Field Trial of Autonomous Lightpath Provisioning Over an SDM Network Using 7-Core Fibers

This paper demonstrates the first field trial of autonomous lightpath provisioning over a space-division multiplexing (SDM) optical network built with 16.5-km 7-core fibers. In particular, we devised an amplifier gain configuration algorithm aided by a composable quality-of-transmission (QoT) estimator. The composable QoT estimator allows per-span impairment assessment, and therefore, enables sequential gain optimization without the need for data plane trial and error. For each amplifier, the algorithm picks a solution that maximizes the overall QoT margin obtained for both in-service and newly established lightpaths. We trained the QoT estimator with data collected from the field testbed and conducted lightpath provisioning experiments under multiple scenarios (using different routing, modulation formats and baud rates). We also demonstrated automated failover operations in the cases of equipment failure and receiver filter shifting. Results show that the proposed design can accomplish lightpath configuration/failover autonomously in around 10 seconds while securing desired QoT levels.