental long haul (LH) networks
and densely-populated metro networks to highly-distributed rural networks and enterprise networks.
Additionally, transport networks are called upon to carry a tremendous variety of end-user services.
While there are many different types of services – e.g., mobile, residential, business, data center, carrier
wholesale, etc. – virtually every service will be carried by a transport network.

In addition to requiring transport, virtually all services share another key attribute – growth. In many
cases, the growth required to support today’s high-bandwidth services and applications is substantial,
resulting in numerous challenges for network operators.

DWDM AND OPTICAL EXPRESS

Introduced in the 1990s, Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) provides a cost-effective
solution for managing bandwidth growth in transport networks. As highlighted in Figure 1, DWDM
increases fiber efficiency by enabling multiple optical signals to be carried across a single fiber by
transmitting each signal on a different wavelength, or color of light. The advent of tunable and pluggable
lasers and advancements in passive DWDM filter technology (mux/demux) have created the technology
foundation for efficiently expanding network capacity without the substantial capital and operational
expense required when lighting additional fibers.

DEMUX
MUX
MUX

FIGURE 1: DWDM ENABLES TRANSMISSION OF MULTIPLE OPTICAL SIGNALS

ACROSS A SINGLE FIBER PAIR

2 | OPTICAL EXPRESS
In addition, because DWDM signals operate at 1550 nm (or the C-Band), network operators can take
advantage of cost-effective and readily-available optical amplification solutions to provide connectivity
between greater distances without the need for costly electrical regeneration.

However, while point-to-point DWDM can provide some relief for bandwidth growth, it is only effective
at reducing fiber costs and will not significantly impact equipment costs. As bandwidth continues to
grow, it becomes extremely cost prohibitive for network operators to continue to terminate services at
every intermediate location. DWDM can help solve this issue with a capability called Optical Express.
With Optical Express, individual wavelengths can be passed through intermediate locations exclusively
in the optical domain. The economic benefits of Optical Express are significant, as optically expressing a
service through an intermediate node is orders of magnitude less expensive than terminating that signal
electrically.

Optical Express 1x$ 20 x $ Electrical Termination

FIGURE 2: ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF OPTICAL EXPRESS – 20 TIMES LESS THE

COST OF ELECTRICAL TERMINATION

The economic benefits of Optical Express are even greater the more locations and the more traffic there
is in a network. Figure 3 illustrates a 5-node hub-and-spoke network where the total network traffic
demand (the sum of all traffic from the hub to each of the end nodes) grows from 1x10G shared between
all 4 destinations to a dedicated 10G to each of the 4 destinations.

CORIANT | 3
 s
es
xpr
lE
ica
O pt
No

NETWORK COST
ss
l Expre
Optica

1x10G 2x10G 3x10G 4x10G

TOTAL NETWORK BANDWIDTH

FIGURE 3: TYPICAL 5-NODE HUB-AND-SPOKE NETWORK CONFIGURATION

The typical economic cross-over point between networks with Optical Express and those without is
roughly 2x10G of total traffic. As illustrated in Figure 4, this could be a case in which one location requires
a dedicated 10G and the other three locations share the remaining 10G, or each pair of two nodes share
10G. In either case, Optical Express capabilities will substantially reduce the total number of interfaces
required by the network and subsequently provide a more cost-effective solution.

Optically-Expressed Optically-Expressed
Purple Wavelength Purple Wavelength

Optically-Expressed Optically-Expressed
Green Wavelength Green Wavelength

FIGURE 4: POSSIBLE OPTICAL EXPRESS CONFIGURATIONS FOR 2X10G

IN A 5-NODE NETWORK

4 | OPTICAL EXPRESS
ROADMS AND OPTICAL EXPRESS
While DWDM can provide a mechanism for Optical Express, providing this capability with fixed-filter
solutions is largely a manually-intensive affair. With fixed-filter solutions (Figure 5), technicians must
manually install fiber jumpers at intermediate locations, as well as manually and frequently balance
wavelength power levels throughout the network. This high level of manual effort will significantly
hamper bandwidth growth and significantly increase operational expenses.

