Cignal AI’s Transport Hardware Report includes coverage of ROADM line card shipments beginning in 2021. This ROADM report is an in-depth written update of the ROADM market data, analysis of the technology evolution, and forecast for the market.
The analysis is built upon surveys of optical network equipment manufacturers which provide ROADM shipment data. The total ROADM market is quantified across three categories: port count (large, small), spectral coverage (4.8THz C-band, 4.8THz L-band, 6THz C-band, 6THz L-band, and Integrated C+L), and cross connect (optical backplane vs. traditional fibering). The data is aggregated and presented in Cignal AI’s Transport Hardware Report at the worldwide level, without regional detail. Individual vendor data and market share is not included, but vendors can calculate their market share by comparing internal shipment data to the total market. This data is contained in the report Excel file and clients can download the latest ROADM data from the Real-Time Excel download area of the report page.
Background
Coherent interfaces are the engine of optical network growth and the source of most optical hardware revenue. Continual advances in coherent technology have been responsible for the ability of optical networks to accommodate 30% traffic growth while keeping optical network capex in check with CAGR in the low single digits. With such criticality to the success of hardware vendors, network operators, and their networks, Cignal AI has tracked and analyzed coherent port shipments in all their flavors since initial deliveries in 2012.
While coherent interfaces are critical, they require a photonic layer infrastructure, or line system, to transport and route the wavelengths they generate from source to destination. This task falls primarily to Reconfigurable Add/Drop Multiplexers (ROADMs). Over roughly the same period in which coherent has taken over the task of modulation from direct detect transceivers, ROADMs assumed the job of photonic transport from fixed-wavelength filters. And in much the same way that coherent brought programmability to wavelengths, ROADMs have enabled programmability and the following benefits in the photonic layer:
- Topology flexibility – Any-to-any wavelength connectivity independent of the fiber topology. They enable A-to-Z wavelength paths to align with network traffic demands without costly regeneration.
- Resiliency – In combination with a distributed control plane or centralized controller, they can route wavelengths around network failures without the need for redundant stand-by transponders.
- Operational efficiency and reliability – With ROADMs, the full capacity of the line system is fully provisioned, therefore no physical changes are required to add capacity as the system grows.
Increasingly, ROADM line cards incorporate additional hardware which enables advanced operational features such as:
- Optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR) to locate fiber faults
- Optical spectrum analysis for management and troubleshooting of wavelength parameters
- Path trace functionality for connectivity verification
- ASE noise generation, or line loading, which maintains a uniform power profile across the entire spectrum which minimizes the impact of potentially disruptive transients
As a result of assuming nearly every function necessary to build and operate a line system, ROADMs have become the foundation of most Metro and nearly all Long-Haul networks, regardless of their need for wavelength routing and reconfigurability.
Clients log in to access full report