Implementing Digital Twin in Field-Deployed Optical Networks: Uncertain Factors, Operational Guidance, and Field-Trial Demonstration
Yuchen Song, Min Zhang, Yao Zhang, Yan Shi, Shikui Shen, Bingli Guo, Shanguo Huang, Danshi Wang
Abstract
Digital twin has revolutionized optical communication networks by enabling their full life-cycle management, including design, troubleshooting, optimization, upgrade, and prediction. While extensive literature exists on frameworks, standards, and applications of digital twin, there is a pressing need in implementing digital twin in field-deployed optical networks operating in real-world environments, as opposed to controlled laboratory settings. This paper addresses this challenge by examining the uncertain factors behind the inaccuracy of digital twin in field-deployed optical networks from three main challenges and proposing operational guidance for implementing accurate digital twin in field-deployed optical networks. Through the proposed guidance, we demonstrate the effective implementation of digital twin in a field-trial C+L-band optical transmission link, showcasing its capabilities in performance recovery in a fiber cut scenario.