OTN What is it and How does it

Work?
Technical Level 2 (Engineer)
by Stuart Whitehead
Senior Product Marketing Manager
Field Test Solution

Table of Contents

Recommended Pre-reading ................................................................................................................................................................ 3

Background .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Technology Overview .......................................................................................................................................................................... 3
OTN Frame .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 4
OTU .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
ODU ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 6
OPU .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
FEC ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Mapping ............................................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Review of New Improvements ............................................................................................................................................................ 9

100 Gbps .................................................................................................................................................................................. 9

GMP ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 9

ODU/OPU0 Client Rates ......................................................................................................................................................... 9

ODUflex Rates ........................................................................................................................................................................ 10

Multistage Multiplexing ......................................................................................................................................................... 10

Delay Measurement ............................................................................................................................................................... 10

Worth a Review .................................................................................................................................................................................. 11

TCM Update .......................................................................................................................................................................... 11

BIP-8 Overview ....................................................................................................................................................................... 11

Maintenance Signals .............................................................................................................................................................. 11

Benefits of OTN ................................................................................................................................................................................. 12

Further Reading ................................................................................................................................................................................. 12
Free OTN Wall Poster ........................................................................................................................................................................ 12
References ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 13

List of Acronyms ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13

Appendix A ............................................................................................................................................................................ 14

Recommended Pre-reading
For an overview and background on P-OTS (Packet-Optical Transport Systems) and how OTN (Optical Transport Network) fits
within the network, we recommend downloading the white paper OTN What is it and Why it is Important?

Background
As a result of operators expectations and needs to achieve five 9s performance as well as cost reductions, a new standard was
required and OTN is seen as the solution by many people. Although OTN was developed first for long-distance submarine
networks, it evolved and was deployed later in core networks, but its true strength is only now being capitalized on in the metro
market. The transition into the metro market was achieved with the updates finalized in the latest ITU-T (International
Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector) G.709 standards between 2009 and 2012.

The OTN frame can be separated into several sections as shown

in Figure 1, with the two key sections being the Optical and
Digital domains. The following ITU-T standards are used to
describe the different areas with each covering different areas as
following:

Client Signal

OPU
ODU
OTU

OH

OH

OH

Client Signal

OPU
ODU

FEC

Digital Domain

Technology Overview

- G.798, Characteristics of OTN hierarchy equipment

functional blocks
o Includes following sections: OCh (Optical Channel), OMS
(Optical Multiplex Section), OTS (Optical Transmission
Section)
o Defines how interaction and packaging of digital domain
transported across optical domain
- ITU-T G.872, Architecture of OTN

Optical Channel (OCh)

OCC
OCh OH

Optical Multiplex Section (OMS)

OMS OH

Optical Transmission Section (OTS)

OTS OH

OTM OH
Signal OOS

Optical Domain

- G.709/Y.1331, Interfaces for the OTN

o Main areas discussed here

Optical Transport Module (OTM)

Figure 1. OTN, OTM and OTU Domains

By reviewing the OTN frame we can get insight into how this transport technology works as well as an understanding of its benefits
and how to take advantage of them. The OTN frame is divided into five separate sections. This not only assists us in understanding
the frame but, more importantly, each section can also be associated directly with a sub-section of the network itself. An engineer
who understands the frame format can quickly identify the network section causing an alarm or concern. OTN works much like
SDH/SONET (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy/Synchronous Optical NETwork) in this regard, but as the line rate increases the frame
size remains constant.

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OTN Frame
The key sections of the OTN frame are the OTU (Optical channel Transport Unit) overhead section, ODU (Optical channel Data
Unit) overhead section, OPU (Optical channel Payload Unit) overhead section, OPU payload section and FEC (Forward Error
Correction) overhead section shown in Figure 2.
OTU Overhead

Column No#

Row No#

1
2
3
4

Frame Alignment Signal

PM &
TCM

RES

TCM
ACT

TCM3
GCC1

7
MFAS

10

11

SM

TCM6
TCM1

12

13

GCC0

TCM5

TCM2
GCC2

14

APS/PCC

16

17

3824

3825

4080

RES

TCM4
PM

15

FTFL

OPU Payload

OTU FEC

EXP
RES

PSI

OPU Overhead

ODU Overhead

Figure 2. OTN Frame

A simplified OTN network (Figure 3) can be divided into several sections with OTS as the innermost section, moving out to the
OMS section which includes the optical amplifiers. From here-on the terminology is the same as for an OTN frame shown in
Figure 2 moving further out the OCh, which is the complete OTN, followed by the OTU, ODU and OPU. It is also possible for the
higher layer to span multiple lower layers. For example, one OPU can span one or more OTU sections, which can also span
multiple networks or even operators.
We can quickly identify any major network concerns by looking at the key areas of each of the five major subsections within an
OTN frame.

