Optical Transport Network

OPTICAL TRANSPORT
NETWORK
WHAT IS OTN
• An optical transport network (OTN) is a digital wrapper that encapsulates frames of data, to

allow multiple data sources to be sent on the same channel. This creates an optical
virtual private network for each client signal.
• Experts define OTN as a collection of optical network elements (ONE) that communicate using
wavelength division multiplexing (WDM).
BACKGROUND
• Optical transport network (OTN) technology continues to gain momentum in transport networks due to the ever-increasing
demand for bandwidth, advances in optical technology and the increasing obsolescence of synchronous optical networking
(SONET) and synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) networks.
• OTN offers a roadmap for scalability beyond 100G and 400G rates with guaranteed service levels for all user. For many
decades, SDH and SONET networks provided extremely reliable and highly deterministic optical networks for long-distance
transport. The reliability and determinism came from key capabilities of the technology such as extensive fault detection and
isolation, performance monitoring, availability of communications channels at multiple levels and bandwidths, standardized
transport of client signals and provisioning for traffic protection and recovery.
• The aim of the optical transport network (OTN) is to combine the benefits of SONET/SDH technology with the bandwidth
expandability of DWDM. In short, OTNs will apply the operations, administration, maintenance and provisioning (OAM&P)
functionality of SONET/SDH to DWDM optical networks.
• This recommendation, sometimes referred to as digital wrapper (DW), takes single wavelength SONET/SDH technology a step
farther, enabling transparent, wavelength-manageable multi-wavelength networks. Forward error correction (FEC) adds an
additional feature to the OTN by offering the potential for network operators to reduce the number of regenerators used,
leading to reduced network costs.
WHY USE OTN
• OTN solves the problems of using SONET/SDH overhead.

• It has built-in forward error correction.
• It can be used to encapsulate a variety of different signals, such as Fibre Channel, Gigabit Ethernet,
and 10 Gigabit Ethernet.
• It has optical channel transport unit (OTU) and optical channel data unit (ODU) traces and defect
indicators as well as providing other overheads for management, such as those used by automatic
protection-switching (APS) protocols for signaling between network elements during failures.
• OTN frames also have unused overhead bytes that can be used to carry additional overhead
information.
OTN PRINCIPLES
• At a basic level, G.709 OTN defines a frame format that "wraps" data packets, in a format quite similar to that of a
SONET frame.
• There are six distinct layers to this format:
• OPU: Optical Channel Payload Unit.
• ODU: Optical Data Unit.

• OTU: Optical Transport Unit.
• OCh: Optical Channel.
• OMS: Optical Multiplex Section.

• OTS: Optical Transport Section.
OTN LAYERING MODEL
• All types of frames are to be transported transparently in the OTM frame, without them
having to be modified.
• A field is expected to add an FEC (Forward Error Correction) to perform the necessary
corrections to achieve an error rate determined.
OTN INTERFACE CONSISTS OF SEVERAL LEVELS. STARTING
FROM THE OPTICAL FIBER WITH THE FOLLOWING LAYERS ARE:
• OTS (Optical Transmission Section), which supports signal transmission optical checking its integrity.
• OMS (Optical Multiplex Section), which supports features to provide a wavelength-division multiplexing.
• OCH (Optical Channel), which is the level of one end of the optical signal. This level allows modification of the connection and rerouting, and maintenance functions to
the connection.
• In order to get access for end-to-end networking of optical channels to transparently convey user information, the OCh layer is employed in the OTN structure. It also
ensures connection rearrangement for flexible routing. Either full or reduced optical channel availability can be employed as required.
• DW (Digital Wrapper), which corresponds to the digital envelope. The level Digital Wrapper itself is broken down into three levels:
• OTU (Optical Transport Unit), which gives the possibility of adopting a correction using FEC.
• The OTU layer gives additional functionality by adding forward error correction to the network elements and by allowing carrier operators to reduce the number of
optical devices and switches used in the network (i.e. amplifiers, multiplexers, 3R regenerators). It also encapsulates two additional layers, the optical channel data unit
(ODU) and the optical channel payload unit (OPU).
• ODU (Optical Data Unit), which manages connectivity regardless of clients and offers protection and management of this connectivity. The ODU layer provides client-
independent connectivity, connection protection and monitoring whereas the OPU enables access to the payload information of SDH/SONET signals.
• OPU (Optical Payload Unit), which indicates a match between the signal and the type of client. The overall architecture of OTN is shown in Figure.
• The OTN hierarchy to support these four layers may also include three sections as, which are: the
optical transmission section (OTS); the optical multiplexing section (OMS); the optical physical section
(OPS).
• Different physical sections of the OTN are interfaced based on the information obtained from OTS,
OMS and OPS, respectively.
• OTS provides the required information about optical transmission functionality for optical signals to
travel through optical fibers and the necessary switching operation at fiber end points.
• The optical multiplexing section (OMS) gives the means of networking for a multiwavelength optical
signal, whereas the OPS describe the optical characteristics of the physical section in order to provide
reduced functionality excluding those sections which are not required to establish an interface between
two domains.
ADVANTAGES
• Protocol transparency, Integrity of the client signal is maintained, end user views exactly
what was transmitted.
• Backward compatibility for existing protocols.
• Better switching scalability, OTN is able to switch at a higher bit rates than SDH.
• Better Forward Error Correction (FEC).
OPTICAL LAYERS
OPTICAL CHANNEL - OCH
• This represent an end-to-end optical transmision of optical channels for transparently

