In the ALLEGRO project, we’ve explored how pluggable EDFAs—low-cost amplifiers primarily designed for DCI applications—can be leveraged in multi-span DWDM networks despite their limitations.
🔍 Challenges with Pluggable EDFAs:
✔️ Lack of variable gain operation with flatness control, leading to OSNR performance issues
✔️ Absence of gain flattening filters, resulting in gain variations across channels
✔️ Limited multi-span support, especially for dual-amplifier configurations
Despite these challenges, pluggable EDFAs offer cost-effective signal amplification in network access scenarios. In the ALLEGRO testbed at TEI, we implemented an optical ring setup with four nodes, utilizing six WDM channels to create a logical full-mesh interconnection.
📊 Key Results:
⚡ Power-efficient E2E transport infrastructure
🔗 Flexible transceiver implementation optimizing OSNR & energy savings
📉 Reduced network energy consumption while maintaining performance
The future of scalable, cost-effective optical transport is here. Stay tuned for more results from ALLEGRO!
#AllegroProject #OpticalNetworking #DWDM #PluggableEDFA #EnergyEfficiency #TelecomInnovation
