From SDH to OTN and MPLS-TP
Course Overview
This course provides participants with a structured understanding of the industry-wide shift from Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) to modern transport technologies such as Optical Transport Network (OTN) and MPLS-TP.
Participants will learn why operators are upgrading their networks to support rising bandwidth demands and new service requirements driven by Big Data, IoT, 5G backhaul, cloud applications, and smart-city ecosystems.
The course explains how OTN builds on the strengths of SONET/SDH while leveraging DWDM to deliver higher capacity, improved flexibility, and more efficient transport at scale. It also introduces MPLS-TP as a complementary packet-transport technology widely adopted in Carrier Ethernet environments.
Participants will explore the essential technologies, architectures, components (active, passive, and optical), performance parameters, and key standards underpinning OTN and MPLS-TP. The course also covers transport-network planning to help contextualize real-world deployment considerations.
Target Audience
- Network engineers and technicians transitioning from SDH to modern transport technologies
- Transport network planners and designers involved in OTN or MPLS-TP deployments
- Operations and maintenance teams responsible for optical and packet transport networks
- Carrier Ethernet, transmission, and backbone engineering teams
- Telecom professionals seeking to understand next-generation transport architectures
- Technical managers or project leads overseeing network modernization or capacity upgrades
Duration & Training Format
- Classroom: 3 days
- LIVE Virtual: 21 hours
- A minimum of 8 or more participants is required for a Classroom session to commence.
- A minimum of 6 or more participants is required for a LIVE Virtual session to commence.
- LIVE Virtual courses can be conducted for 5 hours or 7 hours daily. Please note that the number of training days will be extended if you opt for 5 hours daily.
Upcoming Course Dates
3 – 5 Aug 2026 (Mon – Wed), GMT +8
If you are keen on attending this course, please register your interest via our course enquiry form.
Course Objectives
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:
- Understand optical fiber transmission systems
- Appreciate SDH technology (including transmission hierarchy and network components)
- Comprehend DWDM technology (including transmission systems and network components)
- Describe OTN architecture and protocols
- Recognize how OTN can ensure transportation, multiplexing, routing, supervision and survival of customer signals through a treatment executed primarily in optics
- Describe MPLS-TP and differentiate it from traditional MPLS technology
- Highlight the features of MPLS-TP that correspond with Carrier Ethernet
Course Outline
- Basic Concepts of Transmission and Network Evolution
- Basic Voice Signal
- Analog to Digital Conversion
- Sampling and Nyquist Principle
- Transmission Technologies
- Rise and Fall of SONET/SDH
- PDH Data Rates
- PDH Multiplexing
- SDH Advantages
- Rise of Data Traffic
- Decline of Circuit Switching and Rise of Packet Switching
- Optical Fibers
- Fibers Standard
- Fiber Optic Parameters
- Attenuation
- Chromatic Dispersion
- Polarization Mode Dispersion
- Passive Components
- Fibers
- Splices
- Connectors
- Active Components
- Transmitters
- Receivers
- Optical Amplifiers
- Regenerators
- Optical Components for WDM Systems
- Multiplexer/De-multiplexer
- Transponder
- Optical Add Drop Multiplexer (OADM)
- Reconfigurable Optical Add Drop Multiplexer (ROADM)
- Optical Cross Connect (OXC)
- DWDM Systems
- Optical Link Key Parameters
- Power Budget
- Optical Signal to Noise Ratio (OSNR)
- Coarse Wave Division Multiplexer (CWDM)
- DWDM
- ITU Standards
- SDH Standards
- OTN Standards
- MEF Standards
- Carrier Ethernet Standards
- MPLS-TP Standards
- Optical Transport Network Evolution
- Transport Network Planning
- Optical Transport Network
- Automatically Switched Optical Network
- Architecture
- Multiplexing
- Analogue
- Optical Layer
- Digital Electrical Layer
- FEC
- Overhead
- MPLS-TP (Multi-Protocol Label Switching with Transport Profile)
- Overview of Layer 1, 2 and 2.5 Technologies
- MPLS-TP Features and Functionality
- MPLS-TP Vs MPLS
- MPLS-TP with Reference to Carrier Ethernet
- Standardized Services
- MPLS-TP OAM
- MPLS-TP QoS
- Protection Mechanisms
Note: A Certificate of Completion will only be issued upon achieving at least 75% attendance for the course.
Pre-requisites
- Basic understanding of telecommunications and data networking concepts
- Familiarity with SDH/SONET fundamentals and traditional transmission systems
- General knowledge of optical networking principles (e.g., fiber, wavelengths, DWDM)
- Awareness of IP and Ethernet concepts to support MPLS-TP topics
- Prior experience working in network operations, planning, or engineering (recommended but not mandatory)
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