Operator or
Digital ADM
Customer Edge

Optical Domain
Optical ADM

Optical ADM
Optical Amp

OTS

OTS
OMS

OCh (Channel)
OTU (Section)
OPU (Path)
OPU (Payload)

Digital Domain
Figure 3. Simplified Network

Digital ADM

Operator or
Customer Edge

OTU
As shown in Figure 4, the OTU section is composed of two main sections: the Frame Alignment section, and the Section
Monitoring (SM) section. The OTU OH (Overhead) provides the error detection correction as well as section-layer connection and
monitoring functions on the section span. The OTU OH also includes framing bytes, enabling receivers to identify frame
boundaries.
1
1

Frame Alignment Signal

MFAS

10

SM

11

12

13

GCC0

14

RES

Figure 4. OTU Overhead Section

The FAS (Frame Alignment Signal) is used to mark the start, indicated by repeated 1111 0110 - three times in columns 1 to 3 and
0010 1000 - three times in columns 4 to 6, thus the start of a frame is indicated by F6 F6 F6 28 28 28 in hexadecimal.
The MFAS (Multi FAS) simply counts the number of frames, allowing a reference point for multi-frame requirements for other
sections to reference. The MFAS count loops after 256 frames.
As shown in Figure 5, the SM section allows monitoring of the OTU layer. Since an OTU layer can be associated with a physical
port, its often seen as a connection between two network elements or an end-to-end connection (which could be muxed and
demuxed between the two end points). Monitoring of this path can often be associated with the total operator pipe, offering
insight for telecom operators.

- BIP-8 (Bit Interleaved Parity-8) is a parity check on the full OPU overhead and
payload, which is then inserted two frames later to confirm the absence of errors.
See BIP-8 Overview in the Worth a Review section for more details.

Expanded SM Section
1

TTI

BIP-8
1

SAPI

BEI/BIAE

6
IAE

- TTI (Trail Trace Identifier) which is made up of several subsections. This single byte is
aligned to the OTU frame alignment MFAS; the TTI message is 64-byte long.
o SAPI (Source Access Point Identifier) and DAPI (Destination Access Point Identifier)
are 16-byte in size and both hold location information three characters for
international and twelve characters for national, supporting identification of the
end location points.
o There is also a 32-byte section allocated for operator specific information.

BDI

The SM section is divided into several key areas,

RES

DAPI
Operator
Specific

Figure 5. Expanded SM Section

The third byte is divided into 8-bit sections that are used to carry network error information relative to the SM section. Greater
details about the cause of errors are explained in the third white paper OTN The Deep Dive into Details that Make it Tick.
The GCC0 (General Communication Channel 0) is simply a clear channel for general communications on the OTU layer.
The RES (REServed) section is allocated for future international standardization and all bits should be set to 0.

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ODU
As shown in Figure 6, the ODU section is an internal element allowing mapping or switching between different rates, which is
important in allowing operators the ability to understand how the end user pipe is transferred through to the higher network rates.
The ODU OH contains path overhead bytes allowing
the ability to monitor the performance, fault type and
location, generic communication, and six levels of
channel protection based on TCM (Tandem
Connection Monitoring) as described below.
Also with the latest updates to the ITU-T G.709
standard, user traffic can enter a network element and
may be required to be multimuxed up.
Table 1 shows the most common rates of some
interfaces often used for these rates as well as the
areas that only became part of the G.709 standard in
the newer releases from 2009 to 2012. The newer
updates allow the OTN standard to offer a much more
flexible system to carry different traffic types and
multiplex between rates. For example, customer traffic
entering the network in a 1 GigE pipe would require
muxing up to ODU1 via ODU0 before being able to be
carried over the OTN network, because the lowest
available OTN rate is twice the 1 GigE pipe.

1
2

2
RES

3
4

PM &
TCM

TCM
ACT

TCM3
GCC1

TCM6
TCM2

GCC2

11

10

12

TCM5

13

14

TCM4

TCM1

FTFL
EXP

PM
RES

APS/PCC

Figure 6. ODU Overhead Section

ODU type

New

ODUflex

ODU0

ODU Rate (Gbps)

Largest Common Client Signal

Rate dependent

ODU0 x n
1.244 160

1 GigE, MPLS

ODU1

2.498 775

STM-16/OC-48, FC-100/FC-200

ODU2

10.037 274

STM-64/OC-192, FC-400/FC-800

ODU3

40.319 219

10 GigE, STM-256/OC-768

ODU4

104.794 446

100 GigE

: Rate dependent 10 Gbit n = 8 max; 40 Gbit n = 32 max; 100 Gbit n = 80 max

Table 1. ODU Rates

The PM (Path Monitoring) section shown in Figure 7 works in much the same way as the SM section explained above with the key
differences explained below.

