Speakers
Description
Many NRENs are in the process of expanding their service portfolio with precise time transfer, or stable optical frequency distribution. As an update of its network, CESNET is currently deploying a large-scale infrastructure for time distribution. Offering coverage at more than 20 sites within its network, the rollout is heavily based on the SDN and DevOps paradigms, with SDN control of network elements and live telemetry data.
As part of the community hub demonstration, we present a functional model of the solution used for the deployment in CESNET’s network. The demo consists of a multi-span optical link which is used for simultaneous transmission of coherent optical traffic along with precise time transfer using the White Rabbit protocol. This setup, widely known as spectrum sharing, is a key enabler for cost-effective utilization of the existing fibre footprint. However, since data transmission typically employs a fiber pair, whereas the time signals benefit from bidirectional propagation through a single fiber, the optical setup is more challenging. The demonstration therefore employs a “regular” optical transmission system for data traffic, as well as spectrum filters and bidirectional, single-fiber EDFA amplifiers which are dedicated to the time transfer.
