WDM PONs: Next Step for the First Mile

Kae-Hsiang Kwong, David Harle, Ivan Andonovic

University of Strathclyde
Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering
Royal College Building
204 George Street
Glasgow G1 1XW
United Kingdom
[kwong, d.harle, i.andonovic]@eee.strath.ac.uk

Abstract
Due to a variety of commercial reasons, investments and developments in the access network have not been
as active as in its backbone counterpart. The transmission bandwidth of access network has lagged far behind
the rest of the whole network architecture, this causing serious bottleneck problems resulting in potentially
high loss and long delay when traffic is exchanged between access and backbone networks.

This paper targets the bottleneck problems within the access network. A multiple wavelength Ethernet PON
(passive optical network) that constitutes a long-term and highly cost-efficient solution is proposed. The
access network architecture presented in the paper is a passive optical tree (point-to-multipoint) in which 64
ONUs (or more) are connected to an optical line terminal (OLT) via a shared section of fibre. A WDM
version of MAC (medium access control) scheme which enables multiple services, such as
telecommunications, TV broadcast, internet access, and multimedia communications, to be integrated into a
single infrastructure was developed. The proposed system provides a highly cost-efficient network
architecture in term of development, operation and maintenance.

Keywords: WDM PON, EPON, polling, MPCP, MAC.

Introduction
Data transmission and networking technologies have witnessed tremendous growth over the past decade.
However, much of this development and growth has been primarily in the core networks where high-
capacity routers and ultra-high-capacity optical links have created a truly broadband infrastructure. The so-
called first mile – the access network connecting end-users to backhaul infrastructure – remains a bottleneck
in terms of the bandwidth and quality of service it affords to the end-users. This has thus seriously impeded
the growth of truly broadband services and applications.

The inadequacy of the access network is particularly felt when one attempts to envision the applications and
services that are likely to become popular in the future. Interactive video applications, interactive gaming,
video telephony, video conferencing, remote storage, and high-speed virtual private networks (VPNs)
between geographically separated office locations or between homes and office locations for telecommuters
are just a few of such applications. It is likely that once the bandwidth and quality barrier of the access
networks is removed, new and unforeseen applications will emerge and attain widespread popularity. Many
of these emerging applications cannot be supported using the limited bandwidth available with todays
current access network infrastructure. Moreover, they require guaranteed quality of service (QoS) in terms of
packet delays and throughput. Therefore, the capability to provide high-quality and high-bandwidth services
will be a key requirement for access networks of the future.

Recently, a variety of network architectures has been proposed to target the bottleneck problem [4]-[8].
These new architecture are mainly structured using passive optical devices with different medium access
controls (MACs). The MACs of the passive optical network (PON) systems are either based on cyclic
rotation or polling mechanism [8]-[10].These MACs enable the optical line terminator (OLT) to schedule
optical network unit (ONU) for transmissions without complicated signalling and extra signalling channels.

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However, these MACs have inherited a potential problem; the cycle time (polling cycle) will increase
linearly as the number of attached ONUs scale up which can be caused by increasing customer numbers. The
longer cycle time (or polling cycle in the polling MACs) means ONU will have to wait longer before the
next transmission window arrives thus contributing to longer packet delays and poorer QoS.

As the access network is always the most cost sensitive section of the entire network, it is very desirable to
increase the number of ONUs to support new customers rather than laying a new ONUs-OLT tree. The
infrastructure can be shared among a larger customer group thus cost-per-customer can be driven down as it
is distributed to a larger customer group. The OLT is getting more sophisticated as the principle of “common
platform” becomes a fundamental guideline in local access development in which multiple services are
transported to end-users via a single robust infrastructure instead of multiple one-service-per-network
systems currently in place. The OLT is required to provide necessary interfaces to various service providers,
multiplex and demultiplex the service packets from end-user to service providers and vice versa. Therefore,
this sophisticated and high cost OLT is more preferable to be shared among a bigger group of customers.

