The Networking Journey — WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing)
WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing) is a transmission technique used with fiber-optics. It provides the ability to use multiple light wavelengths (colors) for transmitting data over the same medium. Thus, because we can have two (or more) colors traveling on the same fiber multiple signals can be sent. Today we have two major types of WDM in use: CWDM (Coarse WDM) and DWDM (Dense WDM) — more on those in future writeups. A diagram describing the concept is shown below (https://www.ciena.com/insights/what-is/What-Is-WDM.html).
Overall, the transceivers (SFP which stands for “small form pluggable”) convert electric signals to optical signals. The receiving transceivers convert the optical signals to electric signals. By the way, the transceivers are always wavelength-specific in any fiber optic network. In case of WDM multiplexing they are named “colored” transceivers (https://blog.yelco.tech/wdm-multiplexing).
Get Shlomi Boutnaru, Ph.D.’s stories in your inbox
Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.
Lastly, WDM provides different benefits such as (but not limited to): ultra large capacity transmissions (like 40\100 Gbps), long range transmissions, transparent transmission, simplified operations and flexible\resilient expansion (https://www.fs.com/blog/wdm-basics-understanding-wavelength-division-multiplexing-technology-8361.html).
See you in my next writeup ;-) You can follow me on twitter — @boutnaru (https://twitter.com/boutnaru). Also, you can read my other writeups on medium — https://medium.com/@boutnaru. You can find my free eBooks at https://TheLearningJourneyEbooks.com.
