Validation AB, an independent test and verification company for IT and telecommunications equipment, has successfully completed testing on the Mentis unamplified DWDM system from Lumentis AB. The testing was performed on a city fiber cable; a 98-km, hubbed metro ring was able to support 20 Lumentis satellite nodes without the use of any optical line amplifiers.

"Setting up the Lumentis testbed was easy and the tests ran very smoothly yielding impressive results for the company," explains Mikael Soderberg, manager of test and verification for Validation. "Lumentis asked us to verify what they have determined to be the very best capacity levels available today and these results will hopefully prove to the marketplace the company's strengths and capabilities. Our findings confirmed what Lumentis already claimed they could do--far more than the guaranteed figure of eight nodes on a 80-km ring."

The testing environment consisted of an actual 98-km fiber ring looped between two locations corresponding to 20 satellite nodes carrying one protected channel or two unprotected channels per node. With this live testbed, Validation AB completed two series of tests. The transmission test allowed Validation to assess the performance of Lumentis' system in terms of channels, nodes, and distance. With the interoperability tests, Lumentis' system was tested with other vendors' equipment to determine whether Lumentis can provide an open and transparent system. The interoperability tests were completed with traffic flowing for 24 hours without any bit errors or crosstalk penalties.

"The performance results from the Validation testing show that we have plenty of margin for a real case network," claims Anders Lundberg, chief executive officer of Lumentis. "The interoperability test results show that our solution can support multiple vendors' equipment. As a result of these tests, Lumentis can now prove our capabilities of shipping a metro DWDM solution which provides cost savings for carriers and offers a unique solution for the metro area."

Situated in 20 locations around Sweden, Validation AB is 51% owned by Industri Kapital and 49% owned by Telia AB. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.validation.nu.

Headquartered near Stockholm, Sweden, Lumentis designs, develops, and delivers metro DWDM systems designed to maximize network utilization for carriers and network operators. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.lumentis.se.