A flexible metro WDM ring using wavelength-independent subscriber equipment to share bandwidth

Transparent optical networking has been proposed as a means for increasing capacity, improving performance, and decreasing costs, while simplifying network operations. For example, one facet of DARPA\´s next generation internet (NGI) initiative is focused on the development of transparent networks capable of handling IP traffic riding directly over WDM. We propose and demonstrate a transparent WDM metro ring architecture in which optics enables simultaneous provisioning of dedicated wavelengths for high-end users, while low-end users share wavelengths on "virtual rings". In both cases the customer\´s "end station" consists of low cost wavelength-independent components.