Optical Networks:Technical and Financial Issues

AREON Planning MeetingNovember 1, 2005

Little Rock, Arkansas

David MerrifieldUniversity of Arkansas

Agenda

• Optical network components

• Building an optical network

• Connecting to an optical network

• Campus network infrastructure

• Costs

Optical Network Components

Fiber optic cable

Optical Network Components

Transmitter

Receiver

Optronics to“light the fiber”

Optical Network Components

Transmitter

Receiver

Receiver

Transmitter

Fiber pair requiredfor bi-directionalcommunications

Optical Network Components

• Light amplification is required over long distances– influenced by fiber type, light loss, and

optronics– 80-120km (50-75mi) spacing typical

Transmitter Receiver

EDFAErbium-Doped Fiber Amplifier

Optical Network Components

Transmitter Receiver

RCVR

ELEC

XMTR

O-E-OOptical-Electrical-Optical

• Signal regeneration is required over very long distances– influenced by fiber type, light loss, and

optronics– 600km (375mi) spacing typical

Wave Division Multiplexing

Laser Rcvr

• Single signal transmitted on a single fiber is relatively simple.

• Technique of placing multiple signals via different wavelengths onto a single fiber using FDM-Frequency Division Multiplexing

Wave Division Multiplexing

Laser

Laser

Laser Rcvr

Rcvr

Rcvr

Mux Mux

Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM)

Transmitter AITU Ch. 1

Transmitter BITU Ch. 2

Transmitter CITU Ch. 3

Transmitter DITU Ch. 4

4-Ch.DWDM

Mux

4-Ch.DWDMDemux

Receiver A

Receiver B

Receiver C

Receiver D

l1

l4

l3

l2

l1

l2

l3

l4

EDFA

A lambda (l) is a single wavelength.

Optical Add/Drop Mux

OADM OADM

Transmitter Receiver

Single Fiber Filament

Optical Add/Drop Mux

Transmitter AITU Ch. 1

Transmitter BITU Ch. 2

Transmitter CITU Ch. 3

Transmitter DITU Ch. 4

OADM OADM

Receiver A

Receiver B

Receiver C

Receiver D

l1

l4

l3

l2

l1

l2

l3

l4

OADMs provide means for creating “optical circuits.”

OADM

Building a Regional Optical Network

• Preliminary network design issues– Determine connecting sites– Determine route redundancy requirements– Anticipate future needs

LOTA Ring

AREON Backbone

Conceptual

AREON Backbone

UARK

SAU

ATUUAFS

HSU

UCA

UAM

UAPB

ASU

UALRUAMS

TULSA

DALLAS

MEMPHIS

MONROE

Building a Regional Optical Network

• Research fiber availability and type

• Obtain fiber IRUs (if possible)

• Do fiber characterization

• Identify lambdas necessary for applications

• Engineer for Layer 1 & Layer 3

• Acquire and install equipment

• Connect participant networks

Building a Regional Optical Network

• Contract with National LambdaRail members in neighboring states (LOTA)

• Contract for commodity Internet through Quilt

• Contract for Internet2/Abilene Network access

Connecting to a Regional Optical Network

• Local loop

• Layer 1 and Layer 3

• Lambdas

• Alternatives

Connecting to a Regional Optical Network

• Local loop– Backbone fiber provider already terminates

at your PoP– Use a different fiber provider to reach the

backbone– Fiber provider builds a lateral fiber to your

PoP (or nearby)– Bury your own fiber to the backbone

Connecting to a Regional Optical Network

• Local loop

Fiber Hut

Fiber Hand HoleCarrier Hotel

Connecting to a Regional Optical Network

• Local loop

CAMPUS

PoP3 miles

2 m

iles

Fiber Hut

Costs can be significant• Right of way• Buried vs. aerial• Cable• Labor• $3 - $50 per foot

Connecting to a Regional Optical Network

• Layer 1 and Layer 3

AREONBackbone Fiber

Local Loop

Campus OpticalInfrastructure

U N I V E R S I T YU N I V E R S I T Y

OpticalResearch Lab

AREONBackbone OADM

Connecting to a Regional Optical Network

• Layer 1 and Layer 3AREON

Backbone OADM

Local LoopGigabit Ethernet

Campus BorderRouter

CampusIP Network

AREONBackbone Fiber

Connecting to a Regional Optical Network

• Lambdas– Identify locations that your campus network

needs to communicate with– Determine bandwidth needs

Connecting to a Regional Optical Network

• Lambdas

10G 8xGE

2.7G 2xGE

2.7G OC-12

Connecting to a Regional Optical Network

• Is optical network connect what you need?– High entry cost– High maintenance costs– Realistic bandwidth expectations

• Alternatives do exist– Leased ‘lit’ services (lambdas)– Standard carrier options (DS3, OC-3, …)– State network & SEGP

Campus Network Infrastructure

• Upgrades may be necessary to support high bandwidth

• Determine core network needs

• Determine border needs

• Consider security needs as well

• Plan for the future

• Budget for maintenance and operations expenses

Campus Network Infrastructure

Juniper T320Force10 E300

Building LANs

Firewall

Costs

• Cost categories include:– State backbone buildout– Campus connection to backbone– Shared and dedicated lambdas– Campus network infrastructure upgrades– State backbone maintenance– Network operations– Organizational costs– SEGP membership– Internet and Internet2 bandwidth

Costs

• State backbone buildout– Backbone includes:

• Tulsa to Fayetteville to Fort Smith to Little Rock• Little Rock to Pine Bluff to Monroe, LA

– Additional fiber acquired:• Little Rock to Memphis• Memphis to Jonesboro• Little Rock to Texarkana to Dallas

• Estimated cost: $7.75M (thru Dec 2007)

Costs

• Campus connection to backbone– Cost of fiber connection to nearest state

backbone OADM site • varies substantially from site to site• requires engineering to determine full cost

– Cost of optronics in OADM– Possible colocation costs

Costs

• Shared and dedicated lambdas

Costs

• Campus network infrastructure upgrades– Varies substantially from campus to campus– Recommend concentrating on two areas:

• Gigabit ethernet in the core• Upgrading border router to support gigabit

ethernet

Costs

• State backbone maintenance

Costs

• Network operations– Salaries & benefits of engineers– Equipment– Software– Training– Travel– Cost of doing business (office space,

furniture, phones, etc.)

Costs

• Organizational costs– Salaries & benefits– Legal & auditing expenses– Consulting fees– Cost of doing business (office, furniture,

equipment, phones, etc.)

Costs

• SEGP membership

• Requires an Internet2 member sponsor

• Access to Internet2/Abilene network is through member sponsor

• SEGP annual fee– $30,000 + ($2,000 x no. of seats in House) =

$38,000 for Arkansas

Costs

• Internet bandwidth– Quilt membership– Discounted Commodity Internet– Cost estimated under $50 / Mbps / month

• e.g., 10 megabit = 10 x $50 x 12 = $6,000 annually

• Internet2 bandwidth– UARK, UALR, UAMS share 45 Mbps today– ASU has separate OC-3

Contact

• David MerrifieldAssociate Director

University of ArkansasComputing Services155 Razorback RoadFayetteville, AR 72701

dlm@uark.edu