Many core and metro networks have already migrated to fiber optics. Fiber optics are also entering the access network arena, reaching the neighborhood, the premises, the business and the home. New packet technologies create new applications, driving demand for bandwidth and higher QoS, including high network availability.

All this traffic is enabled by multiple optical resources, which are gathered together to construct a transport network. These resources include fibers, passive optical elements, CPE equipment (routers, switches, line cards), network equipment (transponders, DWDM multiplexers, optical amplifiers, regenerators), and more. However, it is enough for one of these heterogeneous resources to fail in order to bring the network down, as in the case of fiber cuts during road construction or equipment failure. Backup resources which can quickly take over upon such a failure, are essential to guarantee high network availability.

The term ‘protection’ refers to fast and automatic detection of a failed element, and switchover to its backup. According to naming conventions, a protective mechanism is named after the redundant resource. For example, if a fiber is redundant, then the service is said to have ‘fiber protection’, and if a whole optical channel is redundant, then the service is said to have ‘optical channel protection.’

Normally, the default resource is the working or primary resource, while the redundant (backup) resource is the protection or secondary resource.
Protection systems are required to detect any failure in the working and protection resource. In case of failure in the active resource, traffic is automatically switched to the backup resource.

Lynx provides a variety of protection systems that fit all types of physical layer optical protection scenarios. Lynx offers unique solutions for a number of protection scenarios, which are unmatched in the industry. For example, LynxSense™ is the company’s proprietary technology to ensure that your protection switch will indeed switch when required.

For a list of Lynx protection products and their data sheets, click:
Fiber Protection Products
Optical Channel/Path Protection Products
Equipment Protection Products
Bypass Switching Products
For more information about the optical protection solutions, click:
Optical Protection Solutions
For more information about Lynx’ unique features, click:
LynxSense™