27-EFT.WP.Packets.Light v1.0 | Foreword

Home ／ Docs-Technical WhitePaper ／ 27-EFT.WP.Packets.Light v1.0

Foreword

One-sentence positioning: This volume defines a unified engineering convention for optical packets / optical pulses (Packets.Light) spanning the physical layer through framing, routing, and arrival-time harmonization, covering fiber / free-space / hybrid networks, with manifest-based release to guarantee reproducibility, auditability, and rollback.

I. Purpose & Positioning

• Place cross-medium propagation (fiber / FSO) and networked scheduling (WDM / OPS / ROADM) inside a single optical-packet pipeline: x(t) → frame/slot → route(lambda, k_sub) → y(t).
• Harmonize arrival-time measurement via two parallel formulations, publishing both and recording the discrepancy: compute T_arr using the constant-factored form and the general form in parallel; persist delta_form with a contract threshold tol_Tarr.
• Deliver an executable loop across Physics → Framing → Propagation Compensation → Switching → Queuing → Metrology → Release (P/S/M/I/C).

II. Scope & Objects

• Objects: segmented path gamma(ell) (fiber segments / free-space segments / device segments); medium parameters n_eff(f, x), alpha_fiber, beta2, PMD; framing and timebase epoch/frame/slot/sym; modulation / detection OOK/PAM/QAM/PSK/OFDM; routing & labels lambda/k_sub/label.
• Inputs: x(t) (transmit waveform or symbol stream); link & device inventory; RefCond (temperature / weather / time-zone / sampling rate); timebase & sync (offset/skew/J); policies & thresholds.
• Outputs: y(t) (receive waveform / soft information); arrival-time estimate T_arr and corrective terms; physical / link metrology OSNR/Q/EVM; runtime panel SLI/SLO; manifest.packet.*.
• Boundary: General metrology methodology is not reiterated (see EFT Technical White Paper & Memo Templates — Complete Index v0.1). Radio and cable appear only as comparators and are not within the Packets.Light implementation domain.

III. Numbering & Conventions (Mandatory)

1. Unified numbering: Postulates P60x-*, Minimal Equations S60x-*, Metrology Pipelines M60-*, Implementation Bindings I60-*, Contracts C60-*.
2. Two-form arrival time (cross-volume reuse):
   • Constant-factored: T_arr = ( 1 / c_ref ) * ( ∫_{gamma} n_eff d ell )
   • General: T_arr = ( ∫_{gamma} ( n_eff / c_ref ) d ell )
   • Publication: record delta_form = | ( 1 / c_ref ) * ( ∫ n_eff d ell ) - ( ∫ ( n_eff / c_ref ) d ell ) | ≤ tol_Tarr.
3. Dimensional constraint: every quantity entering equations declares unit(field) and dim(field), and must pass check_dim( y - f(x) ).

IV. Methodology & Execution Path (M60-1 master flow)

• Ready: freeze RefCond, timebase, and frame structure; construct the segmented path gamma(ell) and the medium/device bill (fiber segments, FSO segments, WSS/EDFA/ROADM).
• Model / Identify: establish the physical baseline (dispersion / PMD / loss / turbulence); derive link transfer functions and compensation kernels (CD / PMD / NL); specify modulation / detection and FEC.
• Harmonize: compute both forms of T_arr in parallel and combine them with path corrections corr_env(x; RefCond); integrate routing / scheduling constraints and guard-bit budgets.
• Verify / Measure: report OSNR/Q/EVM/BER and panel SLI; track delta_form, residual dispersion / PMD bounds, queuing delay / contention rate.
• Release: generate and sign manifest.packet (parameters / thresholds / evidence / uncertainty); persist contract outcomes and rollback strategies.

V. Reader Paths & Role Mapping

• Networking / Routing: Chapters 5 / 9 / 10 / 14 / 15
• Physics / Links: Chapters 2 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 11 / 12
• Metrology / Compliance: Chapters 3 / 11 / 14 / Appendices A–E
• Fast-track: Chapters 2 → 4 → 6 → 8 → 10 → 11 → 14 → 15

VI. Data, Metrology & Compliance

• Data protocol: frames / symbols / sampled streams must provide unit(•) (e.g., W, V, a.u.) and timestamps; device & segment parameters include hash/id and validity intervals.
• Metrology conventions: mappings among OSNR(Q) / EVM / BER and Q-factor; ASE / N0 models; cross-device calibration consistent with RefCond.
• Compliance modules: two-form T_arr assertions, OSNR lower bound, residual dispersion / PMD upper bounds, guard-bit conservation, runtime freshness and coverage (C60-*).

VII. Cross-References

• Path & medium corrections: EFT.WP.Metrology.PathCorrection v1.0.
• Timebase & synchronization: EFT.WP.Metrology.TimeBase v1.0, EFT.WP.Metrology.Sync v1.0.
• Instrumentation & link metrology: EFT.WP.Metrology.Instrument v1.0.
• Execution graph & streaming runtime: EFT.WP.STG.Dynamics v1.0, Chapter 14 (execution graph / cache / fallback).

VIII. Deliverables & Acceptance

• Artifacts: I60-* interfaces (framing / timing / compensation / routing / metrology / release), C60-* contract strategy cards, manifest.packet exemplars and panel fields.
• SLO / SLI: delta_form_p99, osnr_drift, cd_residual, pmd_drift, latency_p99, drop / erasure rate.
• Audit: version / dependency / random seeds and data-source hashes; cross-environment recomputation discrepancy ≤ ε_dual.

IX. Risks & Rollback

• Dispersion / PMD drift: trigger re-estimation and write back online compensation gain.
• FSO weather fading: enable wavelength / route fallback and rate adaptation.
• Routing / scheduling congestion: adjust guard bits / thresholds and engage bypass.
• Metrology drift: raise panel alerts and re-sign manifest; Fail-Closed: if contracts fail, bypass / degrade or roll back the release.

X. Structural Guide

• Chs. 1–4: domain definition, physical baseline, framing & modulation.
• Chs. 5–10: multi-dimensional multiplexing, propagation impairments & compensation, routing / queuing.
• Chs. 11–12: metrology & multipath.
• Chs. 13–15: security, runtime, and use-case manifests.
• Appendices: interfaces / contracts / manifests / metrics / uncertainty and change log.

This foreword is the execution guide and compliance anchor for the volume. Subsequent chapters strictly follow the numbering, two-form parallelism, and dimensional checks defined here; all releases are governed by manifest.packet.*.