Page 67 - Cyber Warnings

The mix of required equipment is further complicated by the varying speeds of each of the
wavelengths which can range from 2.5G up to 100G+ bits per second. Additionally, any
changes to the number of active wavelengths or an upgrade to bandwidth capacity over any
single wavelength could also require a costly upgrade to the necessary equipment.

Configuring and maintaining the infrastructure needed to monitor the DWDM links in modern
optical transport networks is time-consuming and typically requires a large amount of expensive
manual labor to operate effectively.

Multiple international government agencies have confirmed this time-consuming process can
take weeks to complete the DWDM network discovery process alone.

Emerging Solutions

Innovative network intercept solutions are using advanced technologies to automate many of
the aforementioned processes in an integrated solution. An integrated DWDM monitoring
solution using standardized technology such as Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifiers (EDFA), Optical
Channel Monitors (OCM), Wavelength Selective Switches (WSS) and the latest in
programmable HW lowers the cost and significantly simplifies the management challenge.

Figure 3 shows how these components can used in an integrated monitoring solution to access
individual DWDM wavelengths, discover each wavelength’s traffic profile and intercept specific
data of interest.

Figure 3: An integrated approach to DWDM intercept simplifies the automation of the monitoring
process and maintains constant surveillance.

67 Cyber Warnings E-Magazine – April 2017 Edition
Copyright © Cyber Defense Magazine, All rights reserved worldwide