1. Customer Requirements
The customer’s main requirements included:
-
400G DWDM transmission
-
60km fiber distance
-
Around 15dB total optical loss
-
1+1 OLP optical line protection
-
EDFA optical amplification
-
4×100G or 6×100G client services
-
Compact deployment
-
Low-cost architecture
-
Future upgrade capability
This type of requirement is very common in modern DCI and metro optical transport networks where customers need high bandwidth density without investing in oversized traditional telecom systems.
2. Project Challenges
Although the transmission distance was only 60Km, several technical challenges still needed to be considered carefully.
1. Optical Loss Budget
With approximately 15dB optical loss across the fiber span, the system required proper optical amplification to maintain stable coherent transmission and acceptable OSNR performance.
2. Service Reliability
The customer required uninterrupted service operation even during fiber failures. This made 1+1 OLP protection essential for the network design.
3. Cost Control
The customer wanted a low-cost 400G DWDM solution rather than a large carrier-class chassis with excessive unused capacity.
4. Future Scalability
Although the current deployment only required 400G capacity, the customer also wanted the ability to expand toward higher-capacity DCI networking in the future.
2.1 Recommended 400G DWDM Solution
To meet these requirements, the OM5800 modular DWDM platform was selected.
400G Coherent DWDM Transmission
The core transmission layer utilized a 400G coherent transponder architecture supporting:
- 4×100GE client access
- 1×400G coherent DWDM line transmission
- CFP2-DCO coherent optical modules
- C-band tunable DWDM wavelengths
- OTN encapsulation and FEC
This architecture allows multiple 100G Ethernet services to be aggregated into a single 400G DWDM wavelength, significantly improving fiber utilization efficiency.
For customers requiring higher service density, the system can also support 6×100G aggregation depending on service card configuration.
2.2 1+1 OLP Optical Protection Design
To ensure carrier-grade reliability, the solution integrated a dedicated 1+1 OLP optical protection module.
The OLP subsystem provides:
- Automatic fiber switching
- Primary and backup fiber redundancy
- Manual and automatic protection modes
- Switching time below 15ms
- Remote management and alarm monitoring
- Continuous service operation during fiber failure
In real DCI deployments, fiber cuts and attenuation issues remain one of the largest operational risks. Integrating OLP protection dramatically improves network stability and reduces downtime.
2.3 EDFA Optical Amplifier Configuration
To compensate for the 15dB optical loss over the 60km fiber span, the solution also included EDFA optical amplifier modules.
The OM5800 EDFA subsystem supports:
- Booster Amplifier (BA)
- Pre-Amplifier (PA)
- Line Amplifier (LA)
- Automatic Gain Control (AGC)
- Automatic Power Control (APC)
- Optical monitoring functions
- Remote management support
This allows the coherent optical signal to maintain sufficient power budget and transmission quality across the entire fiber path.
For medium-distance DCI applications, EDFA integration provides an excellent balance between performance and deployment cost.
| Performance Parameter |
Least Value |
Representative value |
Crest value |
Unit |
| Operating Wavelength |
1528 |
|
1565 |
nm |
| Output Light Power |
|
|
20 |
dBm |
| Gain |
8 |
|
33 |
dB |
| Interior input Power |
BA |
-10 |
|
Maximum
Output-gain
|
dBm |
| PA/LA |
(Maximum
input-29)
|
|
Maximum
Output-gain
|
| Noise Factor |
|
5.0 |
|
dB |
| Gain Flatness |
|
1.0 |
|
dB |
| Input Threshold |
-34 |
|
Adjustable |
dBm |
| Polarization-related Loss |
|
|
0.3 |
dB |
| Polarization-dependent Gain |
|
|
0.4 |
dB |
| Polarization Mode Dispersion |
|
|
0.5 |
ps |
| Pump Leakage |
|
|
-29 |
dBm |
| Return Loss |
45 |
|
|
dB |
| Size |
216 (W) * 262 (D) * 40 mm (H) |
mm |
| Environment |
Working Temperature |
-10℃ ~ 60℃ |
℃ |
| Storage Temperature |
-40℃ ~ 80℃ |
℃ |
| Relative Humidity |
5% ~ 95% no condensation |
|
| Power Dissipation |
≤30 |
W |
2.4 Compact and Low-Cost Deployment
One of the major advantages of the OM5800 platform is its compact modular architecture.
Compared with traditional telecom transport systems, the OM5800 provides:
- Smaller rack space usage
- Lower power consumption
- Reduced cooling requirements
- Flexible service expansion
- Lower overall deployment cost
The platform supports:
- 1U / 2U / 4U chassis
- Hot-swappable modules
- Dual redundant power supplies
- Front-to-rear airflow cooling
- Web GUI management
- SNMP and CLI management
This makes the solution highly suitable for:
- Data Center Interconnect (DCI)
- ISP backbone networks
- Enterprise optical transport
- Cloud infrastructure
- Financial networks
- Metro optical transmission
3. Why 400G DWDM Was Selected
The customer originally considered deploying multiple independent 100G wavelengths. However, after evaluating network scalability and operational efficiency, 400G coherent DWDM was selected for several reasons.
3.1 Better Fiber Utilization
400G coherent transmission significantly reduces wavelength consumption compared with deploying multiple separate 100G channels.
3.2 Lower Cost Per Bit
The overall transmission cost per gigabit becomes much lower with 400G aggregation architecture.
3.3 Simplified Network Architecture
Using a single 400G coherent wavelength simplifies optical layer management and future network expansion.
3.4 Future Upgrade Capability
The OM5800 platform can later evolve toward:
- 800G coherent DWDM
- ROADM networking
- Multi-site DCI architecture
- AI cluster interconnection
- High-density cloud networking
This protects the customer’s long-term infrastructure investment.
4. Final Deployment Result
After deployment, the customer achieved:
- Stable 400G coherent DWDM transmission over 60Km
- Reliable 1+1 fiber protection
- Stable optical power performance with EDFA amplification
- Reduced rack space usage
- Lower deployment cost compared with traditional systems
- Simplified maintenance and network management
- Future scalability toward higher-capacity optical networking
The project demonstrated that modern 400G DWDM DCI solutions no longer require oversized carrier-grade infrastructure. With proper architecture design, compact and cost-effective coherent optical transport platforms can fully meet enterprise and metro DCI requirements.
5. Conclusion
For enterprises and operators searching for a low-cost 400G DWDM solution with 1+1 OLP protection and EDFA support for 60km transmission, the Shenzhen Olycom Technology Co., Ltd. OM5800 platform provides a highly competitive solution.
By combining coherent 400G transport, intelligent optical protection, modular EDFA amplification, and scalable DWDM architecture, the OM5800 enables reliable and future-ready optical networking for modern DCI environments.
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