Amplification to Manual patch chords

compensate for for pass-through traffic
filter loss
DEMUX

DEMUX
MUX

MUX

MUX
MUX
Amplifier

Amplifier
Amplifier

Amplifier
MUX

MUX
Manual attenuation
to balance power

FIGURE 5: LIMITATIONS OF FIXED-FILTER SOLUTIONS

To overcome the operational challenges of supporting Optical Express capabilities with fixed-filter
solutions, Reconfigurable Optical Add Drop Multiplexers (ROADMs) were developed. ROADMs enable
remote provisioning of Optical Express connections and provide automated, per-channel power
balancing across the network. As a result, when turning up a new service, manual effort is required
only at the endpoints of the service (to physically install the new interface modules), while zero manual
effort is required at the intermediate locations. ROADMs provide all of the economic benefits of Optical
Express (Figure 6) while eliminating the operational difficulties of fixed-filter solutions.

Automated balancing,
integrated amplification,
dynamic pass-through

ROADM ROADM ROADM

FIGURE 6: OPTICAL EXPRESS FACILITATED BY ROADM TECHNOLOGY

CORIANT | 5
 THE BENEFITS OF ROADMS
ROADMs provide numerous network benefits including facilitating trouble-shooting and reducing
network complexity. However, the three primary and most significant benefits provided by ROADM-based
networks are:

• Accelerated service-activation times

• Reduced regeneration costs

• Improved Network Reliability

By eliminating manual intervention and dramatically simplifying network engineering, it is easy to

see how ROADMs can dramatically accelerate service activation times – often by as much as 80%.
Additionally, because ROADMs can balance signal power levels more accurately than manual balancing,
they provide better overall optical performance in the network. This improved optical performance will
result in a reduction in the number of times a signal will require costly electrical regeneration before
reaching its destination. Elimination of these expensive electrical regeneration points can save as much
as 30% in equipment costs. Finally, based on network studies, a full 75% of service interruptions in a
typical network are the result of human error. Because ROADMs eliminate a great majority of the manual
and physical interaction when activating services, they have proven to reduce service interruptions by
as much as 63%.

SERVICE ACTIVATION TIMES NETWORK COSTS SERVICE INTERRUPTIONS

30% SAVINGS 60% REDUCTION

$
80%
Improvement $ $
$ $

Fixed Filter ROADM Fixed Filter ROADM Fixed Filter ROADM

ROADMs enable turning up
services without any visits to
intermediate locations and
without any manual power
balancing
The automated balancing
provided by ROADMs results in
better optical performance and
hence less money spent on
optical regeneration
Dramatically reducing the manual
effort in service activation
coupled with automatic precise
power adjustments has proven to
dramatically reduce service
interruptions

FIGURE 7: KEY BENEFITS OF ROADMS

6 | OPTICAL EXPRESS
THE ECONOMIC CHALLENGE OF TRADITIONAL ROADMS
To attain this level of automation, ROADMs are comprised of a number of different components that
provide the various monitoring, amplification, balancing, and optical switching capabilities. As a result,
ROADMs have traditionally been fairly expensive compared to fixed-filter solutions – particularly the cost
of initial deployment. Historically, a ROADM degree could cost as much as 2 to 3 times that of a fixed filter.
This has resulted in ROADMs being primarily deployed only in large networks with a significant amount of
bandwidth.

TYPICAL ROADM DEGREE

SPLITTER
Input
Amplifier

Power Monitor

Wavelength Output
Selectable Amplifier
Switch (WSS)

Supervisory Channel

FIGURE 8: TYPICAL ARCHITECTURE FOR A SINGLE ROADM DEGREE

OPTICAL EXPRESS INNOVATION FROM CORIANT

With the rapid rise in bandwidth requirements, the benefits provided by Optical Express capabilities are
becoming more essential in a greater number and wider variety of networks. Optical Express-enabling
technology innovation has been a focus at Coriant for a number of years. To that end, Coriant has
developed several innovative solutions to reduce the overall cost and the first cost of technology to
enable Optical Express capabilities.

INDUSTRY’S HIGHEST DENSITY MULTI-DEGREE ROADM

The first of these solutions is Coriant’s industry-leading, highly-integrated, multi-degree core ROADM
solution – the OADM-88-8D. With the OADM-88-8D, Coriant provides a complete ROADM degree with all
of the necessary components packaged into a single-slot module that, at .83 RU per degree, provides –
by a considerable margin – the highest density 8-degree ROADM solution in the industry.

