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

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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.