Optical transport network

<p>An optical transport network (OTN) is a digital wrapper that encapsulates frames of data, to allow multiple data sources to be sent on the same channel. This creates an optical <a href="/facts/Virtual_private_network/HX1WUQ3E">virtual private network</a> for each client signal.
</p><p><a href="/facts/ITU_Telecommunication_Standardization_Sector/9nJwkPYx">ITU-T</a> defines an optical transport network as a set of optical network elements (ONE) connected by <a href="/facts/Optical_fiber/5ruuIFbj">optical fiber</a> links, able to provide functionality of transport, multiplexing, switching, management, supervision and survivability of optical channels carrying client signals. An ONE may re-time, re-Amplify, re-shape (<a href="/facts/Wavelength-division_multiplexing/xSkNRxfu">3R</a>) but it does not have to be 3R –  it can be purely photonic. Unless connected by optical fibre links, it shall not be OTN. Mere functionality of switching, management, supervision shall not make it OTN, unless the signals are carried through optical fibre. Unlike SONET/SDH, OTN provides a mechanism to manage multiplexed wavelengths in a <a href="/facts/Wavelength-division_multiplexing/xSkNRxfu">DWDM</a> system.
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Optical transport network open-in-new

Optical transport network