Broadband Passive Optical Access Networks

Fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) or close to it (FTTx) networks are poised to become the next major success story for optical fiber communications. Future FTTx access networks unleash the economic potential and societal benefit by opening up the first/last mile bandwidth bottleneck between bandwidth-hungry end-users and high-speed backbone networks. Owing to their longevity, low attenuation, and huge bandwidth, passive optical networks (PONs) are widely deployed to realize cost-effective FTTx access networks. Fiber has been envisioned for delivering broadband services for over 30 years. However, many roadblocks related to component and installation costs have slowed down the progress toward FTTx since it was first proposed. Currently, FTTH is being installed in many countries, but it still represents only a fraction of all deployed broadband lines (Shumate [2008]). The two major state-of-the-art PON standards IEEE 802.3ah Ethernet PON (EPON) and ITU-T G.984 Gigabit PON (GPON) consist both of a single upstream wavelength channel and a separate single downstream wavelength channel, whereby both channels are operated using time division multiplexing (TDM). EPON and GPON are expected to coexist for the foreseeable future as they evolve into next-generation PONs (NG-PONs) (Effenberger et al . [2007], Kazovsky et al . [2007]). NG-PONs can be categorized into high-speed TDM PON, wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) PON, and long-reach PON (LR-PON) (Lin [2008], Effenberger et al . [2009a]).

This paper reviews the future directions of next generation passive optical networks. A discussion on standardized 10 Gb/s passive optical network (PON) systems is first presented. Next, new technologies that facilitate multiple access beyond 10 Gb/s time division multiple access (TDMA)-PONs will be reviewed, with particular focus on the motivation, key technologies, and deployment challenges. The wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) PON will be discussed and in combination with TDMA, the hybrid WDM/TDMA PON will be reviewed in the context of improving system reach, capacity, and user count. Next, discussions on complementary high-speed technologies that provide improved tolerance to system impairments, capacity, and spectral efficiency will be presented. These technologies include digital coherent detection, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), and optical code division multiple access (OCDMA).

Performance analysis of ONU-wavelength grouping schemes for efficient scheduling in long reach-PONs

In this PhD dissertation multi-rate models are examined for the performance analysis of telecommunication networks through mathematical analysis and simulation. Particular emphasis is given to optical networks. The main goal is the development of analytical models for the calculation of network performance metrics, such as blocking probabilities, transmission delay and utilization of the common channel. The proposed analytical models are distinguished according to the network technologies. Three different technologies are considered: A) Wavelength routed optical networks. B) Optical access networks. C) Wireless Internet access networks. Multi-rate loss models are proposed for the performance evaluation of wavelength routed optical networks. Firstly, the case of a single link is considered and then a mesh all-optical network is examined. In addition, analytical models are proposed for Optical Packet Switching (OPS) networks, for the case of an all-optical OPS switch and of an OPS mesh network. Multi-rate analytical models are proposed for the evaluation of the performance of Passive Optical Networks (PONs) implementing different multiple access methods. For the case of Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) the Ethernet PON is studied, which supports multiple service-classes. Regarding the Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) PONs a hybrid WDM-TDMA PON is considered and the call-level performance is evaluated. Calls are distinguished by their arrival process, which can be random or quasi random, by their bandwidth requirements, which can be fixed of elastic and by their behavior during their service, which can be calls of fixed transmission rate or calls that alternate between ON and OFF periods. Finally multi-rate loss models are proposed for the case of Optical Code Division Multiple Access (OCDMA) PONs that take into account the user activity and the presence of additive noise in the transmission channel. For the performance analysis of wireless Internet access networks analytical models are proposed, which implement the IEEE 802.11 protocol or the IEEE 802.11e protocol. The proposed analysis calculated the saturation throughput and the end-to-end packet delay as a function of the Medium Access Control (MAC) delay and the queueing delay. In all cases the accuracy of the proposed models is validated through simulation.

Future passive optical networks (PONs) are expected to support much larger capacity and much wider coverage. How to jointly address these two design requirements represents one of the most challenging aspects in today’s research on PONs. So far, most research efforts have been devoted to devising new architectural or technological solutions to support such stringent requirements. In particular, the technology to be used for transmission may have diverse multiplexing techniques, types of transceivers, modulation formats, and detection techniques. However, the question of which transmission technology is the most effective considering the trade-offs in terms of complexity, offered capacity, and reach is still open. In this paper, we aim at answering this question comparing the use of time division multiplexing (TDM), wavelength division multiplexing (WDM), and hybrid TDM/WDM techniques in PONs. To achieve this goal, we first categorize the main options for transmission technologies in PONs in three families: colored dense WDM (DWDM), tunable DWDM, and colorless DWDM. Then, we propose a new optimization scheme that selects the optimal transmission technology for different operational scenarios that are defined by varying the number of users, the distance to the users, and the traffic load. The choice of the passive optical components to be used at the remote node is also part of the optimization scheme given its significant impact on the choice of the transmission technology. As a result, we report and discuss which transmission technologies are the most suitable under different operational scenarios.

