Short for Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing, an optical technology used to increase bandwidth over existing fiber optic backbones. DWDM has been very successful in the backbone. DWDM works by combining and transmitting multiple signals simultaneously at different wavelengths on the same fiber. In effect, one fiber is transformed into multiple virtual fibers. So, if you were to multiplex eight OC -48 signals into one fiber, you would increase the carrying capacity of that fiber from 2.5 Gb/s to 20 Gb/s. Currently, because of DWDM, single fibers have been able to transmit data at speeds up to 400Gb/s. A key advantage to DWDM is that it's protocol- and bit-rate-independent. DWDM-based networks can transmit data in IP, ATM, SONET /SDH, and Ethernet, and handle bit rates between 100 Mb/s and 2.5 Gb/s. Therefore, DWDM-based networks can carry different types of traffic at different speeds over an optical channel.
DWDM's most compelling technical advantages can be summarized as follows: 1. Transparency: because DWDM is a physical layer architecture, it can transparently support both TDM and data formats such as ATM, Gigabit Ethernet, ESCON, and fiber channel with open interfaces over a common physical layer. 2. Scalability: DWDM can leverage the abundance of dark fiber in many metropolitan area and enterprise networks to quickly meet demand for capacity on point-to-point links and on spans of existing SONET/SDH rings. 3. Dynamic provisioning: fast, simple, and dynamic provisioning of network connections give providers the ability to provide high-bandwidth services in days rather than months. 4. Ordering information: Please contact with our account manager at [email protected]