- DMp (Path Delay Measurement) is used to indicate the RTT (Round Trip Time) delay
for the path of the ODU section. See the Delay Measurement below in the Review
of New Improvements section for more details.

TTI

BIP-8
1

SAPI

DAPI
Operator
Specific

BEI

STAT

PM &
TCM
1

DMp

Only the seventh bit is used for PM in the PM & TCM section.

Expanded PM Section

BDI

- The TTI subsection of SAPI, DAPI and Operator Specific are the same as described
above in the SM section except based on the ODU layer not the OTU layer.
- The BIP-8 completes the same OPU checking as described in the SM section above.
- The third byte is divided into 8-bit sections that are used to carry network error
information relative to the SM section. More details on the cause of these errors
are explained in the third white paper OTN The Deep Dive into Details that Make
it Tick.

Figure 7. Expanded PM Section

The TCM ACT (TCM ACTivation Deactivation) is listed by the standard for future study.
The TCM section consists of six sections TCM1 to TCM6 each with the same details in them and able to be managed
independently. Details per layer include the number, type and direction of any errors, maintenance signal or not and a Delay
Measurement, see the third white paper OTN The Deep Dive into Details that Make it Tick for a detailed review of this section
of the frame.
The FTFL (Fault Type and Fault Location) byte is used to indicate the presence of a forward or backward fault and degraded signal
condition. More details can be found in the third white paper OTN The Deep Dive into Details that Make it Tick.
The EXP (EXPerimental) sections are reserved for equipment vendors to use as required to carry additional information. There is no
requirement for the network equipment to forward the status of these bytes to the next network segment.
The GCC1 and GCC2 sections are the same as the SM GCC0 section except at the ODU layer.
The APS/PCC (Automatic Protection Switching/Protection Communication Channel) section supports network protection based on
the TCM layer. More details can be found in the third white paper OTN The Deep Dive into Details that Make it Tick.
The RES section is allocated for future international standardization and all bits should be set to 0.

OPU
The OPU consist of two main sections the overhead and payload as shown in
Figure 8. The overhead is used to identify and control the type and justification of the
payload.
A constant within the overhead is the PSI (Payload Structure Identifier) byte containing
the PT (Payload Type) section shown in Figure 9; the other areas of the overhead vary
depending on the PT. These other areas of the OPU OH contain the frame structure
and frequency justification information (for adapting the client signal to the payload
area). Details of the PT bytes can be found in Appendix A.

15

16

17

3824

1
2

OPU
OPU Payload

Overhead

3
4

PSI

Figure 8. OPU Section

Expanded PSI Section

The payload section simply contains the payload carried by the OTN frame, which
could be SDH/SONET, Fibre Channel, Ethernet, or many other types.

PT

1
CSF

RES

...

The PSI section also includes the CSF (Client Signal Fail) status of the CBR (Constant Bit
Rate) for Ethernet client signals entering the network that is then mapped to the OPUk
(Optical channel Payload Unit-k), which is set to either 1 to indicate a fail status, or to 0
for all other conditions.

255

Figure 9. Expanded PSI Section

FEC
FEC just corrects errors at the receiver end by placing information in the frame at the
sender end. The FEC section of the frame shown in Figure 10 is often considered the
most important improvement over SDH/SONET because it supports correction of bit
errors occurring due to impairments in the transmission medium.
The scope of FEC offered by OTN networks is much greater than that of SDH/SONET.
Exactly how FEC is completed can be quite complex, depending on the FEC method
used.

3825

4080

1
2

OTU FEC

3
4

Figure 10. FEC Section

The most common FEC RS (255,239) is described in G.709 standard, and is popularly known as GFEC (Generic FEC).
A network operator can benefit from a FEC system in two main ways:
- Extending the distance between repeater sections, which enables the operator to install fewer network elements, reducing
the total cost of network ownership.
- Supporting a more resilient network with larger overheads between network elements, improving the Quality of Service
(QoS) offered to operators end customers and/or allowing the operator greater margins in case of network repairs or aging
optical plant.
In the above cases, the benefit is seen as increased dB range described as net coding gain for FEC. More details on how FEC
works are discussed in the third white paper OTN The Deep Dive into Details that Make it Tick.