The potential for sharing infrastructure costs between a large number of customers and the high data rates allowed by optical fibres make passive optical networks (PONs) an attractive solution to the problem of upgrading current copper-based access networks. Optically-amplified, long reach, time division multiple access (TDMA) PONs or 'SuperPONs' offer the potential to further reduce bandwidth transport costs by enabling the direct connection of access networks and inner core networks, thereby eliminating the costs of the outer core/metro backhaul network. The use of dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) could also allow sharing the same feeder fibre and PON head end equipment between a number of such TDMA SuperPONs, each working at different ITU-grid wavelengths. However, a cost effective access solution should employ a customer optical network unit (ONU), which is independent of the PON wavelength, or colorless, in order to reduce the high inventory and deployment costs of using expensive, wavelength-specified sources at the customer. In this paper we demonstrate for the first time the use of a monolithically-integrated, electroabsorption modulator-semiconductor optical amplifiers (EAM-SOAs) as a colorless ONU in a high performance DWDM SuperPON system. These compact devices offer the potential for low-cost optoelectronic integration with other ONU components together with the ability to modulate at rates up to 10Gbps and beyond. We have used this approach to investigate the feasibility of supporting up to 17 SuperPONs from a single feeder fibre and PON head end, each of 100km-reach accommodating 512 users at 2.5Gb/s or 128 at 10Gb/s.

Next-generation optical access networks are envisioned to evolve into a converged, high-speed, multiservice platform supporting residential, business, mobile backhaul, and special purpose applications. Moreover, bandwidth demand projections suggest that terabit aggregate capacity may need to be reached in such next-generation passive optical networks (PON). To satisfy these requirements while leveraging the large investments made in existing fiber plants, a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM)-based long-reach PON architecture combined with a multiple access technology that features a passive last-mile split, large per-λ speeds, and statistical bandwidth multiplexing can be exploited. In this paper, the first terabit PON based on hybrid WDM orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) technology is proposed and experimentally verified. To enable high-speed, long-reach transmission with simplified optical network unit (ONU)-side digital signal processing, multiband OFDMA with ONU-side sub-band selectivity is proposed. Design challenges and tradeoffs between analog and digital domain sub-band combining and selection are also discussed. Finally, the experimental setup and results of the first 1.2 Tb/s (1 Tb/s after overhead) symmetric WDM-OFDMA-PON over 90 km straight single-mode fiber and 1:32 passive split, featuring multiband OFDMA, digitally selective ONUs, and a coherent-receiver OLT are presented and analyzed. By supporting up to 800 ONUs with 1.25/10 Gb/s guaranteed/peak rates and exhibiting a record rate-distance product achieved in long-reach PON, the demonstrated architecture may be viewed as promising for future converged terabit optical metro/access.

Performance enhanced down-stream signalling for next generation long-reach 10 Gbit/s passive optical networks

Hybrid gigabit-passive optical network (GPON) is one of the hybrid optical networks, it integrates both Wave length Division Multiplexing (WDM) GPON and Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) GPON into a single passive network, which lowers the energy consumption, networking expenditure and boosts the data rate. In this paper, Radio over Fiber Technique of 10 GB/s GPON network architecture is implemented and verified using Quadrature Phase Shift Keying Modulation of 2.4 GHz radio frequency. Single-mode fiber of length 50 km is used to propagate the radio signals. Commercial OptiSystem simulation software is used to simulate the model. In total, 32 and 64 users are supported through this model. Based on the response of the constellation diagram, received power, eye diagram, and optical signal-to-noise ratio, the system is analyzed.

This work presents a new approach on dynamic bandwidth allocation (DBA) for Ethernet Passive Optical Networks (EPONs). A brief introduction to the DBA area and major term definitions are given. The related research and standardization efforts are presented. Justification that EPONs can be used on the aggregation network is provided, based on their evolution and related research proposals. Focus is given to the Long Reach-Passive Optical Networks (LR-PONs) and their limitations which show the need for a non-polling, midterm DBA scheme for next-generation EPONs. The challenges arising, because of this new approach, are discussed along with possible solutions. Finally, this work proposes the EMDBA algorithm which is able to overcome the discussed issues. The correct operation of this algorithm is confirmed by a set of simulations using OMNet++ framework, and the outcome results show that EMDBA performance is satisfactory in terms of delay and service differentiation.