In this paper, a new MAC based on WDM technology is proposed in which a number of wavelength
channels are established for communications in both upstream and downstream directions. This WDM MAC
is capable of supporting a large number of ONUs (64 or more) and bandwidth is allocated to ONUs
dynamically according to the load of individual ONU.

Network Architecture
Passive optical network (PON) technology is viewed by many as an attractive cost-efficient solution for the
bottleneck problem in access networks. The point-to-multipoint broadcast star architecture is especially
preferable because it composes a low cost and high bandwidth solution. A variety of passive optical network
architectures can be achieved in accordance to the penetration of the fibre. For example, if the fibre
terminates at the end-user premises, this network architecture is referred to as fibre-to-the-home (FFTH), or
the fibre-to-the-kerb (FTTK) where the fibre terminates at the road side kerb. Regardless of the fibre
termination point, these network architectures are generally referred to as PON and shared the same
fundamental operational principles. The OLT resides in the local exchange providing adaptation to different
services, such as telephony, cable TV, and Internet access. The service contents are multiplexed and
broadcasted downstream; then these broadcast signals are fanned into individual fibre connected to ONUs by
the splitter. On the other hand, the upstream transmissions from all ONUs are controlled and scheduled in a
timely manner by the OLT thus packets from different ONUs will not collide with each other when coupling
into the fibre trunk that linked to the OLT.

ONU 1
Queue 1 Tx Polling Table
Rx ONU V
Queue 2 Tx Splitter / RTT
Rx Combiner
users
Rx Service nodes
Optical
Rx OLT WAN
fibre
Tx CATV
Tx PSTN

Queue 1 Tx
Rx Polling Table
Queue 2 Tx ONU V
Rx
RTT
users ONU n
Multiple wavelengths over fibre

Figure 1. WDM PON systems.

The WDM PON proposed in this paper is identical to the single channel PON except that the ONUs and the
OLT are equipped with multiple transceivers to support parallel transmission in the fibre. Figure 1 shows a
2-channel WDM PON in which 2 upstream and 2 downstream wavelength channels are utilised.

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Logical Structure of ONU Module
In the WDM IPACT system, there are a number of upstream channels. Therefore, the ONU is required to be
equipped with a transmitting device that can operate at different wavelengths. The ONU can either be
equipped with a tuneable laser or with a number of fixed lasers that operate at different wavelengths. In the
WDM PON, an ONU can be scheduled for transmissions simultaneously over number of wavelength
channels. Therefore, multiple fixed lasers are installed in the ONU where each laser is operating on one of
the upstream wavelength channels.

ODN Function
User port
Laser 1 Queue 1

Combiner
Function

Laser 2 Queue 2
Coupler

Pin 1
Transmission
Splitter

MUX/DEMU
Pin 2

User port
Power OAM Function

Figure 2. A Logical Structure of ONU.

The main functional blocks in the ONU include: Transmission MUX/DEMUX, optical distribution network
interface (ODN), and user port function [3], [4], [5].

a. Optical distribution network interface

The ODN in the WDM IPACT system is different from that of the single channel IPACT system since it
comprises multiple fixed transmitters and receivers. Each transmitter is configured to operate at one of the
upstream wavelengths. Each downstream channel is attached to a receiver for constant reception of broadcast
signals from the OLT.

b. Transmission MUX/DEMUX
The MUX multiplexes customer interfaces to ODN interface. Downstream flow is demultiplexed and
packets are then extracted and forwarded to corresponding users. The MUX/DEMUX function can be
extended to support differential services in which the queue structure is replaced by an array of priority
queues. Once the end user packet arrives at the ONU, it will place the packet into one of the priority queues
according to some QoS distribution mechanisms and preferential treatment is provided to the packets stored
in the higher priority queues.

c. User port function

The user port function is responsible to provide necessary interface processes to individual end-users that
connected to the ONU allowing them access to the network system.