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Mapping
The key advantage of OTN over many other transport technologies available today is the ability to carry almost any type of
payload or data efficiently. OTN was designed to carry many payloads but this was enhanced dramatically during a major update
to the standard from 2009 to 2012. These enhancements included adding 100 GigE (OTU4/ODU4/OPU4), GMP (Generic Mapping
Procedure), New client signals, ODUflex for CBR and GFP (Generic Framing Procedure), 1.25 Gbps tributary slots and multistage
multiplexing. With many of the above areas allowing better utilization of the earlier released ODU0, many operators are now
considering how to make better use of ODU0 and its benefits across their networks.
Figure 11 shows the full ODU mappings available today allowing the ability of any client signal to be efficiently multiplexed up to
the required OTU rate.
OTU Mapping
OTU4

x1

ODU/OPU
4

PRBS

x1
x1
ODTU4.31
(PT=21)

OTU3
ODTU4.8
(PT=21)

ODTU4.ts
(PT=21)

100 GigE
x1

ODU/OPU
3
ODTU3.ts
(PT=21)

x10

ODTU3.9
(PT=21)

x1

OTU3e1

ODU/OPU
3e1
ODU/OPU
2e/1e

x3

ODU/OPU
2f/1f

ODTU3e2.8

STM-256
OC-768

x8/ts

x1

ODU/OPU
2e

PRBS/
10 GigE

x1
Transcoding

x1

ODTU13
(PT=20/21)

PRBS/STM64/OC-192

x1

STM-64/
OC-192
x1

ODU/OPU
1

PRBS/STM-16/
OC-48

x1
x1

PRBS/Eth
MAC

GFP-F

STM-16/
OC-48

x1
ODTU3.1
(PT=21)

x32

ODTU2.1
(PT=21)

x8

ODTU01
(PT=20)

FC-200
x2

ODTU4.1
(PT=21)

x80
ODU/OPU0

x1
x1
x1

Note:
- Client signals requiring large bit-rate tolerances are mapped into an OPU payload via PT=21.
- Client signals requiring narrow bit-rate tolerance are mapped into an OPU payload via PT=20.
- Client signals of a rate less than 2.5 Gbps are mapped into an OPU payload via PT=21.

e.g. Ethernet 100 ppm

e.g. SDH/SONET 20 ppm
e.g. STM-4/OC-12, STM-1/OC-3

Figure 11. OTU Mappings

PRBS/Eth
MAC

GFP-F

x1
x4

x16

OTU1

Internal Mapping x1

PRBS/
10 GigE
FC-1200

x1
ODTU12
(PT=20/21)

Bit-synchronous
Mapping Procedure
Generic Mapping
Procedure
Asynchronous
Mapping Procedure

PRBS/Eth
MAC

GFP-F

ODU/OPU
2

x40

40 GigE
PRBS/FC-400/
FC-800

x4

x4

OTU2

ODTU4.2
(PT=21)

Transcoding

ODU/OPU
Flex

ODTU2.ts
(PT=21)

x4
x1

PRBS/Eth
MAC

GFP-F

x32/ts

x80/ts

ODU/OPU
3e2

PRBS/STM256/OC-768

x1

x1

x10

OTU3e2

OTU2f/1f

GFP-F

x2

ODTU23
(PT=20/21)

OTU2e/1e

PRBS/Eth
MAC

PRBS

GFP-F

PRBS/Eth
MAC

GFP-T
Transcoding

GigE

x1

STM-4/STM-1/
OC-12/OC-3/FC-100

Review of New Improvements

100 Gbps
With the movement of data to higher rates and the ever-increasing requirement to drive down the cost per bit, the next step is
100 Gbps mapping. OTU/ODU/OPU4 rates have been implemented to achieve this higher rate within the OTN payload.
This newer rate is a multiple of 40 times the original base OTU/ODU/OPU1 (STM-16/OC-48), supporting multiplexing-up of lower
order rates and mapping 100 GigE directly via the new GMP method. Most operators are mapping to 100 Gbps using aggregation
of 10 x 10 GigE or 10 x OTU/ODU/OPU2e interfaces as they move away from the more traditional STM-16/OC-48 interfaces
towards Ethernet-transport networks.