CORIANT | 7
 8

0
rA

rB

rG
rD

nt
rC

rE

rF

ria
o

o
nd

nd

nd

nd

nd

nd

nd

Co
Ve

Ve

Ve

Ve

Ve

Ve

Ve
FIGURE 9: ROADM DENSITY COMPARISON (RACK UNITS PER DEGREE)

When deployed in the 6-slot Coriant™ 7100 Nano Packet Optical Transport Platform, the OADM-88-
8D can provide 6 degrees in a single 5-rack unit shelf or 2 degrees with 4 slots remaining for service
modules. Supporting up to a total of 8 degrees (across two shelves), 88 channels, and colorless and
directionless options, the OADM-88-8D is the ideal solution for dense metro, regional, mesh-based, and
select long haul network applications.

CORIANT 7100 NANO PACKET OPTICAL TRANSPORT PLATFORM

INTERFACE CARD

Coriant 7100 Nano with INTERFACE CARD

• Two Single-slot OADM-88-8D

INTERFACE CARD
• 4 Interface Slots
INTERFACE CARD
• 20x10G (HDTG)
• 2x100G (HGTM)

CORIANT 7100 NANO PACKET OPTICAL TRANSPORT PLATFORM

Coriant 7100 Nano with

(6) Single-slot OADM-88-8D
ROADM Modules

FIGURE 10: OADM-88-8D – HIGHEST DENSITY, MULTI-DEGREE ROADM

SOLUTION IN THE INDUSTRY

8 | OPTICAL EXPRESS
FLEXIBLE, COST-EFFECTIVE AUTOMATED EDGE OADM
One of the biggest challenges with ROADM solutions is the cost of the Wavelength Selectable Switch
(WSS) technology, which is the key enabling technology of traditional ROADMs. This has prevented many
network operators from deploying ROADM-based solutions, or has restricted ROADM deployments to
only very high-density core metro and/or regional networks. With the Coriant Automated Edge OADM
(OADM-F8) solution, Coriant has taken an innovative approach to enabling the extension of Optical
Express capabilities to more networks, as well as extending deployment closer to the network edge. The
OADM-F8 provides all of the best aspects of a ROADM solution including per-channel power balancing,
variable gain amplification, and operationally-efficient Optical Express capabilities – without the high
cost of WSS-based devices. The OADM-F8 supports 44 channels of total capacity with the ability to add
and drop up to 8 wavelengths. As with the multi-degree core ROADM (OADM-88-8D), the OADM-F8 is a
single-slot module and is supported by the 7100 Nano Packet Optical Transport Platform.

36λ EXPRESS CONNECTION

OADM-F8 OADM-F8

44λ DEGREE 44λ DEGREE

WEST (B) EAST (A)

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

CLIENT CLIENT
ATTACHMENTS ATTACHMENTS

CH. 1 TUNED WAVELENGTH

TRANSPONDER TRANSPONDER

FIGURE 11: CORIANT AUTOMATED EDGE OADM (OADM-F8)

CORIANT INNOVATION – EMPOWERING COST-EFFICIENT

OPTICAL EXPRESS
Figure 12 highlights the impact that Coriant’s multi-degree core ROADM-on-a-blade and cost-optimized
Automated Edge OADM solutions have had in driving down the cost of, and improving access to,
operations-friendly Optical Express capabilities.

CORIANT | 9
 1

START-UP COST
2

MULTI-DEGREE WSS-
BASED ROADM
3
CORIANT EDGE ROADM
PASSIVE DWDM

‘09 ‘10 ‘11 ‘12 ‘13 ‘14 ‘15

1 / Coriant introduces the first multi-degree ROADM-on-a-blade

2 / Coriant introduces industry’s highest-density, single-slot multi-degree ROADM-on-a-blade
3 / Coriant introduces innovative Automated Edge OADM

FIGURE 12: REDUCING NETWORK COST AND COMPLEXITY WITH CORIANT

OPTICAL EXPRESS SOLUTIONS

CORIANT™ 7100 NANO PACKET OPTICAL TRANSPORT SOLUTION

Both the multi-degree core ROADM and Automated Edge OADM are supported on Coriant’s industry-
leading 7100 Nano Packet Optical Transport Platform. The 7100 Nano is a flexible 5-rack unit, 6-slot
transport platform that supports grey light, passive DWDM, Automated Edge OADM, and multi-degree
ROADM configurations – while providing a seamless and cost-efficient migration path from one
configuration to another. This capability enables network operators to begin by deploying the exact
technology needed at any given time – be it a grey light, passive, or Automated Edge OADM – and
then seamlessly and easily upgrade to any other configuration effectively creating a solution that can
dynamically evolve as network requirements change.

