TKRZ enables new high-capacity and mission-critical services with upgraded regional backbone

The challenge

New flagship regional data center demands modernized backbone

To catalyze innovation across the Münster–Osnabrück region, TKRZ set out to consolidate several existing facilities into a larger, modern Datacenter Münster Osnabrück (DMO). As a state-of-the-art regional hub, DMO required a backbone that could deliver high capacity, predictable low latency and the reach to interconnect the entire region.  

Niklas Plugge, Network Engineer, TKRZ, explains the key requirements and considerations for upgrading the long-serving CWDM-based backbone to support these ambitions: 

“We had already been laying the groundwork, upgrading our routing and switch infrastructure and preparing our network for DMO. We reached a point where we needed an optical layer that could support and match everything else – modern DWDM. This would be key to innovating new services, reaching further across the region and giving customers the stability they expect, including mission-critical Fibre Channel workloads,” says Niklas.

The Solution

An active DWDM design tailored for regional reach

TKRZ modernized its regional backbone with Smartoptics active DWDM, using compact 1U open line systems and muxponders for data center interconnect where the regional 40–80 km spans require no optical amplification. For broader coverage, TKRZ deploys ROADMs with amplification to reach edge locations and extend connectivity toward major metropolitan hubs. The open platform, delivered in collaboration with value-add partner MG Future, supports 100G and 400G Ethernet alongside Fibre Channel on the same system. 

“Before we even placed the order, Smartoptics took our actual fiber data, including attenuation and local conditions, and simulated the full design in their management software, SoSmart. That gave us confidence everything would work exactly as planned. Once installed, most of the setup was plug and play. SoSmart has given us full visibility of every path and immediate insight if attenuation changes. And whenever questions came up, the close cooperation with Smartoptics and MG Future meant we always got quick, reliable support,” says Niklas.

Enabling regional Fibre Channel connections with Brocade-certified transport

Fibre Channel underpins many mission-critical systems, and dependable multi-site transport has traditionally required strict validation. As a result, some organizations have kept these workloads on-premises. With Smartoptics’ Brocade-certified transceivers and open line systems, TKRZ can now guarantee Fibre Channel behavior end to end. Combined with dedicated regional fiber paths enabled through partnerships with municipal utilities, this enables reliable FC transport between customer sites and TKRZ data centers, using either dedicated wavelengths or simple gray-optic handoff on the same open DWDM platform. 

“For years, both we and our customers lacked full confidence that Fibre Channel would behave exactly as expected between sites. With Smartoptics, that completely changed. The Brocade certification gave us the assurance we needed. In practice it feels just like connecting two Brocade switches across the room – only now one of them is in our data center. It has enabled us to offer reliable Fibre Channel transport for regional colocation,” says Niklas.

The Result

Regional coverage strengthened with new links to major hubs

With the new DWDM backbone in place, TKRZ now delivers consistent, high-capacity connectivity across the entire Münster–Osnabrück region, reaching every major local site with uniformly low latency and resilient paths. In parallel, the extended footprint allows TKRZ to interconnect the region with larger national hubs, spanning from Hamburg in the north to Frankfurt in the south. Together, these regional and national links position the new DMO facility as a central point of interconnection for the years ahead. 

“What we appreciate most about Smartoptics is the openness of the platform and the competence and responsiveness of the people behind it – every interaction has been fast, collaborative and solution-oriented. This deployment strengthens our role as the region’s digital backbone, allowing us to interconnect the entire Münster–Osnabrück area and link it seamlessly with major national hubs. With a big part played by our new data center opening in early 2026, we’re creating infrastructure that will drive regional growth and innovation for years to come,” says Christoph Stegemann, Managing Director of both TKRZ Stadtwerke GmbH and DMO GmbH.

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