Tuesday, January 9, 2024

Open XR Optics Forum validates intelligent coherent transceivers

The Open XR Optics Forum recently showcased the effectiveness of their Management Architecture Specification through a demonstration. This initiative, led by Liberty Global, successfully integrated smart transceivers into various network systems and routers. A wide range of currently deployed network configurations was tested using line systems from multiple vendors in point-to-point and point-to-multipoint applications."

Key benefits of Open XR optics include simplification of network architecture enabled by coherent point-to-multipoint connectivity, intergenerational compatibility of high-speed and low-speed transceivers, and software-configurable bandwidth. Realization of these benefits in legacy networks requires compatibility with a diversity of routers and transport host devices as well as coexistence of XR signals in a variety of brownfield DWDM and PON line systems. In many cases, seamless integration with existing network management methods is also needed. Open XR optics advanced management features enable a dual management paradigm that preserves host-independent management of optical functions to maintain the delineation between the IP layer and optical layer management present in many optical transport networks today.

This trial successfully demonstrated the extreme versatility of Open XR transceivers and management methods by operating in 400G routers on 400G line systems in point-to-point connections, 400G to 4 x 100G point-to-multipoint configurations, and 2 x 100G transmission over a 50 GHz line system optimized for only 10G transmission. The trial also demonstrated the ability to transmit 100G full-duplex optical signals over a single-fiber PON infrastructure coexisting with the 10G XGS-PON signal. This PON overlay technique highlights how network operators can leverage XR signals over existing PON infrastructure to deliver new high-speed business services with minimal incremental investment.

Open XR Optics Forum members DriveNets, Infinera, Juniper Networks, Liberty Global, and UfiSpace all participated in this interoperability demonstration. 

The details and results of this demonstration were reported at the European Conference on Optical Communications held in Glasgow, Scotland in October and are now available in the full Open XR Optics Forum report, Dual Management of Open XR pluggable modules in P2MP Applications Hosted in Various Routers with Transmission over Multiple Line Systems Proof of Concept Demonstration.