Influence of Innovations on Design, Operation, and Cost of metropolitan Optical Transport Networks

This paper provides a high level overview of recent technological and architectural innovations of DWDM based Metro networks. Planners gain significantly more flexibility in designing networks with converged network functions that better fit the Service Providers business goals. Lower network complexity reduces operational work load and associated costs. New technologies allow Metro networks to evolve into flexible architectures optimized to transport current and future services with more efficiency, higher service availability, and lower total cost of ownership (TCO). Convergence of DWDM with IP and Ethernet enables business relevant synergies that are impossible with current architectures. Positive impact on TCO, planning, and operations are shown.