Optical Packet Switch and Transport: A new metro platform to reduce costs and power by 50% to 75% while simultaneously increasing deterministic performance levels

In this paper we present a new optical networking platform called optical packet switch and transport or OPST. We present some techno-economic modelling results that show how OPST can reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) of a metro network by up to 50%, it can reduce the power consumption by up to 75%, and space requirements are reduced by up to 50%. OPST outperforms existing equipment by having the capability of combining connection oriented and connectionless packet flows over the same infrastructure. An overview of OPST will also be provided, describing the key technology blocks that enable the OPST platform.