What is Project Voyager?
Project Voyager is a design that was initiated by Facebook as part of the Telecom Infra Project, and there the Backhaul / Open Optical Packet Transport subgroup. The project defines the goal as the following:
This project group will define Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) open packet transport architecture that triggers new innovation and avoids implementation lock-ins. Open DWDM systems include open line system & control, transponder & network management and packet-switch and router technologies. Facebook has worked with partners to test Voyager, a networking solution for Open Packet DWDM networks — and what Facebook believes is the industry’s first “white box” transponder and routing solution.
As mentioned, Project Voyager is the first hard and software solution published by this group. Following a disaggregated and open approach, the platform integrates a router with DWDM optical ports and control, something that traditionally requires two independent devices, one for the routing and one for the optical L1 management. Voyager supports in a 1 rack-unit (RU) hardware 12 standard router QSFP28 ports, but additionally four 200Gbps DWDM line ports for long reach optical connections. In certain ways Voyager draws on parts of Facebook’s Wedge 100Gbps switch for the routing hardware side. On the routing side Snaproute provided additional components. Given the complex optical equipment, additional control and measurement components are needed to control wavelength, amplifier power and similar optical properties. The optical side provides connection in the metro and above range, as outlined in the following graph taken from the project documentation:
As explained on their website: "The diagram shows laboratory measurement results using Voyager early units configured for 200G per wavelength capacity using 16QAM modulation, which demonstrates up to 180 km maximum transmission distance for a point-to-point link. The Voyager coherent modem supports adaptable FEC strength, and flexible modulation (QPSK/8QAM/16QAM) for optimizing capacity vs. reach trade-offs. We believe that Voyager is powerful enough to support metro and long-haul data center interconnect applications."
You can find more information at the Project Voyager main page, and in this blogpost by Facebook.