IPoDWDM Simplified: Managing 100G and 400G Coherent Optics Directly from OcNOS

For decades, IP networking and DWDM optical transport have operated as separate domains: separate hardware, separate management systems, separate teams, and separate operational workflows. The IP team manages routing protocols and forwarding. The optical team manages wavelengths, transponders, and fiber. They communicate through a handoff interface and, often, through a ticket queue.

IPoDWDM (IP over Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing) collapses this division. By integrating coherent optical interfaces directly into OcNOS — the same platform running IS-IS, BGP, and EVPN — operators manage both the IP layer and the optical layer from a single CLI, a single management system, and a single team.

IPoDWDM Architecture

OcNOS IPoDWDM Configuration

! OcNOS -- IPoDWDM: configure coherent optical interface alongside IP
!
! Step 1: Configure coherent ZR+ optical parameters
interface Coherent1/1
  description METRO-LINK-SITE-A-TO-SITE-B
  !
  ! Optical layer parameters (same CLI as IP config)
  optical
    frequency 193100            ! 193.100 THz (C-band channel)
    modulation 16QAM            ! 400G with 16QAM modulation
    tx-power -10.0              ! dBm transmit power
    fec enhanced                ! Enhanced FEC for long-haul reach
  !
  ! IP layer on the same interface
  ip address 10.10.1.1/30
  ip router isis CORE
  isis network point-to-point
  isis metric 10
!
! Step 2: Verify optical layer status
show interface Coherent1/1
! Output includes:
!   Optical state: IN-SERVICE
!   Frequency: 193.100 THz
!   Rx power: -8.5 dBm (actual received)
!   Tx power: -10.0 dBm
!   OSNR: 28.5 dB
!   Q-factor: 12.5 dB
!   Pre-FEC BER: 1.2e-3
!   Post-FEC BER: 0 (error-free)
!
! Step 3: IP/MPLS works on top of coherent interface
show ip ospf neighbor
show isis neighbor
! IS-IS adjacency comes up over the coherent link automatically

Benefits of IPoDWDM with OcNOS

• Eliminate transponders — ZR/ZR+ pluggable optics plug directly into OcNOS router ports; dedicated transponder chassis and cards are not needed
• Reduce cost per bit — 400G ZR+ delivers 400 Gbps per wavelength at a fraction of traditional 100G transponder cost structures
• Unified operations — network engineers manage optical parameters (frequency, power, modulation) using the same OcNOS CLI as routing protocols
• Faster fault isolation — optical degradation and IP routing issues are visible in the same show commands, eliminating the IP/optical team coordination bottleneck

• Evolving from P-OTN to SR-MPLS IPoDWDM
• OcNOS 7.0 — IPoDWDM Features
• IPoDWDM Solution Page
• Contact IP Infusion

IP Infusion Engineering Team