Omdia released the white paper: “The enduring value of IP + Optical” at the 2022 Next Generation Optical Networking (NGON) forum held in Barcelona, Spain.
The white paper offers analysis of “IP over WDM” and “IP+Optical”, states t IP over WDM was initially designed for one specific cloud service provider niche application. For communications service providers (CSPs)”IP+Optical” continues to be the more practical solution for CSP network, application and operational needs.
As stated in the white paper, the IP over WDM (IPoWDM) concept has been around for many years. Its fundamental premise has always been the ability to deploy transmission optics within routing platforms to delayer and simplify networks.
However, the hardware and software standardization of IPoWDM are work in progress industry initiatives and a significant integration effort is shifted from the vendors to the CSPs.
In contrast to the multi-variant architecture of IPoWDM, IP + Optical continues to demonstrate enduring value for the CSP community.
CSPs can continue to quickly leverage best-of-breed technology developments. Networks can be managed with existing skill sets and resources. Major advances in wavelength management continue, both in the core, at scale, and at the edge.