Photonics

The SURFnet6 network was initially built using fixed 10 Gbit/s wavelengths because the technology for dynamic wavelength configuration was not yet available at that time. In 2010 the GigaPort3 network was enhanced to provide full photonic flexibility in the core of the network; agile photonic networking was added by introducing innovative photonic technologies such as electronic dispersion compensation, tunable lasers, 40 Gb/s transmission and Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexers (ROADMs) based on Wavelength Selective Switches (WSSes) at important network nodes.

In the next few years, the available transmission capacity per optical channel will increase to 100 Gbit/s, which will be implemented where appropriate. An initial implementation is the deployment of 100Gb/s on the 1650km long Cross Border Fiber link between Amsterdam and Geneva. By optimizing the transmission route for long distance, this implementation was possible on the existing infrastructure that was originally designed for 10 and 40 Gbit/s DWDM transmission.

The photonics work package will further provide the substrate for the NGE work package and the Dynamic Light Path service. Both will make use of the capabilities of the current photonic layer, with the increased flexibility that has been added in 2010. It is expected that the photonic layer will need to be further upgraded once the NGE plans are finalized to accommodate the expected increase in demand, or for specific links.