Page 155 - Optical Switching And Networking Handbook

07_200023_CH06/Batesx 1/17/01 10:05 AM Page 140

140 Chapter 6

Figure 6-9
The Nortel
Networks (Xros)
system (Nortel
Networks)

Lucent Takes to the Waves

Lucent’s WaveStar LambdaRouter is an all-optical device that
switches light from one fiber to another without first converting the
light to an electrical signal and then back to an optical one.This elec-
trical detour slows the traffic down on today’s fiberoptic networks.
Lucent’s product is targeted at service providers. However, enter-
prise networks could be the ultimate beneficiaries if carriers are able
to offer higher-speed services more widely.
A single LambdaRouter can switch up to 40 gigabits (Gb) of traf-
fic, the capacity of 256 separate optical fibers, each carrying a single
wavelength. With WDM, each fiber can carry more than one wave-
length, increasing the potential capacity of the device.
Lucent has yet to answer whether the devices will scale as large
as carriers will need and whether the devices will be inexpensive
enough to make them worthwhile. Lucent claims the LambdaRouter
will cut carrier operating expenses by 25 percent.