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

IPoDWDM on OcNOS manages 100G and 400G coherent pluggable optics directly from the router CLI, collapsing the separate IP and DWDM optical layers into one platform. Operators set wavelength, modulation, and output power on the router itself, removing a standalone optical transport system and the team that ran it.

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.

Platform note: Coherent optics configuration requires a platform with ZR or ZR+ pluggable support. These commands are not available on the x86 OcNOS demo VM. Confirm coherent optics support for your platform in the OcNOS Feature Matrix.

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

The slot, network-interface index, laser frequency, output power, and interface names below are example values. Adapt them to the pluggable type, wavelength plan, and port layout of your own deployment.

! OcNOS-RON IPoDWDM: configure the coherent optical module alongside IP
!
! Step 1: Configure the coherent optical module (optical layer)
!   The optical layer lives under coherent-module / network-interface,
!   not on the IP interface. Same config for 100G ZR and 400G ZR/ZR+;
!   only modulation-format (and reach settings) differ per pluggable.
configure terminal
coherent-module 1
  network-interface 0
    ! Laser frequency, C-band. Valid range 191.3 THz to 196.1 THz
    tx-laser-freq 193.1THz
    ! 400G ZR/ZR+ uses dp-16-qam; 100G ZR uses dp-qpsk
    modulation-format dp-16-qam
    ! Transmit output power, in dBm
    tx-output-power -10.00
    ! FEC mode. Valid: 15per-denali | 15per-everest | otu4-g709 | otu4-7per-staircase
    fec-mode 15per-denali
!
! Step 2: Configure the IP layer on the coherent host interface
!   The coherent host port carries the IP layer (interface name is an example)
interface eth1
  description METRO-LINK-SITE-A-TO-SITE-B
  ip address 10.10.1.1/30
  ip router isis CORE
  isis network point-to-point
  isis metric 10
!
! Step 3: Verify coherent module / optical layer status
show coherent-module 1
show coherent-module 1 error-counters
! representative output: reports laser frequency, Tx/Rx output power, OSNR,
! Q-factor, and pre-FEC / post-FEC BER (telemetry values vary per link)
!
! Step 4: Verify the IP layer over the coherent link
show clns neighbors
! The 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: 100G ZR and 400G ZR/ZR+ deliver coherent capacity per wavelength at a fraction of traditional 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 from the same OcNOS, 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