SEPTEMBER 29, 2008 -- ADVA Optical Networking (search for ADVA Optical Networking) has introduced Optojack, a new technology that the company says enables the establishment of intelligent optical demarcation points to monitor advanced optical services. Optojack is designed to provide optical demarcation and service monitoring at the handoff point between carrier networks, as well as at the demarcation point between the carrier and customer network. Optojack is designed to enable remote OAM of key optical network elements in the access and backhaul portions of the network.
Analogous to ADVA Optical Network's Etherjack technology, Optojack provides the ability to monitor and test wavelength-based services. Frequently, providers deliver optical services to customer locations without any visibility into the health or status of the delivered traffic, ADVA says. In addition, during turn-up or test, there is no way to perform the loopbacks and remote testing from which most other non-optical services benefit. Without a clear demarcation point that delineates one carrier's network from the next, or the carrier network from the customer's, it is challenging for the provider to cost-effectively monitor, manage and troubleshoot an optical service.
With Optojack in place, a service provider can monitor the optical signal all the way to the access equipment (e.g., a DSLAM at the curb or in a building) or customer device (e.g., LAN router). It can also be more certain of the quality of service provided across multiple carrier regions. Using Optojack functionality, carriers gain important knowledge about when optical service degradations or outages take place and, in some cases, can identify service problems before the customer is aware they exist, ADVA asserts. Problems can be fixed before they cause a complete outage, contributing to the delivery of higher service availability levels.
"Due to the competitive nature of our industry, intelligence about the network and the service can be a service provider's secret weapon," commented Dr. Christoph Glingener, CTO of ADVA Optical Networking. "Optojack is an invaluable tool to help carriers offer differentiated services to a demanding customer base. No matter the underlying protocol, Optojack enables loopbacks and other key performance monitoring techniques that provide insight into network services. This can lead to higher profit levels at a time when carrier budgets are squeezed from every direction."
Optojack is an SFP transceiver-based offering that is compliant with the SFP multi-source agreement and can be integrated into any SFP-based equipment, including ADVA Optical Networking's flagship FSP 3000 and FSP 150 platforms. Other network devices, like optical network units (ONUs) that provide the link to the customer premises, can also use the SFP, enabling Optojack to play a critical role in successfully managing the entire access portion of the network. In addition, a specific loopback option enables the Optojack functionality to interoperate with any device using standard-based SFPs.
Optojack technology can be managed remotely with ADVA Optical Networking's FSP Network Manager (NM) to provide a total test and monitoring capability from the core or regional network all the way out to the optical demarcation point, ADVA Optical Networking adds. This integrated approach enables delivery of intelligent optical services instead of "best-effort" unmonitored services, according to the company.
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