Access Ring Aggregation
A Single Switch Addresses Multiple Challenges
Central Offices (CO) serve as critical termination and aggregation points for SONET/SDH ring transport. With upwards of 25,000 fiber strands terminating within a given CO, an array of add/drop multiplexers (ADM) are required to terminate the rings and provide necessary hand-offs to local DCS equipment. As the network grows, additional rings are commissioned, which requires still more ADMs. Stacking racks of ADMs makes it difficult to control operational costs (floor space, DC power, labor), interconnect rings, and minimize complexity of facility provisioning and the broader network.
Sycamore intelligent optical switches provide a way for network operators to consolidate network elements and improve profitability. Just one switch can replace racks of ADMs – up to 256 rings can be terminated on a single SN 16000 – and significantly reduce capital costs. Sycamore switches support IP-based and OSI-based data control channel (DCC) interoperability by terminating a variety of ADMs. Optional in-band or out-of-band control planes enable non-disruptive interworking with third party devices. The combination of integrated ADM functionality, remote (in-band) ADM management, and multi-vendor DCC interoperability allows substantial equipment consolidation.
Using optical switches for access ring aggregation:
- Conveys immediate operational benefits from substantial savings in floor space, DC power, and technician labor
- Simplifies cable management, service provisioning and maintenance
- Provides grooming across all rings
- Routes existing DCC and other telemetry traffic from legacy equipment
- Offers the opportunity to further consolidate Broadband DCS equipment and other inter-office facility or core network transport rings
Network operators reduce ongoing capital investment in ADM equipment and gain operational efficiencies through space and power savings, simplified workflow, and enhanced network and service management.
Optical switching allows you to:
- Minimize capital spending for new ring builds and reduces costs for intrafacilities management and other operational expenses, for combined savings of up to 75 percent over present mode of operation
- Manage bandwidth capacity more efficiently to avoid stranded resources, dormant network inventory, or under-utilized network hand-offs
- Introduce intelligence at the network edge to automate workflow processes, increase service velocity, and improve scalability
Ring Termination
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