Acterna introduces powerful optical fiber mapping software.

Acterna has announced that fiber network operators now have a network management solution, Acterna Optical Fiber Mapping (OFM) software, that makes it easy to retrieve, cross-reference, and share information among multiple users. Providing a bird's eye view of the network and information on demand, Acterna's OFM software delivers an inside look at the outside plant and can hone in on the exact location of faults, outages, affected nodes, and customer sites, as well as shed light on the entire fiber optic network. With OFM software, users from different divisions within an organization can also generate customized reports or displays and get the specific information they need.

Because of the high-fiber density in metro networks, the explosion of high-bandwidth, data-intensive traffic requires connections to be frequently modified. This requires operators to have up-to-date documentation that includes original schematics created by a designer in paper or electronic formats, maps, photos, plant assets, and network element data. Although installers may make modifications, the documentation is rarely updated because technicians performing regular operation and maintenance (O&M) procedures do not have access to the original files. With minimal information on the as-built network, much of the existing documentation is rendered useless when the network goes down.

"Managing a network involves more than keeping track of thousands of fibers, cables and network elements stretched across hundreds of miles serving millions of customer locations. Maintaining network performance and efficiency as well as reducing costs can be a major challenge because it requires sharing information that is not necessarily kept in a shared resource," said Enzo di Luigi, general manager for Acterna's Fiber Optics and Systems. "Acterna's OFM software serves cross-divisional technology and business requirements, matching the multiple demands of a network operator need rather than simply fulfilling specialized needs or the needs of one division."

Residing on a PC or laptop, Acterna's OFM software enables customers to address the state of the network from their fingertips. This powerful automated mapping, facilities management, and geographic information system (AM/FM/GIS) application consolidates data entered manually or through other applications. All fiber optic network documentation including fiber route maps, distribution panel graphics, OTDR traces, and PMD and CD measurements can be easily retrieved, cross-referenced, and shared among multiple users. Network operators have access to all of their networks' geographic and functional components and can track, document, and monitor an unlimited number of circuit wavelengths for each physical fiber path while O&M staff can initiate queries from any physical point in the network, including the field.

Based on Acterna's heritage of fiber optic technology innovation, the Acterna OFM software can be used as a standalone software package installed on any desktop PC or integrated for use within the Acterna Optical Network Management System (ONMS). OFM software, once installed on an Acterna ONMS pre-configured for metro applications (the ONMS Metro), offers a unified solution for metro solutions. With the ONMS Metro, trouble-ticketing, alarm reporting, and complete performance management with data analysis, statistics, performance, and quality reports are provided. The system is DWDM ready and its open architecture provides scalability within the ONMS platform as well as easy integration with other applications.

Acterna Optical Network Management System (ONMS) offers network operators significant commercial advantage through increased productivity, reduced network down time and easier, faster network provisioning. The Acterna ONMS monitors the network continuously, alerting operators and managers to faults as they occur. The ONMS also provides real-time network status and performance with efficient preventative maintenance schedules, faster, low-cost service provisioning with efficient management of the cable installation and commissioning process, and rapid detection and accurate location of fiber and DWDM degradation.