18.02.2009
Closed Joint-Stock Company "RASCOM" is announcing its plans to up-grade its network within first six months of 2009
Starting from January 2009, the CJSC RASCOM has started to implement a series of measures to up-grade its DWDM network at the route Moscow - Saint-Petersburg - Helsinki - Stockholm. This up-grade will enhance the network's resilience as to exterior influences and will allow to shorten traffic interruptions while performing scheduled works.
The main point of this up-grade will be introducing of Nortel's technological solution for the CPL (Common Photonic Layer) platform - a system of WSS (Wavelength Selection Switch) optical switches. Installed at the whole length of the backbone network, the Nortel WSS system will permit to perform wavelength switching at the DWDM path both automatically and at operator's order. Thus, wavelength switching time in the DWDM system will be substantially reduced. While before it was necessary to involve a local engineer in order to do it, now these actions will be made remotely, from RASCOM's Network Management Center. For the 10G circuits (ordered as protected), this switching will be made automatically and, practically, without traffic interruption.
The works to up-grade RASCOM's network and to introduce the WSS optical switches at this backbone route will be completed by June 2009.
It should be noted that introducing the WSS will permit to RASCOM to significantly reduce traffic interruption duration for the unprotected 10G circuits at the route Moscow - Stockholm that arise, in particular, due to scheduled works. Thus, in 2009 and until the end of 2010, works will be done in Finland to migrate fiber-optic cables at the section Lappeenranta - Finnish-Russian Border which is caused by construction of the autoroute «Highway 6». At the same time, at the section from the border to Moscow, the OAO "RZhD" performs big-scale works to up-grade its railway lines that should be completed by the end of 2009. While performing these works, too, it is planned to migrate the optical cables occupied by RASCOM circuits.
RASCOM will be in good time informed by the contractors about possible traffic interruptions and will prepare its network for these by switching-over the circuits to alternative routes. This technical preparation will permit to avoid or reduce the duration time of the most of scheduled traffic interruptions while migrating the fiber-optic cables.