GMP
AMP (Asynchronous Mapping Procedure) can efficiently support the original standardized rates which all are multiples of the base
OPU1 payload. This supported both direct mapping to any OPU as well as ensured no more than a single step to the highest order
(OPU3 at the time). A single mapping step simplifies the operator network management tasks. With implementation of the newer
rates (including 100 Gbps), finding a way to carry the different payloads efficiently became a concern that GMP was developed to
address.
GMP offers the ability to support different line rates across all layers efficiently as well
as a more flexible client ppm offset range. To support different line rates, GMP only
populates the part of the OPU it is being mapped to but can also be mapped across
multiple frames.
Supporting a changing client speed requires the transmission side (mapper) to monitor
the incoming client stream clock constantly and compare it to the server clock: the
resultant calculation Cn is then transmitted in the OH. At the receiver side
(De-mapper), Cn is extracted from the OH, allowing recovery of the client signal
clock speed. The ability of Cn to adjust quickly to the changing client signal speed is
very important; it must be able to adapt not only to the client signal presence or
absence (replaced by AIS (Alarm Indication Signal)) but also to variations in the client or
OPU speed itself. See Figure 12 for details.

GMP Timing
Mapper
OH

Payload
area

OH

Payload
area
Payload
area

OH

Determine C n
Insert C n into OH
Insert C n client data

De-mapper
OH

Payload
area

OH

Payload
area
Payload
area

OH

Extract C n from OH
Extract C n client data

Figure 12. GMP Timing

This total flexibility makes GMP a very important change for both the higher data rates like 100 Gbps and also for mapping the new
lower bitrates to the lower-order OPUs.
Of course, the GMP mappings simply compliment the earlier released AMP and BMP (Bit-synchronous Mapping Procedure), which
should still be used as described in the original G.709 standard release.

ODU/OPU0 Client Rates

Interestingly there is no OTU0 standardized in G.709 or a physical interface for the ODU/OPU0 rate, making it an internal
switch-only rate. This allows for client rates of GigE, FC-100, STM-4/OC12 and below to be mapped to higher-order rates.
By allowing these relatively low rates to be directly mapped in the OTN structure, it more importantly allows management and
control of the network to become much closer to the customer edge. This greatly improves operators ability to provide and more
importantly simplify management of customer circuits offering benefits to both the customer and operator.

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ODUflex Rates
FC-400
(4GFC)

Although ODU/OPU0 allows for far more flexibility down at the

lower rates, there are still instances in which a CBR signal could be
mapped directly into a relative OTN level. To allow this to happen,
the new mapping of ODUflex CBR was released which enables
any rate; some examples could be FC-400 or FC-800 as shown in
Figure 13.

Figure 13. ODUflex with Independent Mappings

To allow for mapping in non-rate sensitive payloads such as Ethernet, the ODUflex GFP is utilized allowing any multiple of 1.25 Gbps
(lowest possible rate) directly mapped into the relative OPU2/3/4 rate. ODUflex rates are only implemented when there isnt a
currently defined mapping structure.
ODUflex allows for mapping of both time-sensitive payloads as well as rate-sensitive 20 ppm and non-rate-sensitive 100 ppm
payload structures, but all ODUflex rates are implemented at 100 ppm regardless of the payload.

Multistage Multiplexing
In the earlier G.709 standard releases, to simplify management and control of an OTN, it recommended only single stage
multiplexing was allowed. With the implementation of ODU/OPU0 and ODUflex rate this was no longer possible. A major benefit
of multistage mapping as shown in Figure 14, is of course being able to have lower rates such as ODU0 or ODUflex traverse the
network and exit the network at any level such as OTU2, OTU3 or OTU4. This ability allows extremely flexible mapping options for
the operator. The ability of being able to map to the lower rates and switching the traffic within the network at different OPU levels
allows the operator to offer end-to-end OTN solutions to their end users. Thus, although multistage mapping could be seen as
adding complexity for the operator to manage the network, it can also remove the requirement for multiple management systems.
Without the requirement for management systems having to span multiple technologies, management of the network is vastly
simplified for the operator.
OTU2

Non Multiplexed

ODU/OPU
2
ODTU12
(PT=20/21)
x4

x1

PRBS/STM-64/
OC-192

Single Stage
Multiplexed
x1

ODU/OPU
1

PRBS/STM-16/
OC-48

ODTU01
(PT=20)

