Dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM)

July 27th, 2009 by admin | Posted under Computer Seminar Topics, IT Seminar Topics.

This IT Engineering Seminar Topic deals with the following

Definition
Dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) is a fiber-optic transmission technique that employs light wavelengths to transmit data parallel-by-bit or serial-by-character.

Overview
The role of scalable DWDM systems in enabling service providers to accommodate consumer demand for ever-increasing amounts of bandwidth is important. DWDM is discussed as a crucial component of optical networks that allows the transmission of e-mail, video, multimedia, data, and voice—carried in Internet protocol (IP), asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), and synchronous optical network/synchronous digital hierarchy (SONET/SDH), respectively, over the optical layer.

Fundamentals of DWDM Technology
The emergence of DWDM is one of the most recent and important phenomena in the development of fiber optic transmission technology. The functions and components of a DWDM system, including the enabling technologies, and a description of the operation of a DWDM system are discussed below.

Development of DWDM Technology
Early WDM began in the late 1980s using the two widely spaced wavelengths in the 1310 nm and 1550 nm (or 850 nm and 1310 nm) regions, sometimes called wideband WDM. Figure below shows an example of this simple form of WDM. One of the fiber pair is used to transmit and the other is used to receive. This is the most efficient arrangement and the one most found in DWDM systems.

WDM with Two Channels
The early 1990s saw a second generation of WDM, sometimes called narrowband WDM, in which two to eight channels were used. These channels were now spaced at an interval of about 400 GHz in the 1550nm window. By the mid-1990s, dense WDM (DWDM) systems were emerging with 16 to 40 channels and spacing from 100 to 200 GHz. By the late 1990s DWDM systems had evolved to the point where they were capable of 64 to 160 parallel channels, densely packed at 50 or even 25 GHz intervals.

The progression of the technology can be seen as an increase in the number of wavelengths accompanied by a decrease in the spacing of the wavelengths. Along with increased density of wavelengths, systems also advanced in their flexibility of configuration, through add-drop functions, and management capabilities.

The Challenges of Today’s Telecommunications Network
To understand the importance of DWDM and optical networking, these capabilities must be discussed in the context of the challenges faced by the telecommunications industry, and, in particular, service providers.  Forecasts of the amount of bandwidth capacity needed for networks were calculated on the presumption that a given individual would only use network bandwidth six minutes of each hour. These formulas did not factor in the amount of traffic generated by Internet access (300 percent growth per year), faxes, multiple phone lines, modems, teleconferencing, and data and video transmission. Had these factors been included, a far different estimate would have emerged. In fact, today many people use the bandwidth equivalent of 180 minutes or more each hour. Therefore, an enormous amount of bandwidth capacity is required to provide the services demanded by consumers. No one could have predicted the network growth necessary to meet the demand. In addition to this explosion in consumer demand for bandwidth, many service providers are coping with fiber exhaust in their networks. An industry survey indicated that in 1995, the amount of embedded fiber already in use in the average network was between 70 percent and 80 percent. Today, many carriers are nearing one hundred–percent capacity utilization across significant portions of their networks. Another problem for carriers is the challenge of deploying and integrating diverse technologies in one physical infrastructure. Customer demands and competitive pressures mandate that carriers offer diverse services economically and deploy them over the embedded network. DWDM provides service providers an answer to that demand.

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