What is DWDM?
Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) technology allows information to be sent down glass strands through pulses of colored light. The light can be divided into different wavelengths, or lambdas. Each lambda can currently sustain bandwidth of 10 Gigabits per second. Since the capabilities of a DWDM based system can be enhanced through the upgrade of the electronics and ongoing evolution of the technology, DWDM-based optical fiber networks have a vast and growing bandwidth capacity.
As data transmission gets more and more “heavy,” it requires stronger and stronger fibers on which to travel. And in the world of technology, there’s stronger and then there’s denser. Density is what we’re after here. Rather than build more and more fibers, researchers prefer to make possible greater and greater amounts of data transfer on existing fibers. One way to do this is to use DWDM, which stands for Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing. Basically, it’s using less to get more. Think of a band of radio frequencies. Various stations can broadcast their signals without making it impossible for listeners to hear whatever they want to hear. DWDM puts together multiple signals and sends them at the same time along a fiber, with transmissions taking place at different wavelengths. This turns a single fiber into the virtual equivalent of a handful of fibers. The most modern of these systems allows for much more than a handful of fibers. Systems with up to 160 wavelengths are not entir
