Nokia on Tuesday introduced a significant expansion of its 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS) portfolio, quadrupling optical fiber capacity to more than 70 terabits per second to address surging network data traffic demand.

Centered around the Photonic Service Engine version 2 (PSE-2) from Nokia Bell Labs, the enhanced 1830 PSS family doubles wavelength capacities and wavelengths per fiber, giving operators a platform to efficiently deliver the 100G transport services that customers are demanding.

Service providers are under tremendous pressure to scale their networks to meet the demands of large enterprises, cloud operators and Internet content providers for high-capacity, on-demand services – all while maintaining profitability by lowering cost per bit.

According to a white paper published by industry analyst firm Ovum, the rapid adoption of 100G router ports for the interconnection of data centers and metro and backbone applications is driving the need for operators to migrate from 10G client services to 100G to keep pace with escalating transport requirements.

Yet capacity alone is no longer sufficient to respond to ever-changing bandwidth demands. Optical transport is evolving from relatively static applications to highly dynamic services that can be turned up quickly and reconfigured on the fly.

Nokia is helping operators address these challenges with an expanded 1830 PSS portfolio featuring unprecedented flexibility through the new PSE-2 chipset and industry-leading scale with the 1830 PSS-24x.

These innovations and platforms provide operators with a cost-effective way of delivering business-driven 100G transport services.

Highest Performance, Most Programmable Optical Chipset

The PSE-2 is the world’s most sophisticated and highly integrated electro-optic chipset. It gives network operators the power to nimbly balance wavelength capacity and reach, maximizing the efficiency of every fiber in their network. The Nokia-designed PSE-2 is available in two versions:

The PSE-2 Super Coherent (PSE-2s) provides the ultimate in performance and flexibility for applications with very high traffic demands and potentially challenging distance requirements.

It can be programmed with seven unique modulation formats to support optimized 100G to 500G transport wavelength capacities, and distances for applications ranging from metro to ultra-long haul – including the industry’s first 400G single carrier, the first 200G long haul and the first 100G ultra-long haul.

The PSE-2s lowers cost per bit per kilometer by maximizing capacity for every distance, while using 50 percent less power.

The PSE-2 Compact (PSE-2c) is optimized for 100G DWDM applications where density, space and low power are paramount, including metro access and aggregation networks. The PSE-2c design creates more compact line cards that support “pay as you grow” pluggable optics, while consuming 66 percent less power.

Most Scalable Packet-OTN Switch Delivers Efficient Wavelengths And Differentiated Services

Employing the new Nokia-designed Transport Switching Engine (TSE) chipset, the 1830 PSS-24x is the industry’s most scalable packet/OTN multilayer switching platform.

By combining a TSE-powered switch fabric with PSE-2 coherent interfaces, the 1830 PSS-24x offers 9.6 terabits of switching per half-rack shelf, scalable to 48 terabits per rack.

This gives operators a new level of 100G service density, efficiency, and resiliency while using 50% less space and power than current generation packet/OTN switches.

Flexible DWDM Line Card With Up To 500g Capacity

Powered by the PSE-2s and its variable modulation capabilities, the 1830 PSS 500G DWDM Muxponder gives network operators unprecedented capacity, reach, and wavelength flexibility.

It also offers operators investment protection for their 1830 PSS platforms with an instant capacity upgrade, carrying as many as five 100G services per line card.

The 500G line card is available and being delivered to customers now.

Complete DWDM Transport Solution With Doubled Capacity

Nokia has expanded its industry-leading Wavelength Routing solution to support the L wavelength band, creating the industry’s most scalable optical layer by doubling the number of wavelengths per fiber.

By integrating PSE-2 powered interfaces and Colorless, Directionless, Contentionless, with Flexgrid (CDC-F) technology, the 1830 PSS Ultra-Wideband Wavelength Routing solution becomes the industry’s first C+L band CDC-F system, giving operators unprecedented programmability in the photonic layer.

Daniel Melzer, CTO of DE-CIX, said: “By operating the world’s leading Internet exchange with peak traffic of more than 5 Terabits per second, DE-CIX is seeing an increased need to dynamically interconnect 100G router ports to handle our changing bandwidth needs. We are excited to see Nokia introducing the optical innovations of the 1830 PSS 500G Muxponder, which can be reprogrammed quickly to multiple transport wavelength capacity and distance configurations. This unprecedented flexibility on a single optical line card will deliver a highly cost-effective solution that can support both raw capacity at 500G and maximum long haul distance at 200G.”

Ron Kline, Principal Analyst, Intelligent Networks at Ovum, said: “According to our research, service provider adoption of 100 Gigabit Ethernet is expected to drive growth of Core IP/MPLS routers to roughly $3.6 billion by 2020. This, in turn, will fundamentally transform operators’ networks as they look for solutions to handle this massive capacity increase in increments of 100G. Nokia has addressed this trend with its next-generation PSE-2 powered portfolio. The PSE-2 innovations deliver both scale and flexibility across every layer of the optical transport network.”

Sterling Perrin, Senior Analyst at Heavy Reading, said: “Nokia has come out with a powerful combination of innovations aimed at increasing capacity while also adding flexibility and improving efficiency in optical transport networks. More significantly, these are not just technologies, but commercial products that are being rolled out right now. While each of the PSE-2 advancements is important on its own, it is really the flexible combination of features – covering 100G to 200G to 400G and from metro to long haul and ultra long haul applications – that makes the PSE-2 announcement so compelling.”

Sam Bucci, head of optical networking at Nokia, said: “When we introduced the industry’s first single carrier 100G solution in 2010 we became a leader in optical network transformations, a position that was further solidified when we released the first programmable 100G/200G line card. With the launch of the PSE-2, our 500G Muxponder and the 1830 PSS-24x, we are again at the forefront of innovations, leading the way to 100G client services being the currency of modern optical networks. Thanks to the optical innovations of Nokia Bell Labs we are able to keep operators ahead of today’s aggressive bandwidth demand curve.”