Cisco Systems Inc. today announced additions to its ONS 15454 MSTP in support of the gearmaker’s IP NGN architecture strategy unveiled in December 2004. The additions include an eight-degree ROADM, Ethernet aggregation muxponder/transponder called the Xponder and an MSPP on a blade.
Mike Capuano, senior manager of service provider solutions marketing for Cisco, said the enhancements answer carrier requirements for fiber efficiency, reconfigurability, quick deployment and efficient integration of Ethernet for its installed based of more than 75,000 ONS 15454 systems.
“The first thing we see around fiber resource optimization is a need to move from ring to mesh,” said Capuano. “That’s what providers are looking to do, but to do it in a way that they can operationalize it. They can manage the network, they can deploy services quickly.”
One of the drawbacks of mesh, he said is fault detection, which is not an issue with rings. To overcome this, Cisco has introduced its eight-degree ROADM with some key modifications. Cisco is a laggard in introducing a multidegree ROADM, but Capuano dismisses criticisms by pointing to the company’s focus on a cost-efficient two-degree option, which it rolled out in 2004, and the heretofore lagging need for more. Even now, he said, the majority of implementations will remain two degrees. The company also has used its large installed based of two-degree ROADMs to provide input into unique capabilities for its multidegree offer.
In particular, the company has simplified manual patching by introducing a passive interconnect inside the patch panel. “One of the benefits of that design is it only requires two cable in a full eight-degree configuration,” said Capuano, citing competitive systems requiring up to 112 cables to interconnect. “Cabling leads to cable-management issues and misconfigurations by plugging the cables into the wrong ports.”
Cisco also has included a test port on every patch panel, so if there is a problem in the network, there is a place to tap into to get access to any wavelength to troubleshoot. In addition a “fix-it” button enables operators to check a path to make sure the proper configuration is in place. Finally, Cisco has added alarm-correlation capability that enables operators to pinpoint the source of multiple alarms across the network.
“All the lessons learned with the two-degree ROADM along with all the advancements made in two-degree RAODM along with network level alarm correlation, multishelf management and different aspects have all been carrier forward to our mesh solutions,” said Ron Johnson, senior product manager, optical transport business unit for Cisco.
In addition to its new ROADM, Cisco is working on aiding carriers’ migrations from TDM to Ethernet within the same chassis for investment protection. “What we are bringing to market is what we are calling the Ethernet XPonder [pronounced cross-ponder],” said Capuano. “This is the industry’s first Ethernet capability aggregated into DWDM that does aggregation. Basically what you have a single card that does not only a muxponder and or transponder function, but also an Ethernet add-drop multiplexing function.”
The XPonder comes in two versions: one is a 20xgigE and 2x10gigE XPonder. The other is a 4x10GbE XPonder.
This allows for more efficient wavelength utilization, said Russ Esmacher, product manager responsible for optical cross-connect and DWDM platforms for the Optical Technology Group of Cisco. He said that customers are asking for a way to move Ethernet more efficiently around the network. “We have changed the game,” he said. “You don’t have to dedicate a wavelength between A and B. You have to dedicate one between A, B, C, D and E. You decide per VLAN what falls out of the wavelength at each site. The number of wavelengths you use is significantly less.”
The Xponder can connect into another Xponder or directly into a router like Cisco’s CRS-1, which is equipped to handle IP over DWDM.
Finally, Cisco is helping carrier migration to packet with the addition of an MSPP on a blade. “One of the interesting things is not only can you consolidate an entire shelf into a blade, the ports on this are actually software selectable. So, you can start with SOENT and migrate to Ethernet. This allows service providers to deploy SONET services and migrate those to Ethernet,” said Capuano.
Cisco Systems Inc. www.cisco.com