Multistage
Multiplexed

x2
ODU/OPU0

x1

STM-1/STM-4/
OC-12/OC-3/FC-100

Figure 14. Multiplex Mapping

Delay Measurement
With GMP now supporting time-sensitive technologies, such as Fibre Channel, the importance of understanding the delay across a
link has increased. G.709 standard now supports monitoring of the delay on multiple levels at the PM section as well as the TCMi
(i = layers 1 to 6) section. This allows great flexibility not only in monitoring the delay but also in allowing the ability to understand
delay in a diverse route, ensuring the diverse route will not cause issues for time-sensitive traffic if an APS occurs.
The delay measurement is implemented by placing a contiguous string of 0 s or 1 s in the DMp (PM section) or DMt (TCM
section); the changing state of the string indicates the measurement start point which is calculated by measuring the number of
frame periods upon receiving the change of state back at the origin. Network equipment designed based on G.709 standard
released after 2008 should loopback the DMp and DMt within approximately 100 s; equipment designed before 2008 can ignore
this bit, because it was designated as reserved for future international standardization and should be set to 0.

10

Worth a Review
TCM Update
As mentioned above, the G.709 standard allows for six TCM layers from 1 to 6 and the OIF (Optical Internetworking Forum) offers
the Guidelines for Application of OTN TCM network. TCM was originally designed and implemented for SDH/SONET and used
by one operator to monitor the quality of another operator which his traffic is routed via, it completes this quality check utilizing the
N bytes in the frame OH. TCM was often overlooked in SDH/SONET and was only capable of a single layer, but with OTN TCM, a
6-layer method offers a much more valuable tool if implemented correctly by the engineer. A more detailed description of TCM is
available in the white Paper OTN The Deep Dive into Details that Make it Tick.

BIP-8 Overview
BIP-8 is a simple error-checking method that divides the incoming stream into 8-bit segments and is
used today in SDH/SONET networks. The transmitting network element adds the BIP-8 parity check,
which is then confirmed to be correct at the receiving end. The incoming bit stream is arranged in
the number of rows corresponding to the size of the OPU overhead and OPU itself divided by 8-bit
(1 byte) per row. With OTN the total OPU including overhead is used, so bytes 15 to 3824 = 3810 4
rows = 15240-byte (or rows used to calculate the BIP-8 value). The parity check is completed down
each of the 8 columns and if the additive of the 1 s and 0 s in the column is even, a 0 is added to the
BIP-8, or if the additive is odd, a 1 is added to the BIP-8. For example, for the following bit stream
from the transmitter (first bit) 1011 0010 0100 1101 1011 0011 1110 0101 (last bit), the resultant
calculation matrix is shown in Figure 15, at the receiver it will confirm the BIP-8 is equal to the relative
stream, if equal, no BIP-8 error will be declared.

8-bit
1011 0010
0100 1101
1011 0011
1110

0101

BIP-8 1010 1001

Figure 15. BIP-8 Example

Maintenance Signals
The OTN protocol has many different alarm and error indications, and several of these are referred to as maintenance signals.
OTN operates in much the same way as SDH/SONET; when receiving an error it notifies the sending node. The feedback
mechanism is discussed in more detail in the white paper OTN The Deep Dive into Details that Make it Tick.

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11

Benefits of OTN
With the new (2009 to 2012) enhancements to the G.709 standard, it has clearly moved from a core (originally submarine) market
into all areas of the network. The ability of the operator to extend OTN connections all the way to customers via ODUflex with
better utilization of ODU0, allows for a single end-to-end management system with detailed fault analysis. This detailed fault
analysis allows the operator via TCM to troubleshoot faults deep into a OTN including a GMP 100 Gbps network looking to isolate
an end-user traffic concern or confirm whether the issue is within the network or the network of a third party.
The ability to support a diverse range of new rates, support and manage legacy and newer technologies (via GMP) and end-to-end
customer connections/monitoring has clearly made OTN the only true total end-to-end network solution for a modern operator.

Further Reading
White Papers in this series:

OTN What is it and Why it is Important?

Technical Level 1 (Basic)
Introduction to P-OTS, its different components, and basic overview of OTN.

OTN The Deep Dive into Details that Make it Tick (Coming soon)
Technical Level 3 (OTN Engineer)
 ll you need to know about OAM, TCM, FTFL and FEC written for OTN engineers, but readable by anyone with a keen
A
interest in OTN technology.

Free OTN Wall Poster

Many of the above details are shown in an A1 wall poster.
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12

References
ITU-T G.709 (Interfaces for the Optical Transport Network)
http://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-G.709
ITU-T G.872 (Architecture of Optical Transport Networks)
http://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-G.872
Standards mentioned above are publicly available and are definitive reference but, more importantly, they are very readable.

