Table of Contents:

Definition and Overview

1. The Challenges of Today's Telecommunications Network

2. Resolving the Capacity Crisis

3. Capacity Expansion and Flexibility: DWDM

4. Capacity Expansion Potential

5. DWDM Incremental Growth

6. The Optical Layer as the Unifying Layer

7. Key DWDM System Characteristics

8. Conclusion

Self-Test

Glossary

PDF of this tutorial

Definition
Dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) is a fiber-optic transmission technique that employs light wavelengths to transmit data parallel-by-bit or serial-by-character.

Overview
This tutorial addresses the importance of scalable DWDM systems in enabling service providers to accommodate consumer demand for ever-increasing amounts of bandwidth. DWDM is discussed as a crucial component of optical networks that allows the transmission of e-mail, video, multimedia, data, and voice—carried in Internet protocol (IP), asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), and synchronous optical network/synchronous digital hierarchy (SONET/SDH), respectively, over the optical layer.