Project EO-Net

Finished Project

EO-Net

Elastic Optical Networks

Project Key Information
Start date	End date	Budget (total)	Effort (total)	Project-ID
November 2010	April 2013	5204 k€	40.8PY	CP07-006

Project Coordinator

Patricia Layec
Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs
France
e-mail: Patricia.Layec(at)alcatel-lucent.com

Project Consortium
Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs France	France	C2TECH	Turkey
Ekinops	France	Nordunet	Denmark
France Telecom / Orange Labs	France	Danish Technical University	Denmark
Chalmers University of Technology	Sweden	Analogies S.A.	Greece

Abstract

EO-Net will carry out cutting-edge research with the aim to design and demonstrate a novel networking concept based on “elasticity” for improved utilization of resources in Wavelength Division Multiplexed (WDM) optical networks. By “elasticity” it is meant that a certain number of transmission parameters such as the optical data-rate, the modulation format or the wavelength-spacing between channels, which are fixed in currently deployed networks, will be made tunable.

Elasticity will thus allow improved matching between the transmission parameters, the network infrastructures (and the physical impairments they cause to optical signals) and the traffic profile. The benefits will be wide-ranging, including in particular increased available network capacity, lower cost per bit, better energy efficiency and better scalability.

EO-Net will provide a global picture of elastic optical networks by integrating research activities focusing on all the aspects of networking that are impacted by an elastic optical layer, namely:

Design and assembly of elastic transponders, capable of transmission at tunable data-rate, modulation format and channel spacing
Design and characterization of elastic WDM transmission systems including in particular fine estimation of the impact of physical impairments on optical signals as a function of the transmission parameters.
Design and assembly of interfaces (linecards) between routers and elastic transponders for flexible aggregation of standard traffic onto elastic channels
Development of algorithms for traffic grooming, routing, format and bandwidth allocation taking into account the impact of physical impairments on optical signals
Design and test of a control plane for the management of connections in elastic optical networks.

The outcomes of the aforementioned research activities will be integrated into a multi-layer demonstrator to validate the concept of network elasticity and will also be the basis for detailed techno-economic studies assessing the cost of the proposed solution and assessing which level of elasticity is most appropriate for future competitive products. Elastic functionalities are in particular expected to be transferred on a short time scale to 100Gb/s coherent technologies currently under development.