Structure of OLT Module

The OLT is required to schedule ONUs for transmissions over number of upstream channels. The scheduling
process is based on the bandwidth requests made by each ONUs recorded in the polling table. The OLT is
equipped with multiple fixed transmitters for simultaneous downstream transmissions, and multiple fixed
receivers that are constantly receiving data transmitted by ONUs in all upstream channels. A logical
illustration of OLT is shown in Figure 3.

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 ODN Function
Service
Laser 1 port

Combiner
Transmission
MUX/DEMUX Function
ONUs
Laser 2

Coupler
Core
Network
Pin 1

Splitter
Pin 2
Service
port
Power OAM Function

Figure 3. A logical structure of OLT.

The OLT consists of three parts: the service port function, ODN interface, and transmission MUX/DEMUX
[3], [4], [5].

a. Service port function

This function interfaces to services provided by the service nodes including PSTN, CATV, Internet, and etc.
The operations of service port function include inserting Internet packets into the backbone network and
extracting packets from the backbone connections.

b. Transmission MUX/DEMUX
The transmission MUX/DEMUX provides connections between the service port function and the ODN
interface in which different services are multiplexed into downstream channels.

c. ODN interface
The ODN handles insertion of packets into downstream channels and extraction of packets from the ONU
transmissions.

WDM Medium Access Control

The medium access control used in the system to schedule ONUs accessing upstream channels is referred to
as WDM IPACT. To illustrate the operation of WDM IPACT, a PON structure with 2 upstream and 2
downstream channels is used as an example (Figure 4). Two independent physical queues are located inside
an ONU storing incoming packets from end-users and each of the queues is attached to a fixed laser
operating at different wavelengths. When a packet arrives at the ONU it is forwarded to one of the queues
according to some distribution mechanism. However, each queue is scheduled for transmission
independently by the OLT, thus queue 1 of all ONUs will be scheduled in turn for transmission over the first
upstream channel and queue 2 will share the bandwidth of the second upstream channel.

Two polling tables are used in the OLT to record bandwidth requests made by ONUs. In the OLT polling
tables, information including identity (NID), round-trip time (RTT), and request bytes (V) are presented. The
transmission starting time and transmission window length of each ONU are calculated and assigned by the
OLT according to the information passed on by the ONU during the previous transmission.

To aid understanding in the description of WDM IPACT algorithm, only three ONUs are connected to the
OLT in the following example.

1. Assuming that at time t0, the OLT knows exactly how many bytes are waiting in queue 1 and queue
2 of each ONU. The OLT keeps the request made by ONUs to upstream channel 1 in polling Table 1
and request to upstream channel 2 in polling Table 2. Round-trip times to each ONU are also
recorded in the polling tables. At time t0, the OLT sends a Gate message to ONU 1 allowing it to
send 6000 bytes of its queue 1 packets on upstream channel 1, and a Gate message to ONU 2

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 allowing it to send 3000 bytes of its queue 2 packets on upstream channel 2. Gate messages are
broadcasted to every ONU, and based on the specified ID in the messages, they are picked up by
ONU 1 and ONU 2 accordingly. This process is illustrated in Figure 4(a).

2. Upon receiving a Gate message from the OLT, ONU 1 starts sending data on upstream channel 1
and ONU 2 on upstream channel 2 up to the sizes specified in the Gate messages. At the end of ONU
2 transmission windows, a Report message is generated by ONU 2 to inform the OLT how many
bytes are waiting for transmission on upstream channel 2 in the next transmission. At the end of
ONU 1 transmission window, a Report message is generated by ONU 1 to update OLT polling Table
1. Figure 4(b) illustrates ONU 1 and ONU 2 transmitting packets to the OLT in the corresponding
channels.

