Flexible and scalable PON protection architecture using N:M redundancy toward next generation access network

This paper presents a novel PON protection configuration using N:M protection. The proposed configuration has several advantages including a flexible and scalable design and increased bandwidth per user. As a result of both cost and reliability estimation, we indicate that a self-hold type three-dimensional configuration is optimal as an optical switch used in proposed system. In addition, we conduct an experiment using a 10-Gbit/s class Ethernet PON prototype to evaluate the switching time of the system, and we clarify the importance of switching without the ONU link down for realizing rapid switching.