BENEFITS OF EDGE ROADMS IN RURAL CARRIER NETWORKSCoriant Brings Cost-Effective ROADM Technology to the Edge of the Network

In the past, the initial cost of ROADM technology has prevented service

providers such as rural carrier network operators from implementing the most

operationally efficient solution in lieu of a lower cost fixed filter solution. This

also limited the service provider to implementing a 4- or 8-channel optical

add/drop architecture without a clear migration path to higher channel

counts, and without a large amount of technology upgrades. With the ROADM

solutions developed by Coriant, these issues are addressed. The Coriant

single-slot high density ROADM has industry-leading density for multi-degree

applications. Coriant’s edge ROADM provides most of the operational

efficiencies of a traditional ROADM at the cost of a fixed filter solution.

| BENEFITS OF EDGE ROADMS IN RURAL CARRIER NETWORKS2

THE BENEFITS OF ROADMsROADMs 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%.

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 e�ort in service activation coupled with automatic precise power adjustments has proven to dramatically reduce service interruptions

SERVICE ACTIVATION TIMES NETWORK COSTS SERVICE INTERRUPTIONS

80%Improvement

Fixed Filter ROADM Fixed Filter ROADM Fixed Filter ROADM

60% REDUCTION30% SAVINGS

$

$

$

$

$

Figure 1: Key Benefits of ROADMs

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THE ECONOMIC CHALLENGE OF TRADITIONAL ROADMsTo 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.

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Power Monitor

Supervisory Channel

WavelengthSelectable

Switch (WSS)

TYPICAL ROADM DEGREE

Figure 2: Typical Architecture for a Single ROADM Degree

OPTICAL EXPRESS INNOVATION FROM CORIANTWith 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 ROADMThe 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.

| BENEFITS OF EDGE ROADMS IN RURAL CARRIER NETWORKS4

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.

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Coriant

Figure 3: ROADM Density Comparison (rack units per degree)

CORIANT 7100 NANO PACKET OPTICAL TRANSPORT PLATFORM

CORIANT 7100 NANO PACKET OPTICAL TRANSPORT PLATFORM

INTERFACE CARD

INTERFACE CARD

INTERFACE CARD

INTERFACE CARDCoriant 7100 Nano with• Two Single-slot OADM-88-8D• 4 Interface Slots• 20x10G (HDTG)• 2x100G (HGTM)

Coriant 7100 Nano with(6) Single-slot OADM-88-8DROADM Modules

Figure 4: OADM-88-8D – Highest Density, Multi-degree ROADM Solution in the Industry

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FLEXIBLE, COST-EFFECTIVE AUTOMATED EDGE OADMOne 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 (OADMF8)

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 OADMF8 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

OADMF8 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 OADMF8 is a single-slot module and is supported by the

7100 Nano Packet Optical Transport Platform.

CORIANT INNOVATION – EMPOWERING COST-EFFICIENT OPTICAL EXPRESSFigure 6 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.

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OADMF8

TRANSPONDER

CH. 1 TUNED WAVELENGTH

CLIENTATTACHMENTS

CLIENTATTACHMENTS

TRANSPONDER

36λ EXPRESS CONNECTION

44λ DEGREEWEST (B)

44λ DEGREEEAST (A)

OADMF8

Figure 5: Coriant Automated Edge OADM (OADMF8)

| BENEFITS OF EDGE ROADMS IN RURAL CARRIER NETWORKS6

CORIANT® 7100 NANO™ PACKET OPTICAL TRANSPORT SOLUTIONBoth the multi-degree core ROADM and Automated Edge OADM are supported on the industry-

leading Coriant® 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 – 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 7100 Nano 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.

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PASSIVE DWDM

CORIANT EDGE ROADM

MULTI-DEGREE WSS-BASED ROADM

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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 6: Reducing Network Cost and Complexity with Coriant Optical Express Solutions

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FOUNDATION FOR SUCCESSFUL SDN IMPLEMENTATIONSSoftware 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

CONCLUSIONAs 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.

PACKET

OTN

100G

10G

SPM

MUX/DEMUX

Grey Light System120G MSPP, 120G OTN SWITCH,

552G PACKET SWITCH

Passive DWDM12X100G, 80X10G

7100 NANO SHELF OVERVIEW

Low Cost–Small Form Factor

Seamless Growth

4/8 Degrees88 Channels per Degree

w/ Full Add/Drop

Cost E�ective Edge ROADMW/ EXPANSION PORT SHELF

Multi-Degree Core ROADMW/ TWO EXPANSION PORT SHELVES

FLEXIBLE SCALABLE PLATFORM

• Universal Shelf architecture

• 480G Transparent; 120G OTN; 552G Packet

• 6 Slots per shelf - 8 shelves per system

FULL INTELLIGENT SERVICES LAYER SUPPORT

• 10G, 40G, & 100G Transparent

• SONET/SDH, Packet, OTN Switching

• Full shelf fabric-less grooming via meshed backplane

ROADM

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Figure 7: Coriant 7100 Nano – Flexible Foundation for Optical Express

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ABOUT CORIANTCoriant delivers innovative, dynamic networking solutions for a fast-changing business world. The

Coriant portfolio of SDN-enabled, edge-to-core transport solutions enables network operators to reduce

operational complexity, improve utilization of multi-layer network resources, and create new revenue

opportunities. Coriant serves leading network operators around the world, including mobile and fixed line

service providers, content providers, data center operators, cable MSOs, large enterprises, government

agencies, financial institutions, and utility companies. With a distinguished heritage of technology

innovation and service excellence, forged by over 35 years of experience and expertise in Tier 1 carrier

networks, Coriant is helping its global customers maximize the value of their network infrastructure as

demand for bandwidth explodes and the communications needs of businesses and consumers continue

to evolve. Learn more at www.coriant.com.

These trademarks are owned by Coriant or its affiliates: Coriant®, Coriant Dynamic Optical Cloud™, mTera™ , Nano™, Pico™, and Coriant 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 © 2018 Coriant. All Rights Reserved. 74C.0042 Rev. B 01/18