A flexible metro WDM ring using wavelength-independent subscriber equipment to share bandwidth

Transparent optical networking has been proposed as a means for increasing capacity, improving performance, and decreasing costs, while simplifying network operations. For example, one facet of DARPA's next generation internet (NGI) initiative is focused on the development of transparent networks capable of handling IP traffic riding directly over WDM. We propose and demonstrate a transparent WDM metro ring architecture in which optics enables simultaneous provisioning of dedicated wavelengths for high-end users, while low-end users share wavelengths on "virtual rings". In both cases the customer's "end station" consists of low cost wavelength-independent components.