CNS Core: Small: Migration to Next-Generation Multi-Band Optical Networks

全世界都部署了光纤网络，以便在高速光路上传输互联网流量。随着流量需求持续呈指数级增长，特别是随着下一代5G/6G网络的出现，光纤频谱变得稀缺，从而导致了一场“容量紧缩”。随着单模光纤的C频段不可避免地耗尽(在过去的几十年里，光通信系统因其最小的衰减而蓬勃发展)，运营商现在正在寻找解决方案来解决这一容量紧张问题。利用C频段以外的其他传输频段--即包括O、E、S、C和L频段的整个低损耗频谱--可以充分利用标准单模光纤的潜力。这项研究将研究棕地从目前的C波段网络向下一代多频段光网络迁移的新策略。该项目将发展对多频段网络技术和相关科学的新见解，导致下一代网络设计和运营的实质性改进。这反过来将有助于改善我们的国家和全球网络基础设施，并在未来几年为互联网用户带来好处。多频带技术在增强我们的网络容量方面具有巨大的潜力，但也带来了独特的挑战和复杂性。从C频段到多频段系统的迁移需要仔细规划，以便有效地利用不同频段之间的性能差异。这个项目涉及两个主要的研究领域，与从C频段到多频段系统的逐步迁移有关。首先，它将研究从C到C L波段的有效棕地迁移策略，并研究升级过程中的物理层建模挑战。该项目将系统地解决多阶段批量升级的关键问题，如应该升级哪些和多少网络链路和节点，以及何时…通过考虑网络拓扑、流量分布、网络负载等，本项目还将研究如何高效地升级超过C L频段，并探索针对升级场景的不同顺序和配置(例如，C Only、C L、C L S、C S E等)。它将根据每个频段的传输特性研究不同的频段选择技术，并探索哪些频段和多少个频段在哪些网络位置进行升级是商业上可行的。为了在多频带网络中有效地提供连接，将考虑连接要求和频带可用性(因为不同频带的可用性在网络的不同部分可能不同)来研究不同的频带分配策略。该项目将跨多个频段扩展关键物理层建模，以解决不同频段带来的额外复杂性。该项目计划让本科生和代表性不足的群体参与研究工作。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Optical networks are deployed worldwide to carry Internet traffic over high-speed optical paths. As traffic demands continue to grow exponentially, especially with the emergence of next-generation 5G/6G networks, optical spectrum is becoming scarce, leading to a “capacity crunch”. With the inevitable exhaustion of the single-mode fiber’s C band (around which, for the past decades, optical communication systems flourished due to its minimum attenuation), operators are now looking for solutions to address this capacity crunch. Exploitation of other transmission bands beyond C band – i.e., the entire low-loss spectrum encompassing O, E, S, C, and L bands – can utilize the full potential of a standard single-mode fiber. This research will investigate novel strategies for brownfield migration from current C-band-only networks towards next-generation multi-band optical networks. This project will develop new insights on multi-band network technology and related science, leading to substantial improvement in next-generation network design and operations. This, in turn, will help improve our national and global network infrastructures and provide benefits for Internet users in future years.Multi-band technology holds enormous potential towards capacity enhancements in our networks, but also brings with it unique challenges and complexity. Migration from C-band to multi-band systems will require careful planning to efficiently exploit the performance variations across different bands. This project tackles two main research areas associated with gradual migration from C-band to multi-band systems. First, it will investigate efficient brownfield migration strategies from C to C+L bands and study the physical-layer modeling challenges during the upgrade. The project will systematically address critical questions for multi-period batch upgrade, such as which and how many network links and nodes should be upgraded, and when… by considering network topology, traffic profile, network load, etc. The project will also investigate how to efficiently upgrade beyond C+L bands and different orders and configurations for upgrade scenarios will be explored (e.g., C only, C+L, C+L+S, C+S+E, etc.). It will investigate different band-selection techniques based on transmission characteristics of each band, and will explore which and how many bands are commercially viable for upgrade at which network locations. For efficient connection provisioning in a multi-band network, different band-assignment strategies will be studied considering connection requirements and band availability (as availability of different bands may vary in different parts of the network). This project will expand the critical physical-layer modeling across multiple bands to address the additional complexities imposed by different bands. The project has plans to involve undergraduates and underrepresented groups in the research effort.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.