Mid-Atlantic Crossroads (MAX), which is is a multi-state research network led by the University of Maryland, has successfully tested 400G and 800G optical transport in partnership with Fujitsu Network Communications.
The trial, which was conducted over a live network route from Baltimore to McLean, Virginia, carried 400 Gbps and 800 Gbps transmissions alongside the existing 10 Gbps and 100 Gbps channels using the Fujitsu FLASHWAVE 9500 Packet Optical Networking Platform (Packet ONP).
Channel spacing was reduced 25% over conventional dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM). The trial employed advanced modulation techniques, including dual-polarization quadrature phase shift keying (DP-QPSK) and dual-polarization 16-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (DP-16QAM), yielding a super-channel that allows more than 2.5 times increase in bandwidth in the same amount of spectral width as current DWDM technologies. Both the 400G and 800G transmission operated error-free.
“This field trial provided a significant opportunity for MAX and Fujitsu to collaborate on a leading technological advancement in the optical networking field,” said Tripti Sinha, Executive Director of MAX. “The achievement of such a fast networking speed will not only benefit MAX participants, but it will also set the standard for the future of advanced networking, helping to unlock previously unavailable resources for researchers across the world.”
Fujitsu also noted that the trial also employed Nyquist filtering techniques that leverage spectral shaping, resulting in an increase in spectral density. With nonlinear fiber impairments being a major limiting factor of optical transmission, the field trial demonstrated nonlinear compensation (NLC) techniques to reduce the resulting optical penalties and extend the achievable transmission distance. All of these advancements enable a much higher utilization of costly fiber infrastructure and maximize the bandwidth available for demanding R&E applications.
http://www.fujitsu.com/us/news/pr/fnc_20140306.html
