CHAPTER
1-1
Cisco ONS 15200 Product Description
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Product Technology
This chapter presents the general system technology and the available protection architectures for
Cisco’s dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) metro system, the Cisco ONS 152 00.

1.1 Optical System Description

The ONS 15200 DWDM metro system transports data over wavelengths using fiber-optic cables. The
ONS 15200 operates in the 1550 nm transmission window. Over a single optical fiber pair, the ONS
15200 can carry up to sixteen channels of data in the following bit rates and formats:
•155 Mbps – SONET OC-3 or SDH STM-1
•622 Mbps – SONET OC-12 or SDH STM-4
•2.5 Gbps – SONET OC-48 or SDH STM-16
•100 Mbps – 1.25 Gbps, pass-through mode/2R operation
Protected or unprotected data can transmit over the ONS 1 520 0.
The optical layer is independent of the electronic protocol that is external to the ONS 15200 system. You
can use any higher-level protocol, including proprietary prod ucts , withi n the ON S 1 5200 sy stem . Any
protocol used must fulfill the requirements listed in this book, including the bit rates listed in this
section.

1.2 Optical Channels

In the ONS 15200 system, optical channels transport information between two client-layer interface
ports. All optical channels in the ONS 15200 system are duplex channels, which means that traffic flows
in both directions. The optical channels can be unprotected, as describe d in the “Unprotected Channels”
section on page 1-1, or protected, as described in the “Protected Channels” section on pa ge 1- 2.

1.2.1 Unprotected Channels

In an unprotected channel, protection fiber is not available. On ly one fiber sends traffic to the client layer
of the receiving node. You can use unprotected channels where protectio n is n ot ne ede d or if th e cl ie nt
layer provides protection. Cisco recommends that you only u se pro tec tion in o ne l ayer an d a void