Nokia upgrades 1830 PSS packet-optical transport family with new coherent chipsets, improved multi-rate performance

Nokia has announced a sweeping upgrade of its 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS) packet-optical transport systems family. The upgrade involves two new versions of its Photonic Service Engine (PSE) coherent chipset, support of long-reach 200-Gbps and 400-Gbps transmission, increased wavelength capacity through support of L-Band transmission, and introduction of a 500-Gbps muxponder and a new packet-OTN switch.

The upgrades deliver new capabilities at the photonic transport, photonic services, and transport switching levels, according to Sam Bucci, head of optical networking, and Kyle Hollasch, director, optics marketing at Nokia. At the photonic transport level, the company's new 1830 PSS Ultra-Wideband Wavelength Routing capability will add L-Band transmission support to the C-Band transport now commonly employed. The Nokia sources said that the feature will support 96 channels in the L-Band, matching the 96 in the C-Band to create a total optical transmission capacity of 192 wavelengths per fiber. Bucci says that there is already "important" demand for wavelength capabilities beyond the C-Band, particularly for data center interconnect and wholesale applications.

The line systems equipment, such as amplifiers, to support flexible-grid L-Band transmission should be available by the end of this year, said Bucci. The transmission capabilities will become generally available at some point next year.

At the photonic services layer, Nokia has a pair of new PSE devices for its 1830 PSS family members. These include the PSE-2 Super Coherent (PSE-2s) device, which will support seven different modulation formats, each optimized for a different application. They include:

1. BPSK, for 50-Gbps wavelength applications
2. Set-Partition QPSK (SP-QPSK), for ultra-long-haul 100-Gbps submarine network use, potentially as far as 5,000 km
3. DP-QPSK, the current 100-Gbps workhorse
4. 8QAM for long haul (2,000 km) 200 Gbps
5. 16QAM for metro/regional 200 Gbps
6. A version of 16QAM optimized for 250 Gbps transmission
7. 64QAM for single-carrier long-haul 400-Gbps applications.
   

The single-carrier 400-Gbps capabilities are the first in the industry, Bucci and Hollasch assert, as are the long-haul 200-Gbps and ultra-long-haul 100-Gbps capabilities. Two 250-Gbps wavelengths can be combined to support 500-Gbps requirements, they add. The PSE-2s pulls about the same power as the first-generation PSE, meaning fewer watts per gigabit, the sources point out.

The other new PSE device, the PSE-2 Compact (PSE-2c), targets 100G DWDM metro access, aggregation, and other network applications in which density, space, and low power trump reach on the list of most important attributes.

The PSE-2s provides the heart of the new 500-Gbps muxponder, which scored a perfect 5.0 in this year's Lightwave Innovation Reviews program. The muxponder offers increased capacity for 100-Gbps service delivery support at multiple reaches and aggregated data rates. The muxponder is shipping; Bucci reports more than customers at some level of engagement.

Finally, for OTN switching, the company also has introduced the 1830 PSS-24x. The metro-focused platform, which leverages a new Transport Switching Engine chipset, provides increased scale for packet/OTN switching applications. It will provide 9.6 Tbps of capacity in a half-rack chassis, scalable to 48 Tbps per bay. It leverages CFP2-ACO optical transceivers to maximize port density and support "pay as you grow" operation.

The system should reach general availability in late June or early July. More than 35 customer engagements are ongoing, including a pair of field trials, say the sources.

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