Huawei Releases 7 Innovations to Help Carriers Build an AI-Centric F5.5G All-Optical Target Network
ISTANBUL - During UBBF 2024, Kim Jin, Vice President of Huawei Optical Business Product Line, released seven innovations for the F5.5G network. These innovations are designed to help carriers build an AI-centric F5.5G all-optical target network to drive new business growth, a press release stated by Huawei.
As AI foundation models and AI applications become more widely used, collaborative training between computing centers as well as AI device-cloud synergy for inference pose new requirements on network bandwidth, latency, and reliability. Facing these new challenges and opportunities, carriers are upgrading their network architectures to AI-centric and evolving towards computing-network synergy and AI applications. With this in mind, Huawei proposed the AI-centric F5.5G all-optical target network, which includes the 3D-mesh 99.9999% backbone network, one-hop 1 ms all-optical metro network, 1 Gbps/10 Gbps intelligent access network, FTTR intelligent home hub, and intelligent management and control. With the target network, Huawei aims to help carriers achieve new business growth. The seven technological innovations are as follows:
Industry-leading 1.6T OTN helps build a high-speed and low-power consumption computing center interconnection network. The 1.6T OTN solution uses high-speed modulators to improve the error correction coding capability and achieve a transmission distance of 640 km. In addition, Huawei's "Ocean Current" energy-saving algorithm adjusts the working status of a module in real time based on traffic to greatly slash network power consumption.
Hybrid ASON, and lossless OTN transmission ensure 99.9999% network availability and zero interruption of AI training and inference. Hybrid ASON implements fast optical path switching, with the optical-layer rerouting time reduced to less than 50 ms. Besides this, the ASON protocol ensures that services are not affected when multiple fiber cuts occur. The industry's unique OTN hitless switching solution achieves zero packet loss during protection switching and network jitter.
E2E OXC from the core to the edge provides ultra-low latency for metro transmission networks and deterministic low latency for AI services. For large-capacity requirements of OXC at the core layer, Huawei uses high-resolution LCOS to implement C+L-integrated switching. This doubles the switching capacity of each subrack. And for small size requirements of OXC at the edge layer, Huawei uses innovative meta lens technology to cut the WSS module size by 55%.
High-performance 50G PON accelerates AI application innovation through ubiquitous 10G coverage. During the evolution from GPON and 10G PON to 50G PON, Huawei's 50G PON solution uses Bragg gratings for multiplexing and demultiplexing at different rates to upgrade optical modules from QSFP to SFP. This enables the high integration of 16 ports per board, twice the industry average. The solution also supports 1:1 replacement of GPON and 10G PON boards by 50G PON boards. In addition, Huawei introduces the tapered amplifier and PWB waveguide technologies to greatly improve the system optical power budget. In this way, no change is needed on existing optical distribution networks (ODNs) for upgrading to 10G.
FTTR+X helps build a smart home hub and provide ultimate experience for home AI applications. Huawei's iFTTR F50 provides 3 Gbps Wi-Fi coverage and 10 milliseconds seamless roaming, improving AI connection experience. Huawei also provides users with intelligent applications, such as AI plus storage, home security, and elderly care. This helps carriers develop connection, computing, storage, sensing, and control capabilities to pave the way for the development of smart home services.
Premium broadband helps build the experience management platform for home broadband (HBB) users. With the innovative HBB foundation model HBBMaster, user experience is sensed from NEs, networks, and applications in an end-to end manner, and user experience faults are proactively diagnosed. This also simplifies the HBB O&M.
Huawei's premium transmission solution enables efficient O&M of optical networks. The solution implements digitalization of network resources based on digital twins, reducing the service planning time. Besides this, the StellarGo algorithm provides the optimal path and supports online service provisioning, and in doing so supports differentiated SLA monetization.
Kim Jin noted, "Facing new challenges and opportunities brought by the AI era, Huawei is willing to work with all industries to continuously innovate and help carriers build an AI-centric F5.5G all-optical target network. This will help us move towards an intelligent world, and drive new business growth."