Chapter 2 - PON Architectures Review

With the advances in optical technology, the span of a broadband access network using passive optical network (PON) technology can be increased from today's standard of 20 km to 100 km or higher, and thereby serve a lot more users. Such an extended-reach PON is known as SuperPON in the literature, and we call it a long-reach PON (LR-PON). A major challenge in LR-PON is that the propagation delay (for data as well as signals) between the telecom central office (CO) and the end user is increased by a very significant amount. Now, traditional PON algorithms for scheduling the upstream transmission, such as dynamic bandwidth allocation (DBA) algorithms, may not be sufficient; actually, they may lead to degraded performance because of the long delay of the CO-to- Users control loop. This challenge motivates us to propose and study a multi-thread polling algorithm to effectively and fairly distribute the upstream bandwidth dynamically. This algorithm exploits the benefits of having multiple polling processes running simultaneously and enabling users to send bandwidth requests before receiving acknowledgement from the CO. We compare the proposed algorithm with traditional DBA, and show its advantage on average packet delay. We then analyze and optimize key parameters of the algorithm, such as initiating and tuning multiple threads, inter-thread scheduling, and fairness among users. Numerical results demonstrate the algorithm's advantage to decrease the average packet delay and improve network throughput under varying offered loads.

This paper introduces an in-service line monitoring technique that can locate a fault in branched optical fibers in passive optical networks (PONs) from a central office. This technique can upgrade the conventional optical fiber line testing and monitoring system. To distinguish a backscattered signal from each branched PON fiber, we employ the fibers with individually assigned Brillouin frequency shifts (BFSs) fibers as drop cables and a 1650-nm Brillouin optical time-domain reflectometer (B-OTDR) instead of the OTDR used in the conventional testing system. This paper describes the design of the BFS taking the outside plant environment into consideration, and discusses the performance of the proposed testing system. We also demonstrate an experimental measurement that locates a fault in a branching fiber after a 1 × 8 optical splitter, and in-service line monitoring for gigabit Ethernet PON (GE-PON) transmission systems.

Optical fibers are a key inventive discovery that contributed to the digital revolution, although cost becomes a major factor for long-distance communication. Whereas passive optical networks (PONs) offer reduced costs and cater to multiple users; hence, they are becoming more common in LANs, densely inhabited areas, and backbone networks. Numerous experiments on PON systems have been authored in the last couple of years, with results expressed in terms of BER, eye openings, quality of received bits factor, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and burst blocking, which demands a vast review of PONs based on these parameters. So, a comprehensive review of PONs is extensively researched to identify the methods’ limitations. Along with long-reach(LR)-PON systems, power conservation in PONs and burst contention are also addressed. To demonstrate the performance of PON architectures, the findings are provided in terms of delay, energy efficiency, and operations intensity.

Many multiple access techniques have been proposed and demonstrated to provide flexible solutions for FTTH network configurations. The performance of this system suffers because of the correlation properties that contribute to a high level of Multiple Access Interference (MAI), low system capacity (users), and lower transmission rate. In this paper, we have proposed Optical CDMA (OCDMA) as a configuration solution for FTTH networks to improve the performance of this type of network. Full Text: PDF References. Z. Mateusz, M. Mariusz, On cost of the uniformity in FTTH network design, Conference on Transparent Optical Networks (2017), 87-90 CrossRef CEDRIC F. LAM, Passive Optical Networks- Principles and Practice, first ed., British Library, USA, 2007. DirectLink M.K. Abdullah, W.T. P'ng, P.W. Lau, E.R. Tee, FTTH access network protection using a switch, Asia Pacific Conference on Communications (APCC), 3(2003) 1219–1222. CrossRef J. Ronnakorn, S. Napat, L. Somkiat, Design and implement of GPON-FTTH network for residential condominium, Conference on Computer Science and Software Engineering, (2017), 333-339. CrossRef M. BOUREGAA, M. CHIKH-BLED, Comparative Study of Optical Unipolar Codes for Incoherent DS-OCDMA system, International Journal of Hybrid Information Technology, 6 (2013) 225-236. CrossRef M. BOUREGAA, M. CHIKH-BLED, The performance of a DS-OCDMA system using Orthogonal Optical Codes (OOC), European Scientific Journal, 9 (2013), 322-335 CrossRef M. Iwase, Y. Ishikawa, T. Komatsu, J. Kasahara, N. Hattori, M. Miura, N. Nakamura, K. Odaka, Optical transceiver modules for gigabit Ethernet PON FTTH systems, Furukawa Review, 28 (2005) 8-10. DirectLink