conveying client information of varying format (e.g., SDH STM-N, gigabit Ethernet, cell-
based ATM, etc.), including optical channel connection rearrangement for flexible
network routing.
OPTICAL MULTIPLEX SECTION - OMS
• this deals with the fixed wavelength (Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) between
the Optical Add And Drop Multiplexers (0ADMs)
OPTICAL TRANSPORT SECTION - OTS
• This deals with the fixed wavelength DWDM between relays

• transports the optically multiplexed sections
• perform monitoring and maintenance between optical network elements
IT HAS 2 SWITCHING LAYERS:
• TDM (Time Division Multiplexing)

• WSON (Wavelength Switched Optical Network)
• comprises functions of transport, multiplexing, routing, management, supervision and
survivability
ELECTRICAL LAYERS
• ODU – Optical Data Unit

• OPU – Optical Payload Unit
• OTU – Optical Transport Unit
ODU – OPTICAL DATA UNIT
• This level adds optical path-level monitoring, alarm indication signals and automatic protection
switching.
• It performs similar functions to the ‘Line Overhead’ in SONET/SDH.
OPTICAL DATA UNIT TYPES
ODU FRAME STRUCTURE
• 3 main areas of the ODUk frame are:
• OTUk area
• ODUk overhead area
• OPUk area
• Column 1 to 14 of row 2-4 are dedicated to ODUk overhead area
• Column 1 to 14 of row 1 are reserved for frame alignment and OTUk specific overhead
• Columns 15 to 3824 of the ODUk are dedicated to OPUk area.
ODUK OVERHEAD AREA
PATH MONITORING (PM) BYTE DESCRIPTION
• Trail Trace Identifier

• BIP-8
• Backward Defect Indication(BDI)
• Backward Error Indication and Backward incoming alignment error (BEI/BIAE)
• Path Monitoring Status(STAT)
TANDEM CONNECTION MONITORING (TCM)
• Trail Trace Identifier (TTI)

• BIP-8
• Backward Defect Indication BDI
• Backward Error Indication and Backward Incoming Alignment Error (BEI/BIAE)
• TCM Monitoring Status (STAT)
• Tandem Connection Monitoring Activation/ Deactivation (TCM-ACT)
• General Communication Channels (GCC1, GCC2)
• Automatic Protection Switching and Protection Communication Channel (APS/PCC)
• Fault type and Fault Location reporting communication channel (FTFL)
ODUK MULTIPLEXING
• Multiplexing- Combining multiple signals together in order for them to traverse a single
communication medium simultaneously.
• 4 ODU1’s can be multiplexed to and ODU2
• Upto 16 ODU1’s or 4 ODU2’s can be multiplexed to an ODU3
• It’s possible to mix ODU1’s and ODU2’s into an ODU3.
OPU – OPTICAL CHANNEL PAYLOAD UNIT
• This contains the encapsulated client data and a header describing the type of that data.
• It is analogous to the “Path” layer in SONET/SDH in that it is mapped at the source,
demapped at the sink, and not modified by the network.
OTU – OPTICAL TRANSPORT UNIT
• This represents a physical optical port (such as OTU2, 10Gbps), and adds performance
monitoring (for the optical layer) and
• contains the Forward Error Correction FEC and performs similar functions as the Section
Overhead in SONET/SDH.
• After the FEC are added, the signal is then sent to a SERDES (Serializer/Deserializer) to
be converted to the Optical Domain.
• It is similar to the “Section Overhead” in SONET/SDH.
OTN FRAME STRUCTURE

Optical Transport Network

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OPTICAL TRANSPORT

• An optical transport network (OTN) is a digital wrapper that encapsulates frames of data, to

• OTN solves the problems of using SONET/SDH overhead.

• OPU: Optical Channel Payload Unit.

• ODU: Optical Data Unit.

• OCh: Optical Channel.

• OMS: Optical Multiplex Section.

• This represent an end-to-end optical transmision of optical channels for transparently

• This deals with the fixed wavelength DWDM between relays

• TDM (Time Division Multiplexing)

• ODU – Optical Data Unit

• Trail Trace Identifier

• Trail Trace Identifier (TTI)

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