Optoelectronics


New network architectures benefi t from reconfi gurable DSP


By Joost Verberk, director of product management, EFFECT Photonics S


oftware-defined networks (SDNs) and automation can make future optical networks more affordable and sustainable. SDNs enable network function virtualization (NFV), which allows operators to implement more functions that make it easier to manage and orchestrate the network. Operators can reap further benefits by using an artificial intelligence (AI) management


and orchestration layer with the SDN/NFV layer, as shown in Figure 1.


However, reaching the ideal of a fully automated optical network to handle the ever-increasing demand for data and services requires network management that goes beyond the higher network layers. Orchestration and management software should also interface with the network’s physical layer, and such an interface


requires smart optical pluggables. These requirements place additional burdens on digital signal processors (DSPs). DSPs are a vital component of coherent communication systems, as they perform coding, decoding, and error corrections on the optical signal. Fortunately, the advances in electronic integration and standards have created versatile, reconfi gurable DSPs that enable versatile next-generation pluggables.


Future automated networks must also work on the physical layer In a nutshell, SDNs improve network management by separating the switching hardware from the software, allowing operators to virtualize network functions in a single centralized controller. This centralized management and orchestration (MANO) layer can implement network functions that the switches do not, allowing network operators


Figure 1: Example of a carrier network with different applications (mobile, home, offi ce) automated via SDN control and AI management.


36 September 2022 Components in Electronics www.cieonline.co.uk


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