Flexible Fiber Optic Cross-Connection Management

Today, fiber-optic networks span the globe. Whether you are managing an RBOC, IOC, carrier hotel, central office, cable plant, testing lab, mobile uplink or data center, fiber management plays an increasingly vital role in executing a successful operational strategy.

Breakthroughs in fiber switching design and manufacturing from Calient now make dynamic fiber management far less expensive and far more reliable. In fact, it is now possible for Service Providers to fully automate their static patch panels without increasing the overall solution cost with a Fiber Optic Cross-Connection System (FOCS).

To address the new realities of network operations management, current operational procedures and products addressing fiber management must evolve. The DiamondWave® FiberConnect enables instantaneous re-configuration of fiber paths, along with automatic updates to fiber path records—eliminating the manual processes of locating, moving and re-tagging fibers. Inflexible manual Fiber Distribution Frames (FDFs) and Optical Distribution Frames (ODFs) are replaced by intelligent Fiber Optic Cross-Connection Systems.

The DiamondWave FiberConnect supports a wide range of customer applications:

• Fiber Access
• Enterprise Data Centers
• Government Networks
• Test Labs and Production Floors
• Remote Test and Monitoring
• Access Fiber Construction Certification
• Submarine Cable Landings

For a clearer picture of how FiberConnect redefines fiber management, consider the operational flexibility of re-configuring network connections instantaneously by means of software control. Imagine being able to do this remotely from any location while your fiber management records update automatically to reflect the changes. One can readily see how this would improve quality-of-service levels and significantly reduce time and labor costs.

Here are just a few of the typical fiber network operational conditions that FiberConnect will improve:

• Fiber records management – With FiberConnect, all fiber paths are automatically recorded in a database that can be viewed from any Web browser on the network. When the fiber path is changed, the records are instantaneously updated to reflect the change.
• Truck rolls – Since network re-configuration can be managed from any workstation connected to the network, remote nodes can be re-configured without the need for on-site manual intervention requiring truck rolls.
• Churn – While FiberConnect cannot eliminate churn, it improves the ability to instantaneously re-configure the network to divert bandwidth or equipment resources to where they can be most efficiently utilized directly from the Network Operations Center, usually with no need to dispatch a technician.
• Alarms – FiberConnect includes optical power monitoring. If the optical power drops below the specified threshold, an alarm is raised that can be monitored from any workstation connected to the network. Further, dry contact environmental and security alarms can be monitored.
• Network upgrades – FiberConnect gives you the ability to create, save and recall complete sets of cross-connections. Simply point and click to gracefully failover, switchover and/or back out when performing network upgrades such as new hardware installation.
• Network topology testing – Use the FiberConnect “connection sets” to save and recall a variety of prototype or test cross-connection topologies, from any workstation connected to the network.
• Equipment and link testing – FiberConnect’s test ports allow you to remotely connect any test equipment with an optical port to any fiber or link on the network. With a simple point and click, you can choose when to test or monitor a light path or fiber.
• Optical layer protection and restoration – Provide protection/restoration for any fiber path. If the system detects a loss of light, it automatically switches to the protection port. When the system detects that light is restored, it automatically switches back. Both 1+1 and 1:n protection/restoration schemes are supported.

Consider the benefits:

• No more messy patch-cords: Fiber once, reconfigure many times
• No more inadvertent technician errors: Reconfigure remotely and via software control
• No more post-it notes: Seamless integration into databases and operational support systems
• No more out-of-date databases: Automated work-orders and real-time inventory
• No abandoned connections: Know what is connected with integrated signal monitoring. Fully utilize your equipment
• No more truck-rolls to isolate faults: Share test equipment (OTDR, BERT, etc) to localize faults centrally and remotely
• No more space constraints: Achieve higher density with DiamondWave – 320 connections (640 fiber terminations) in 28 inches of rack space, including the FOT; 1920 fiber terminations in a seven foot rack.

Remote Test and Monitoring

Specific service provider scenarios where remote test and monitoring have proven value include:

• Geographically remote central offices where faults must be isolated prior to dispatch to insure correct dispatch and properly equipped crew
• Demarcation locations between service provider networks where service quality on handoff must be measured and documented
• FTTX deployment where converged service quality, reliability measurements and troubleshooting are necessary, or when there is a time discontinuity between fiber construction and service activation (generally associated with Greenfield builds).
• Secured facilities requiring remote monitoring and test without physical access, often in government or military applications, or when third parties control physical access to POP locations.
• Lawful Intercept (CALEA),where law enforcement and national security personnel require surveillance of a large quantity of fiber; polling repeatedly through fibers seeking keyword associations
• IP Assurance, where terabytes and petabytes of IP traffic must be sampled for early detection, and isolation of worms and Denial of Service attacks.

Construction Certification

Introduction
You can now confirm the quality of fiber access construction before service activation from your Network Operations Center… and it won’t cost any more than your present mode of operation. This is just one of the unique benefits of a fiber optic cross-connection system.

The Challenge
One of the challenges of deploying a fiber optic based access network is verifying that the fiber has been properly placed and that bend and pull restrictions have been adhered to. The management of optical fiber is more complex and demanding than conventional copper wire, as noted in the table below.

The complexity of testing the fiber is sufficiently high that some service providers do not test the fiber until they provision a service. Unfortunately, this assumes that every service installer is skilled in fiber testing and is equipped with OTDRs; If this is not the case, turn-up time and cost are dramatically lengthened. Furthermore, when the fiber is deployed by a construction contractor, the service provider cannot be certain about the quality of the construction, potentially leading to unpleasant surprises later.

The Solution:
Fortunately, this becomes a problem of the past when using a Fiber Optic Cross-Connection System such as the DiamondWave® FiberConnect. By installing the FiberConnect instead of a manual patch panel in the CO between the Ethernet Switch or OLT and the Outside Plant Fibers, the optical characterization for every deployed fiber can be simply, easily and consistently measured from the Network Operations Center.

The correctness of the optical deployment can be verified:

• As the final certification step before the construction project is “handed-over” to the service provider operations team
• During service turn up to select the best fibers or re-verify final installation
• During the life of the service (for remotely troubleshooting fiber problems)

Why it makes sense:
Using the FiberConnect for Construction Certification has clear and compelling economic advantages. Using just the FiberConnect alone, the perceptual cycle of removing, cleaning, re-inserting and replacing the fiber is avoided. Furhtermore, using the DiamondWave® FiberTest Controller in conjunction with the FiberConnect automates the entire process.

This analysis does not even consider the cost of fewer OTDR test sets, the savings in verifying that the work has been done correctly the first time, and the elimination of human error and on-going savings in being able to remotely conduct the certification.

Conclusion:
The FiberConnect system dramatically streamlines the construction process. An order of magnitude cost decrease over previous fiber optic switches, coupled with the ease-of-use and redundancy features of a well architected system design, mean that static patch panels and jumper cords can be replaced by intelligent, automated fiber connection systems. The time lag between Greenfield construction and service activation is no longer a period of fiber plant uncertainty, and you have control over the quality of your construction contracts.