Scalable Advanced Ring-based Passive Dense Access Network Architecture
SARDANA

SARDANA objective is to build a Network of the Future in the access domain to bring the true broadband communications to the highest number of users, unlimitedly at no extra cost, in and beyond the so called next-generation Fiber-to-the-Home networks. SARDANA, following the acronym, features:

• Scalable: Sardana is able to serve more than 1000 users with symmetrical 300 Mbit/s per user, spread along distances up to 100 km, at 10Gbit/s, in a flexible way.


• Advanced: to reach the project goals, a series of innovations are proposed and implemented:


• Adoption and adaptation of new opto-electronic technologies, like reflective semiconductor optical amplifier, remotely pumped fiber amplification, wavelength shifting, etc.


• Signal processing and communication techniques, like orthogonal optical modulation formats to reuse the same wavelength in down- and up-stream, non-linear electronic equalization of the different optical impairments present, and hybrid domain signal multiplexing (wavelength and time domain, routing the optical packets without collisions or delays).


• Ring-based passive: the network topology is hybrid with a central WDM ring, to offer instant communication protection in case of fiber cut, plus TDM single-fiber trees to the homes. In between, the Remote Nodes perform wavelength add&drop routing and optical amplification, although being fully passive. Strict passiveness is preserved in the external fiber plant.


• Dense Access Network Architecture: related to the concept of the user density in an area; it can range from a rural scenario at one hundred Km to an urban scenario with several thousand homes.

SARDANA will set an evolutionary path for current G/E-PON and incorporate functionalities of metropolitan networks, envisaging access-metro convergence.

During the project live, a Sardana Network demonstrator will be built, engineered and multi-layer operated; its main features will be also demonstrated in a field trial, delivering new generation bidirectional services to residential users.

Expected Impacts:

• One order-of-magnitude extension of current PON performances, aimed at overcoming the expected long term limitations of current internet capabilities, architecture and protocols.


• Smooth and increased scalability and backwards compatibility migration solution from currently deployed PONs.


• Establishment of new intelligent monitoring and compensation strategies to combat impairment and faults for a trusted robust PON. 


• Implementation of the MAC, the Control and Management planes, to demonstrate basic resiliency, wavelength balancing and improved service-aware traffic control.


• Economic effectiveness of the extended PON approach.


• Demonstration (at UPC, at Helsinki Oy, and during ICT’2010) and field-trial (in Lannion) of the SARDANA network.


• Formal proposal for a technical solution of a efficient multi-operator shared broadband infrastructure as an input to international Recommendation and national NGA Regulatory bodies. 


• SARDANA will result with experience and IPR that helps industry and research to develop a competitive advantage.

For more information, please take a look at the SARDANA Factsheet