Unleash the power of 400G everywhere

Guest Blog

Relentless demand for more capacity at lower costs is compelling network operators to continually upgrade their IP-optical networks. Fortunately, advances in digital signal processing and silicon photonics have spawned a new generation of router-pluggable digital coherent optics (DCOs) and performance-optimized transponders that can ease the transition to 400 Gigabit Ethernet (GE).

Nokia 400G everywhere enables operators to use these new technologies to support 400GE speeds across the network. It provides the building blocks they need to succeed in the 400G era:

• 400G coherent optics in different form factors to optimize cost and connectivity
• Optical line systems that efficiently connect routers and multiplex wavelengths on fiber links
• IP routers designed to support 400G pluggable DCOs
• Multilayer IP-optical management coordination solutions that enable seamless, end-to-end operation

Coherent optics for 400G everywhere

Pluggable DCOs improve IP-optical integration by enabling routers to connect to the optical transport network directly. Their power efficiency, small size and low cost bring new 400G applications within reach, including point-to-point data center interconnect (DCI), high-bandwidth access links, metro aggregation rings, metro/regional core networks and long-haul backbone networks.

To succeed with these applications, network operators need 400G coherent optics that are optimized for profile, performance or a balance of both. Nokia WaveFabric Elements addresses this need with a full range of router-pluggable and transponder-based 400G coherent optics technologies, including:

• 400ZR, a standardized 400G interface specification optimized for metro DCI. Offered in QSFP-DD format, 400ZR delivers 400 Gb/s over reaches up to 120 km with external amplification.
• 400ZR+, which enables a broad range of metro applications with high-gain forward error correction (FEC) and flexible 100–400 Gb/s line rates. Offered in QSFP-DD format, it supports reaches up to 600 km using 16QAM, 8QAM and QPSK modulation.
• 400G Multihaul, which supports 100–400 Gb/s line rates for metro/regional and core applications using QPSK, 8QAM and 16QAM modulation. Offered in CFP2 format, it supports reaches up to 750 km and can pass multiple reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer (ROADM) hops.
• 400G Any Distance¸ which uses transponder-based coherent optics to provide the ultimate in capacity–reach performance. 400G Any Distance optics are typically deployed with ROADMs in regional and long-haul networks and can support 400 Gb/s over thousands of kilometers.

Optical line systems for 400G everywhere

The Nokia 1830 family of optical line systems adds essential capabilities to enable 400G connectivity across a wide range of applications. It provides a modular, function-optimized architecture that uses common platform hardware for ROADMs, amplifiers and add/drop modules.

For example, Nokia 1830 optical line systems significantly improve the capacity, reach and availability of point-to-point DCI and high-bandwidth access links by enabling WDM multiplexing, inline amplification of wavelengths and optical line protection.

The Nokia 1830 also provides ROADM-enabled features that optimize connectivity for complex network applications such as metro aggregation rings and metro, regional or long-haul core backbones. These features include dynamic wavelength routing and restoration, which enable optimized IP-optical topologies, and flexible wavelength switching, which enables efficient sharing of services and applications over a common DWDM transport network.

Routers optimized for the 400G era

Nokia routers ease the transition to 400G by meeting the unique heat dissipation, power and deployment requirements of pluggable DCOs. They provide features such as:

• Line cards that support the full range of 400G pluggable DCO options
• Enhanced power and cooling capabilities that support 400G DCOs at scale
• A router OS that provides integrated support for pluggable DCOs
• Support for network management integration and automation through open, machine-programmable interfaces
• Cross-domain IP-optical management coordination with the Nokia Network Services Platform (NSP)

These features ensure that Nokia routers can accept the complete range pluggable 400G DCO transceivers without limitations.

IP-optical management coordination

Equipping DCOs in IP routers opens the door to tighter integration between the IP routing and optical transport layers. To succeed with this integration, operators must coordinate optical channel selection, power balancing, grid spacing, filter settings, wavelength routes, physical diversity and restoration options across IP and optical management systems.

Operators will find it challenging to coordinate these tasks manually across IP and optical management silos. They need flexible and powerful tools that can work efficiently across layers to coordinate operational activities between the IP and optical worlds. This need is becoming more important as networks scale and include solutions from multiple vendors.

Together, Nokia NSP and Nokia WaveSuite provide a rich suite of applications for coordinating and automating IP-optical networks in multivendor environments. These applications cover capabilities such as topology discovery, diversity analysis, coordinated assurance and maintenance, multilayer protection and automated connection management.

Succeed in the 400G era with Nokia

Visit our web page to find out how Nokia fifth-generation coherent optics, optical line systems, routers and IP-optical management and control applications can help you deliver 400G everywhere.