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
There are no upcoming course dates currently scheduled for this course. If you are keen on attending this course, please register your interest and indicate your preferred start/end training dates via our course enquiry form for us to open a Classroom/LIVE Virtual class schedule for this course.
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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