List of Acronyms
Acronym

Definition

Acronym

Definition

ACT

Activation

OCh

Optical Channel

AIS

Alarm Indication Signal

ODU

Optical channel Data Unit

AMP

Asynchronous Mapping Procedure

OH

Overhead

APS

Automatic Protection Switching

OMS

Optical Multiplex Section

ATM

Asynchronous Transfer Mode

OOS

OTM Overhead Signal

BDI

Backward Defect Indication

OPU

Optical channel Payload Unit

BEI

Backward Error Indication

OPUk

Optical channel Payload Unit-k

BIAE

Backward Incoming Alignment Error

OTM

Optical Transport Module

BIP-8

Bit Interleaved Parity-8

OTN

Optical Transport Network

BMP

Bit-synchronous Mapping Procedure

OTS

Optical Transmission Section

CBR

Constant Bit Rate

OTU

Optical channel Transport Unit

Cn

Number of n-bit client data entities

PCC

Protection Communications Channel

CSF

Client Signal Fail

PM

Path Monitoring

DAPI

Destination Access Point Identifier

P-OTS

Packet-Optical Transport Systems

dB

decibels

PRBS

Pseudo Random Binary Sequence

DMp

Delay Measurement path

PSI

Payload Structure Identifier

DMt

Delay Measurement TCM

PT

Payload Type

EXP

EXPerimental

RES

REServed

FAS

Frame Alignment Signal

RS

Reed-Solomon

FC

Fibre Channel

RTT

Round Trip Time

FEC

Forward Error Correction

SAPI

Source Access Point Identifier

FTFL

Fault Type Fault Location

SDH

Synchronous Digital Hierarchy

GCCx

General Communications Channel x

SM

Section Monitoring

GFEC

Generic Forward Error Correction

SONET

Synchronous Optical NETwork

GFP

Generic Framing Procedure

STAT

Status

GMP

Generic Mapping Procedure

STM

Synchronous Transmission Mode

IAE

Incoming Alignment Error

TCM

Tandem Connection Monitoring

MFAS

Multi FAS

TCM ACT

TCM ACTivation deactivation

OC

Optical Carrier

TTI

Tail Trace Identifier

OCC

Optical Channel Carrier

www.anritsu.com

13

Appendix A
PT Details
Hex

Binary

02

0000 0010

PT Description
Asynchronous CBR mapping

03

0000 0011

Bit-synchronous CBR mapping

04

0000 0100

ATM mapping

05

0000 0101

GFP mapping

06

0000 0110

Virtual concatenated signal

07

0000 0111

PCS codeword transparent Ethernet mapping:

1000BASE-X into OPU0
40GBASE-R into OPU3
100GBASE-R into OPU4

14

08

0000 1000

FC-1200 into OPU2e mapping

09

0000 1001

GFP mapping into extended OPU2 payload

0A

0000 1010

STM-1 mapping into OPU0

0B

0000 1011

STM-4 mapping into OPU0

0C

0000 1100

FC-100 mapping into OPU0

0D

0000 1101

FC-200 mapping into OPU1

0E

0000 1110

FC-400 mapping into OPUflex

0F

0000 1111

FC-800 mapping into OPUflex

10

0001 0000

Bit stream with octet timing mapping

11

0001 0001

Bit stream without octet timing mapping

12

0001 0010

IB SDR mapping into OPUflex

13

0001 0011

IB DDR mapping into OPUflex

14

0001 0100

IB QDR mapping into OPUflex

15

0001 0101

SDI mapping into OPU0

16

0001 0110

(1.485/1.001) Gbit/s SDI mapping into OPU1

17

0001 0111

1.485 Gbit/s SDI mapping into OPU1

18

0001 1000

(2.970/1.001) Gbit/s SDI mapping into OPUflex

2.970 Gbit/s SDI mapping into OPUflex

19

0001 1001

1A

0001 1010

SBCON/ESCON mapping into OPU0

1B

0001 1011

DVB_ASI mapping into OPU0

1C

0001 1100

FC-1600 mapping into OPUflex

20

0010 0000

ODU multiplex structure supporting ODTUjk only

21

0010 0001

ODU multiplex structure supporting ODTUk.ts or ODTUk.ts and ODTUjk

FD

1111 1101

NULL test signal mapping

FE

1111 1110

PRBS test signal mapping

Note:

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15

Specifications are subject to change without notice.

United States

Italy

Singapore

1155 East Collins Blvd., Suite 100, Richardson,

TX 75081, U.S.A.
Toll Free: 1-800-267-4878
Phone: +1-972-644-1777
Fax: +1-972-671-1877

Via Elio Vittorini 129, 00144 Roma, Italy

Phone: +39-6-509-9711
Fax: +39-6-502-2425

11 Chang Charn Road, #04-01, Shriro House

Singapore 159640
Phone: +65-6282-2400
Fax: +65-6282-2533

Anritsu Company

Canada

Anritsu Electronics Ltd.

