Compared with the active DWDM backbone network equipped with fiber amplifiers and dispersion compensators, passive DWDM can construct high-speed transmission lines with high channel capacity at a lower cost. And passive DWDM is a plug-and-play system, which is simple and convenient to use.
However, passive DWDM systems also have shortcomings in the following aspects, such as scalability. The number of wavelength channels of passive DWDM systems is limited. If you want to expand the network, you must use more passive DWDM devices, which will increase the difficulty of system management. .
Correspondingly, the active DWDM system supports a larger number of wavelength channels, so the bandwidth is larger and the utilization rate of the optical fiber is higher. In addition, the active DWDM system is easier to manage, users can adjust the channel wavelength online without shutting down the system, and the expansion of the active DWDM system is easier.
Compared with passive DWDM systems, active DWDM systems have longer transmission distances and higher deployment costs. In addition, active DWDM systems also use fiber amplifiers, dispersion compensators and other equipment, and their deployment is more complicated than passive DWDM systems.
All in all, passive DWDM system and active DWDM system have their own advantages. We should deploy a suitable DWDM system according to specific application requirements. No matter which kind of system is deployed, DWDM multiplexer/demultiplexer is indispensable.