3. Even before the OLT receives replies from ONU 1 on upstream channel 1 (or ONU 2 on upstream
channel 2), it knows when the last bits of both transmissions will arrive. Based on information
recorded in polling tables, the last bit arrival time of ONUs can be obtained by:

t = t0 + round-trip time + transmission window;

t0 is the time when the Gate message to ONU is sent. The Round-trip time includes the actual round-
trip time, Gate message processing time, Report massage generating time, and a preamble for the
OLT to perform alignment on received data, i.e., it is exactly the time interval between sending a
Gate to an ONU and receiving data from the same ONU. The transmission window is the amount of
time required to transmit request bytes of data from the ONU to the OLT. With the knowledge of
when the transmissions of ONU 1 and ONU 2 will end, the OLT can schedule a Gate message to
ONU 3 permitting it to transmit on upstream channel 2 such that the first bit from ONU 3 will arrive
soon after the last bit from ONU 2, plus a 5 µs of guard time. And the same process will be used to
schedule a Gate message to ONU 2 allowing it to transmit its queue 1 packets on upstream channel 1
(Figure 4(b)).

4. At t1, the end of transmission from ONU 2, there is a new Report message containing information on
how many bytes are waiting in ONU 2 queue 2. The OLT will use this information to update its
polling Table 2 (Figure 4(c)). At the end of transmission from ONU 1, the OLT will use the Report
message from ONU 1 to update polling Table 1.

5. The OLT uses the information in polling tables to schedule all ONUs to transmit their queue 1
packets on upstream channel 1 and queue 2 packets on upstream channel 2 (Figure 4(d)).

It is clear that from the description above, a 2-channel WDM IPACT system can be set up without complex
synchronization and negotiation processes. Since all the scheduling and bandwidth allocation processes are
performed by the OLT, changes in the ONU’s setting or disconnection of malfunctioned ONUs will have
minimum impact on the entire system.

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 ONU Bytes RTT ONU Bytes RTT ONU Bytes RTT ONU Bytes RTT
1 6000 200 1 5500 200 1 1200 200 1 5500 200
2 6200 170 2 3000 170 2 6200 170 2 3000 170
3 4500 120 3 2000 120 3 4500 120 3 2000 120
Tx 1 G-6000 Tx 1 G-6000 G-6200
OLT Rx 1 OLT Rx 1 6000 bytes R1200

Tx 2 G-3000 Tx 2 G-3000 G-2000

Rx 2 Rx 2 3000 bytes R4100

Tx 1 6000 bytes R1200

Rx 1 Rx 1 G-6000
ONU 1 ONU 1
Tx 2 Tx 2
Rx 2 Rx 2

Tx 1 Tx 1 6200 bytes R2200

Rx 1 Rx 1 G-6200
ONU 2 ONU 2
Tx 2 Tx 2 3000 bytes R4100
Rx 2 Rx 2 G-3000

Tx 1 Tx 1
Rx 1 Rx 1
ONU 3 ONU 3
Tx 2 Tx 2 2000 bytes R1100
Rx 2 Rx 2 G-2000

Figure 4(a). Figure 4(c).

ONU Bytes RTT ONU Bytes RTT ONU Bytes RTT ONU Bytes RTT
1 6000 200 1 5500 200 1 6000 200 1 5500 200
2 6200 170 2 3000 170 2 6200 170 2 3000 170
3 120 3 2000 120 3 4500 120 3 2000 120
Tx 1 G-6000 G-6200 Tx 1 G-6000 G-6200
OLT Rx 1 OLT Rx 1 6000 bytes R1200

Tx 2 G-3000 G-2000 Tx 2 G-3000 G-2000 G-5500

Rx 2 Rx 2 3000 bytes R4100 2000 bytes R1100

Tx 1 6000 bytes R1200 Tx 1 6000 bytes R1200

Rx 1 G-6000 Rx 1 G-6000
ONU 1 ONU 1
Tx 2 Tx 2
Rx 2 Rx 2 G-5500

Tx 1 Tx 1 6200 bytes R2200

Rx 1 Rx 1 G-6200
ONU 2 ONU 2
Tx 2 3000 bytes R4100 Tx 2 3000 bytes R4100
Rx 2 G-3000 Rx 2 G-3000

Tx 1 Tx 1
Rx 1 Rx 1
ONU 3 ONU 3
Tx 2 Tx 2 2000 bytes R1100
Rx 2 Rx 2 G-2000

Figure 4(b). Figure 4(d).