700 Silver Seven Road, Suite 120, Kanata,

Ontario K2V 1C3, Canada
Phone: +1-613-591-2003
Fax: +1-613-591-1006

Anritsu S.r.l.

Anritsu Pte. Ltd.

Sweden

Anritsu AB

Kistagngen 20B, 164 40 KISTA, Sweden

Phone: +46-8-534-707-00
Fax: +46-8-534-707-30

Finland

Anritsu AB

Brazil

Teknobulevardi 3-5, FI-01530 VANTAA, Finland

Phone: +358-20-741-8100
Fax: +358-20-741-8111

Praa Amadeu Amaral, 27 - 1 Andar

01327-010 - Bela Vista - So Paulo - SP - Brazil
Phone: +55-11-3283-2511
Fax: +55-11-3288-6940

Denmark

Anritsu Eletrnica Ltda.

Mexico

Anritsu Company, S.A. de C.V.

Av. Ejrcito Nacional No. 579 Piso 9, Col. Granada

11520 Mxico, D.F., Mxico
Phone: +52-55-1101-2370
Fax: +52-55-5254-3147

United Kingdom

Anritsu EMEA Ltd.

200 Capability Green, Luton, Bedfordshire, LU1 3LU, U.K.

Phone: +44-1582-433200
Fax: +44-1582-731303

France
Anritsu S.A.
12 avenue du Qubec, Btiment Iris 1- Silic 612,
91140 VILLEBON SUR YVETTE, France
Phone: +33-1-60-92-15-50
Fax: +33-1-64-46-10-65

Anritsu A/S

Kay Fiskers Plads 9, 2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark

Phone: +45-7211-2200
Fax: +45-7211-2210

Russia

Anritsu EMEA Ltd.

Representation Office in Russia

Tverskaya str. 16/2, bld. 1, 7th floor.

Russia, 125009, Moscow
Phone: +7-495-363-1694
Fax: +7-495-935-8962

Room 2701-2705, Tower A,

New Caohejing International Business Center
No. 391 Gui Ping Road Shanghai, 200233, P.R. China
Phone: +86-21-6237-0898
Fax: +86-21-6237-0899

P.R. China (Hong Kong)

Anritsu Company Ltd.
Unit 1006-7, 10/F., Greenfield Tower, Concordia Plaza,
No. 1 Science Museum Road, Tsim Sha Tsui East,
Kowloon, Hong Kong, P.R. China
Phone: +852-2301-4980
Fax: +852-2301-3545

Japan

Anritsu Corporation

8-5, Tamura-cho, Atsugi-shi, Kanagawa, 243-0016 Japan

Phone: +81-46-296-1221
Fax: +81-46-296-1238

Korea

Anritsu Corporation, Ltd.

5FL, 235 Pangyoyeok-ro, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si,

Gyeonggi-do, 463-400 Korea
Phone: +82-31-696-7750
Fax: +82-31-696-7751

United Arab Emirates

Anritsu EMEA Ltd.
Dubai Liaison Office
P O Box 500413 - Dubai Internet City
Al Thuraya Building, Tower 1, Suit 701, 7th Floor
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Phone: +971-4-3670352
Fax: +971-4-3688460

Germany

India

Nemetschek Haus, Konrad-Zuse-Platz 1

81829 Mnchen, Germany
Phone: +49-89-442308-0
Fax: +49-89-442308-55

2nd & 3rd Floor, #837/1, Binnamangla 1st Stage,

Indiranagar, 100ft Road, Bangalore - 560038, India
Phone: +91-80-4058-1300
Fax: +91-80-4058-1301

Anritsu GmbH

P.R. China (Shanghai)

Anritsu (China) Co., Ltd.

Anritsu India Private Limited

Australia

Anritsu Pty. Ltd.

Unit 21/270 Ferntree Gully Road, Notting Hill,

Victoria 3168, Australia
Phone: +61-3-9558-8177
Fax: +61-3-9558-8255

Taiwan

Anritsu Company Inc.

7F, No. 316, Sec. 1, NeiHu Rd., Taipei 114, Taiwan

Phone: +886-2-8751-1816
Fax: +886-2-8751-1817

1404

Please Contact:

Printed on Recycled Paper

Catalog No. OTN-E-R-2-(1.00)

Printed in Japan

07/JUL/2014 ddcm/CDT