Frame Loss Evaluation of Optical Layer 10 Gigabit Ethernet Protection Switching Using PLZT Optical Switch System

IP traffic in the core and access networks increases rapidly by the speed-up of the access network and the spread of the rich applications. 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10 GE) becomes a popular link technology to connect IP routers and Ethernet switches not only intra-office transmission links but also inter-office long reach transmission links. The optical layer protection switching is expected to provide a cost effective link protection mechanism for ultra high speed optical transmission systems such as over 100 Gbps systems. A Plumbum Lanthanum Zirconium Titanium (PLZT) optical switch which provides less than 10 ns switching speed is expected to be applied optical packet switching, optical burst switching, optical slot switching, and optical protection switching. In this paper, evaluation results of PLZT high-speed optical switch based 10 GE optical layer protection switching performance in the Ethernet layer (layer 2) is presented. The frame loss period after protection switching event is measured.