Figure 4. WDM IPACT Algorithm.

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Scheduling GATE Messages
In the WDM IPACT, ONUs are scheduled to transmit in the upstream channels in a precise timing manner so
that these channels can achieve better utilisation without retransmission or packet loss caused by collision of
different ONUs’ transmissions. To achieve collision free transmission in all upstream channels, the Gate
message has to be delivered to the ONU in a precise timing manner so that the first bit of the ONU
transmission will arrive to the OLT just after the last bit of previous ONU transmission plus a guard time
interval.

In WDM IPACT system, Gate message is scheduled according to [6]:

W [x ] j
[i ]

G[x ] = G[x ] + r − r
[ i +1] [i ] [ i +1]
j j
[i ]
+ +B
Ru ; (1)
where,

G[ x][ji ] − Time when jth Gate message to ith ONU is transmitted downstream allowing ith ONU to
transmit packets on upstream channel x;
r [i ] − Round-trip time for the ith ONU;
W [ x][ji ] − jth windows size for ith ONU (including transmission of Report message) on channel x;

Ru − Transmission speed (bit rate);

B − Guard time (in µs);

In general, the Gate message can be scheduled to inform ONU for transmission on every upstream channel
according to the Equation 1. This formula guarantees that every ONU is scheduled to start its transmission in
a particular upstream channel such that the transmission arrives at the OLT just after previous ONU
transmission plus an additional 5 µs guard time. Figure 3 shows how ONUs are scheduled by the OLT
transmit in upstream channel x.

G[x] j G[x] j
[i ] [i +1]

r [ i +1]

r [i ] B
OLT Downstream channel x

Time
Grant to Transmission
ONU i from ONUi
ONUi Upstream channel x

Grant to Transmission
Time
ONU i+1 from ONU i+1
ONUi+1 Upstream channel x
Time
Figure 5. Scheduling GATE message to ONUs for transmission in upstream channel x.

Transmission Window Assignment Schemes

The assignment of transmission windows size can be a predefined (fixed) value or based on some algorithms
that use the request size of each ONU as an input for the calculation. A few approaches that OLT may take in
making its decision are listed below [6].

a. Fixed assignment scheme. In this scheme, each ONU will be assigned a fixed transmission window
regardless of the request made in previous transmission. And can be expressed as:

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 W [ i ] = WMAX

where, W[i] is the transmission window for ONU ith.

b. Limited assignment scheme. This assignment scheme will grant the ONU the amount of transmission
window it previously requested if the request size V[i] is no more than WMAX. Thus,

 V [i ]
W [ i ] = Min
WMAX

c. Gated assignment scheme. This scheme will grant ONU a transmission windows whatever size it
previously requested. Thus, the largest possible granted window size will be maximum length of ONU’s
queue. Therefore transmission windows W[i] = V[i].

Simulation Results
In the simulation, all ONUs have identical traffic load, and the line rate of the distribution section from ONU
to individual end-user is 100 Mbit/s. The line rate of each wavelength channels operating in the section
between OLT and ONUs is 1 Gbit/s. The guard time between ONU’s transmissions is defined as 5 µs and the
queue size of each ONU is 10 Mbytes. The WMAX is set to be 15000 bytes.

10

0.1
Delay (seconds)

16 ONUs Fixed service scheme

0.01 16 ONUs Gated service scheme

16 ONUs Limited service scheme
24 ONUs Fixed service scheme
24 ONUs Gated service scheme
24 ONUs Limited scheme
0.001 32 ONUs Fixed service scheme
32 ONUs Gated service scheme
32 ONUs Limited service scheme

0.0001
0 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7 0.75 0.8 0.85 0.9 1
Offered ONU load

Figure 6. Average Delay for single channel IPACT system (16, 24, 32 ONUs).

