30 October 2003 Munich, Germany, and Mahwah, NJ Lightwave -- ADVA Optical Networking this week launched a major new release for its Fiber Service Platform (FSP) 2000 system with enhanced Coarse WDM (CWDM) functionality.
ADVA's new 8-channel CWDM card with a next-generation universal transponder design and Small Form-Factor Pluggable (SFP) transceivers replaces the need for separate cards for specific groups of protocols, data speeds, and fixed interfaces--thereby dramatically reducing both capital and operating expenditures for enterprise and carrier customers, contend company representatives. New CWDM ring functionality expands network topology options from simple point-to-point configurations to include linear add/drop and ring topologies.
While CWDM is functionally similar to DWDM, the use of wider spacing between wavelengths requires lower-cost components and delivers capital savings of 20% to 40% compared to DWDM systems of the same channel count and system functionality, says ADVA. CWDM provides a strong value proposition for enterprises and carriers to affordably realize the benefits of optical networking for small- and medium-sized storage and Ethernet applications.
The new 8-channel CWDM card includes a universal transponder design that transports all typical enterprise protocols for speeds ranging from 100 Mbits/sec to 2.5 Gbits/sec at all CWDM wavelengths between 1470 nm and 1610 nm. SFP transceivers on the card adapt to singlemode and multimode 850-nm and 1310-nm requirements and various protection schemes can be optionally included. By incorporating such a broad range of options onto one card, customers achieve greater flexibility in their networks without requiring an extensive number of spares on hand.
New add/drop filter architecture and SFP technology enables a third, fourth, or fifth node to be added to a ring network configuration. This enables implementation of a greater number and variety of small- to medium-sized storage and Ethernet applications to be interconnected within a metropolitan area. Key applications include converged networking, remote access, disaster recovery, server consolidation, Internet access, LAN extension, and storage virtualization.
"ADVA, the number two global metro WDM vendor, continues to enhance its CWDM capabilities, having pioneered the first CWDM solution in 1996," reports Ron Kline, program director for Optical Networks, North America, at research and advisory firm RHK Inc. "Technology and feature advancements from vendors like ADVA, coupled with recently-defined CWDM standards, are making a broader range of storage and Ethernet deployments attractive for a growing number of enterprises and carriers around the world--thereby expanding the market opportunity for metro optical transport."
ADVA's FSP 2000 was launched in May 2001 as the successor to the company's FSP-II product. Now in its seventh major new feature release, the FSP 2000 provides a seamless upgrade path from the FSP-II, also sold by Cisco Systems as the Metro 1500. Targeted toward enterprises and carriers, the parallel use of CWDM/DWDM and TDM technologies enable up to 512 applications to be transported over a single fiber pair up to 200 km. Its ability to transport all protocols between 8 Mbits/sec and 10 Gbits/sec make the FSP 2000 an ideal solution particularly for storage networks. Recently introduced features also include a unique CWDM/DWDM hybrid solution, which enables initial deployment of two or four channels and the incremental and cost-effective addition of up to 20 channels as future needs dictate. All FSP 2000 CWDM features are fully compliant with the ITU-T G.694.2 CWDM specifications. The new, seventh release of features will be generally available for volume shipment in January 2004.