Opvista's MetroVista tops 600 km at 10-Gbit/sec without dispersion compensation

June 2, 2004 Irvine, CA -- OpVista Inc. claims its 10-Gbit/sec LAN interface is delivering error-free performance over 600 km of fiber without the need for dispersion management equipment. This extends the connectivity of 10-Gbit/sec switches and routers--typically limited to 60 km or less--to full metro and regional coverage.

Typical 10-Gbit/ec transport systems require dispersion compensation every 60 km. OpVista contends that the key to this extended performance is its Ultra-DWDM modulation technology, which multiplies optical capacity without changing the optical characteristics--thereby eliminating the need to re-engineer the fiber network.

"Ultra-DWDM will always have inherent distance and wavelength density advantages over a conventional pure TDM approach," contends Dr. Winston Way, founder and CTO of OpVista. "A 10-Gbit/sec TDM signal requires chromatic dispersion compensation and sometimes even polarization mode dispersion to clean up the distorted signal. And then you have to add more optical amplification to compensate for the added loss," he explains. "Increasing the number of wavelengths while keeping the modulation rate low avoids these problems entirely. And as an additional benefit, a large number of 'smaller' wavelengths makes it easy to drop a fraction of the full payload at any node in our network, resulting in simpler and less expensive nodes."

Ultra-DWDM delivers eight times the wavelength density of conventional DWDM systems over exceptional transmission distances, claims the company. The combination of high wavelength density, long reach, and reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexers (ROADMs) makes it easy and economical to build fully protected business services networks that connect any node to any node on demand.

"Ultra-DWDM lends itself well to multiple implementations and increasing data rates," contends Ron Foster, OpVista's vice president of marketing and sales. "The new 10-Gbit/sec interface represents the first system enhancement in the evolution, but as we have assured our customers, even higher rates are just around the corner. We will be announcing availability of our 40-Gbit/sec version later this year, to match up with the new routers offering that capability." I

According to OpVista, its technology provides a reconfigurable and cost-effective architecture for wavelength management because all wavelengths are broadcast throughout the network and are available at all nodes. Reconfigurability is provided by ROADMS, tunable receivers that remotely and instantaneously tune to the desired wavelength. As little as a single Gigabit Ethernet can be dropped and optical power balancing is automatic, without disrupting existing traffic. I

MetroVista products will be showcased at Cable-Tec Expo 2004 in Orlando, FL later this month.