Challenges to Transparent Networking
Novel optical layer devices
- Goal: support new, transparent services that utilize optical layer
- devices that can support high bit rate (ᡠ Gb/s) optical transmission
- fast, scalable optical switch fabric technology for optical bursts and packets
Transparent optical layer performance monitoring
- Goal: assess link and signal quality without requiring specific bit rate, protocol, and data format information
- quantify link signal quality: OSNR, BER, identify optical impairments
Dynamic optical impairment mitigation
- Goal: support transparent multi-hop networking without regard to signal origin and transport history
- chromatic and polarization mode dispersion compensation across multiple optical channels and spectral bands
- bit rate independent all-optical 2R and 3R regeneration
Novel control plane architectures
- Goal: integrating data services and the optical layer
- dynamic signaling techniques for optical bandwidth on demand: allocate spectrum on time scales from months to microseconds
- optical header processing for burst/packet switching
- optical layer contention resolution techniques (wavelength conversion)