In addition to a seamlessly scalable optical layer, the 7100 Nano supports a wide variety of service
interface cards including 10G/40G/100G transponders and muxponders, SONET/SDH grooming modules,
OTN grooming modules, and packet-grooming modules. The 7100 Nano also features a meshed
backplane which enables non-blocking grooming across all modules without incurring the upfront
expense of a central switch fabric.

Overall – the Coriant 7100 Nano Packet Optical Transport Platform provides network operators with the
industry’s single most flexible metro/regional transport solution based on an innovative, cost effective,
and seamlessly scalable optical layer coupled with a myriad of flexible electrical grooming mechanisms
and fabric-less switching via a meshed backplane.

10 | OPTICAL EXPRESS
 7 1 00 N AN O SHE LF OVERVIEW

4/8 Degrees
FULL INTELLIGENT SERVICES 88 Channels per Degree
FLEXIBLE SCALABLE PLATFORM
w/ Full Add/Drop
• Universal Shelf architecture LAYER SUPPORT
• 480G Transparent; 120G OTN; • 10G, 40G, & 100G Transparent
552G Packet • SONET/SDH, Packet, OTN Switching
• 6 Slots per shelf - 8 shelves per • Full shelf fabric-less grooming via
system meshed backplane

FIBER THROUGH
PACKET ROADM

OTN SPM

10G MUX/DEMUX

100G

FIBER THROUGH

FIBER THROUGH
Low Cost–Small Form Factor

FIBER THROUGH
FIBER THROUGH
FIBER THROUGH

FIBER THROUGH

Grey Light System Passive DWDM Cost Effective Edge ROADM Multi-Degree Core ROADM
120G MSPP, 120G OTN SWITCH, 12X100G, 80X10G W/ EXPANSION PORT SHELF W/ TWO EXPANSION PORT SHELVES
552G PACKET SWITCH

Seamless Growth

FIGURE 13: THE CORIANT 7100 NANO – FLEXIBLE FOUNDATION FOR

OPTICAL EXPRESS

FOUNDATION FOR SUCCESSFUL SDN IMPLEMENTATIONS

Software Defined Networking (SDN) provides the ability to more dynamically control services in multi-
layer networks. However, dynamic control capabilities will always be limited by the actual connectivity
capabilities of the underlying network that SDN solutions are controlling. Optical Express capabilities – the
ability to easily, quickly, and flexibly provide connectivity between any locations in a network – provide an
agile foundation for the kind of flexibility that will be necessary for any successful implementation of SDN.

CONCLUSION
As network operators struggle with designing future-proof transport networks capable of efficiently
and cost-effectively supporting traffic growth without impacting service profitability or unreasonably
burdening their operational organizations, enabling Optical Express capabilities will become more and
more vital. With significant advancements in ROADM technology, coupled with the innovative solutions
provided by Coriant such as the Automated Edge OADM, cost-effective and operationally-friendly Optical
Express capabilities are now accessible to a wider variety of networks and can be extended closer to the
network edge.

CORIANT | 11
ABOUT CORIANT
Coriant, founded as an independent company in 2013, is an industry-leading supplier of dynamic metro-
to-core transport solutions. We serve over 500 customers globally, including 90% of the world’s top 50
service providers. Our packet optical, edge router and Software Defined Networking (SDN) solutions
enable mobile and fixed line operators to reduce network complexity, increase service velocity, and
improve resource utilization as transport networks scale in response to a new generation of high-
bandwidth services and applications. Coriant was formed from the distinguished technology heritage
and proven networking expertise of Nokia Siemens Networks Optical Networks, Tellabs, and Sycamore
Networks. The company operates worldwide in more than 48 countries, with R&D centers in Asia,
Germany, Portugal, Finland, Canada and the United States, as well as a state-of-the-art production center
in Berlin, Germany.

Visit us at www.coriant.com.

These trademarks are owned by Coriant or its affiliates: Coriant™, Coriant Dynamic Optical Cloud™, mTera™, and Transcend™.
Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.  Statements herein may contain projections regarding future products,
features, or technology and resulting commercial or technical benefits, which may or may not occur. This publication does not constitute
legal obligation to deliver any material, code, or functionality. This document does not modify or supplement any product specifications
or warranties. Copyright © 2014 Coriant. All Rights Reserved. 74C.0067 Rev. A 11/14