Key limitations in WDM systems and networks

Future higher-performance systems will be more complex than today's systems since the wavelength domain will be used to help route signals through different static or reconfigurable network paths. In these next-generation systems, several parameters may vary which would have deleterious effects in a WDM environment, including: variable insertion losses, channel addition and deletion (i.e., add/drop multiplexing), unstable laser power, non-uniform EDFA gain, fast gain transients in EDFA cascades, and non-uniform accumulation of dispersion and nonlinearities. In order to ensure robust system operation, we discuss in this paper various dynamic schemes for compensating damaging effects so that these complex systems maintain high performance. Additionally, optical networks will provide high-speed point-to-point connections and passive wavelength routing, but the true power of optics for high-throughput networking will require advances in high-speed optical switching. Significant functions and capabilities can be enabled by high-speed optical switches and cross-connects, but issues regarding control and routing are ripe for extensive research. We highlight one function, that being alloptical packet header replacement.

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