Fundamentals of Optical Access and Transport Networks
Course Overview
This course provides participants with a practical and comprehensive understanding of modern optical networking technologies, architectures, and operations. The course covers optical fiber fundamentals, FTTx access networks, SDH/OTN/DWDM transport technologies, packet-optical networking, and real-world deployment considerations across metro, long-haul, data center interconnect, and backbone environments.
Participants will gain insight into how optical networks are designed, deployed, operated, and evolved to support growing bandwidth demands driven by cloud, 5G, hyperscalers, broadband services, and next-generation digital infrastructure.
Target Audience
- Telecommunications engineers and technicians
- Transmission engineers and technicians
- Planning and operations engineers
- Technical managers, supervisors and other professionals who wish to gain a practical insight into FTTX/ GPON and transport network operations
- Other professionals who plan on using, evaluating, designing or working with optical networks
Duration & Training Format
Instructor-led Training
- Classroom: 3 days
- LIVE Virtual: 21 hours
*Note:
- 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
There are no upcoming dates scheduled for this course. If you are keen on attending this training, please register your interest via our course enquiry form for us to open a new schedule for this course.
Course Objectives
After completing this course, participants will be able to:
- Understand the principles of optical communication and fiber transmission
- Explain the architecture and role of optical access, metro, and backbone networks
- Understand the fundamentals of FTTx and passive optical networking
- Differentiate between SDH, OTN, DWDM, and packet-optical technologies
- Identify key optical components and their functions
- Understand optical impairments and their impact on network performance
- Explain metro, long-haul, submarine, and data center optical networking architectures
- Interpret basic optical measurements, alarms, and troubleshooting practices
- Understand modern trends including coherent optics, ROADMs, and DCI
Course Outline
- Optical Fiber Fundamentals
- Role of Optical Networks in Broadband, 4G/5G, Cloud and Hyperscalers, Data Centers
- Access, Metro, and Backbone Networks
- Transmission Media – Copper, Optical Fiber, Wireless
- Construction of Optical Fiber
- Light Propagation
- Multimode vs Singlemode
- Optical Fiber Limitations (Attenuation, Dispersion, OSNR, Non-Linear Effects)
- ITU Standards for Optical Fiber, Optical Spectrum, WDM
- Introduction to Access Networks
- Basics of FTTx Technologies (FTTH, FTTB, FTTC, FTTA)
- Why Operators Deploy FTTx
- Passive vs Active Optical Networks
- Optical Distribution Network and Passive Components
- Optical Connectors
- Splicing
- Migrating Away from Legacy Technologies: xDSL on Twister Pair to GPON over Fiber
- Overview of GPON Architecture and Components
- Case Study: FTTH Deployment Architecture
- Introduction to Transport Technologies – Legacy and Evolution
- Overview of PDH
- Overview of SDH/SONET
- Rise of Data Traffic
- Decline of Circuit Switching and Rise of Packet Switching
- Evolution toward Packet-based Transport Networks
- Modern Layer 2/3 Technologies
- Introduction to Transport Technologies – DWDM
- Why DWDM
- CWDM vs DWDM
- ITU Wavelength Grid
- Channel Spacing Concepts
- Transponders and Muxponders
- MUX/DEMUX
- Overview of optical amplifiers (EDFA, Raman)
- Fixed optical networks vs ROADM networks
- ROADM concepts – colorless, directionless, contentionless, FlexGrid
- Metro vs long-haul architectures
- Case Study: Long-haul DWDM backbone
- OTN Overview
- Why OTN was Introduced
- OTN vs SDH
- OTN Frame Structure
- OTN Terminology
- Relationship between OTN and DWDM
- Packet Optical Networking
- Ethernet Transport Fundamentals
- Carrier Ethernet Concepts
- Overview of MPLS-TP
- IP/MPLS over Optical Transport Networks
- TDM Migration to Packet Transport
- Data Center Interconnect (DCI)
- DCI Architectures
- Metro DCI vs long-haul DCI
- Latency and Capacity Requirements
- Hyperscaler Optical Networking Trends
- Case Study: DCI
- Future of Optical Networking
- Coherent Optics
- 400G / 800G Evolution
- Open Optical Networks
- AI-driven Network Automation
- Convergence of IP and Optical Layers DCI Architectures
Note: A Certificate of Completion will only be issued upon achieving at least 75% attendance for the course.
Pre-requisites
Some knowledge of optical networks would be good but not essential.
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