Encryption over WDM links

My ISP client, serving a national finance end-user, required highly secure encryption between four data centers connected via WDM links across ADTRAN, INFINERA, and HUAWEI technologies. The goal was to ensure end-to-end encryption of sensitive data while maintaining low latency and high throughput.

To address this requirement, the ADTRAN FSP 150-XG118Pro devices were deployed. These devices offer a hardware-based encryption engine with AES-256 encryption at full line rate (80 Gbps) and support MACsec transformation with VLAN bypass, ensuring seamless traffic encryption without performance degradation.

Key Aspects of the Implementation:
• Security & Cryptography:
• AES encryption in FPGA for real-time encryption with minimal processing overhead.
• Built-in Hardware Security Module (HSM) for secure cryptographic key storage and authentication.
• Authenticated key exchange and tamper detection mechanisms to prevent unauthorized access.
• Quantum-safe cryptography readiness, ensuring long-term security.
• Network & Performance Considerations:
• Eight 1/10GbE SFP+ ports and two internal 10GbE connections, providing high-capacity encrypted data transmission.
• IEEE 802.1AX link aggregation and ITU-T G.8032 Ethernet ring protection, ensuring network redundancy and reliability.
• Hardware-based synchronization (IEEE 1588v2, ITU-T G.826x) for accurate timing, crucial in financial transactions.
• Operational Efficiency & Flexibility:
• Seamless integration with multi-vendor WDM networks (ADTRAN, INFINERA, HUAWEI).
• Centralized SDN control & automation for streamlined management and rapid service provisioning.
• Temperature-hardened (-40°C to +65°C) and redundant power supplies, ensuring high availability in data centers.

By leveraging the ADTRAN XG118Pro, which provides flexibility, cryptographic agility, and robust key management, the solution was successfully designed and implemented. This ensures the financial sector client benefits from a fully secured, high-performance data transmission network, compliant with the latest encryption standards and regulatory requirements.