In Figure 6, the simulation results of single channel IPACT system [7], [8] with various ONU numbers are
showen. As the number of connected ONUs increases (which can be caused by increasing number of end-
users or bandwidth exhaustion by new internet applications), the IPACT system reached the saturation point
faster. When the ONU number increases to 32, the IPACT system will become unstable even when each
ONU is provided with a load of 30 Mbit/s.

To overcome the problem above, the WDM IPACT is applied. In Figure 7, the simulation results of a 2-
channel WDM IPACT with 24 ONUs are plotted against those of a single channel IPACT. It is clearly
shown that the upgrading solution proposed here can resolve the problem efficiently.

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 10
single channel Gated service

single channel Limited service

single channel Fixed service

1
WDM IPACT - Fixed service

WDM IPACT - Limited service

WDM IPACT - Gated service

0.1
Delay (seconds)

0.01

0.001

0.0001
0 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7 0.75 0.8 0.85 0.9 1
Offered ONU load

Figure 7. 2-channel WDM IPACT versus Single Channel IPACT (24 ONUs).

Figure 8 shows a 3-channel WDM IPACT-ST system with 32 ONUs. In this system 3 wavelength channels
are established in both directions. The additional upstream channel further reduces the waiting time required
by OLT to schedule ONU’s transmissions and the system only starts saturating at 0.85 OOL.

10
Single channel IPACT - Fixed service
Single channel IPACT - Gated service
Single channel IPACT - Limited service
WDM IPACT - Fixed service
1 WDMl IPACT - Gated service
WDM IPACT - Limited service

0.1
Delay (seconds)

0.01

0.001

0.0001
0 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7 0.75 0.8 0.85 0.9 1
ONU offered load

Figure 8. 3-channel WDM IPACT versus Single Channel IPACT (32 ONUs).

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Conclusions
Advances in multimedia have places unforeseen demands on network operator trying to provide high-speed
connections and good QoS to customers. One major problem faced by operators is the bottleneck caused by
increasing customer numbers as well as the increasing bandwidth demands made to support new multimedia
applications.

This paper proposes a new system called WDM IPACT which is able to overcome this problem. WDM
IPACT consists of multiple wavelength channels and is capable of supporting large numbers of ONU with
minimal delay thus supersedes the current single channel IPACT.

The simulation results illustrates the degradation of single channel IPACT when the number of ONUs is
scaled up. Similar situations will happen to the IPACT-like cyclic polling PON systems in which the polling
cycle increases linearly as the number of ONUs. This will cause longer time required by the OLT to poll
same ONU for next transmission, which is undesired result for the time critical traffic. The WDM IPACT
resolving this problem by introducing new upstream channels; as showed in the simulation results the
performances of the WDM PON system have increased dramatically.

References

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network using a master/slave scheduler, IEEE Journal of Lightwave Technology, 18(4), 2000, 461-468.

[2] Martin Maier et al., The arrayed-waveguide grating-based single-hop WDM network: an architecture for
multicasting, IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, 21(9), 2003, 1414-1432.

[3] Broadband optical access systems based on Passive Optical Networks (PON), G.983.1, ITU-T, 1998.

[4] ONT management and control interface specification for B-PON, G.983.2, ITU-T, 2002.

[5] A broadband optical access system with increased service capability using dynamic bandwidth
assignment (DBA), ITU-T, 2001.

[6] G. Kramer, B. Mukherjee, and G. Pesavento, Interleaved Polling with Adaptive Cycle Time (IPACT): a
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[7] G. Kramer, B. Mukherjee, and G. Pesavento, IPACT: a dynamic protocol for an Ethernet PON (EPON),
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