Optical Switching

15Reliability in Optical Networks

Antony Gratus Varuvel and Rajendra Prasath

Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Sri City, Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, India

15.1 Introduction

Reliability, Availability, Maintainability, and System Safety (RAMS) are the driving factors in modern scenarios for sustenance and market share, wherein an equal amount of technological expertise is assumed to be available within competing concerns/firms. Notwithstanding this, RAMS in military, nuclear, medical, and aerospace sectors are always treated as equally important to functionality [1]. A design primarily relies on the technical expertise of the people involved. The inherent reliability and safety of the system are both largely determined during early design phase of a capital project. Though the RAMS requirements are not stated explicitly by the customer/end user, in most cases, the expectation is to incorporate built‐in RAMS in the products by design. Involvement of RAMS at the early stage of the design would support the organization in achieving strategic goals, ensuring core competency, maintaining excellence in service and improving cost‐effectiveness [2]. On the other hand, not having the RAMS concept in place in the early stages of design could lead to overloading in terms of the following factors: a) rejection by customer; b) requiring upgrades to meet RAMS demand; c) failing to comply with certification norms; d) loss of market share and competitiveness; e) higher modification ...