Abstract

With recent advances in optical devices and systems, wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) has begun to be recognized as a commercially viable technology. Current applications, however, are primarily limited to point-to-point systems or to networks of limited size and complexity, and a demonstration of a truly transparent WDM transport network remains a research challenge. For a WDM transport infrastructure to become a reality, it is essential that the network operations needs be addressed up front together with the architectural and hardware needs. This paper describes some of the key challenges of managing and controlling a largescale WDM transport network, including the implications for hardware design and inter-operability requirements.

© 1996 Optical Society of America