Certified Optical Network Associate (CONA)
Training Course
$4,394.50 inc GST
Next session to be announced soon
This 5-day certification is the essential foundation for all optical network professionals. Master the design of direct-detection networks used in DCI, metro, 5G, and FTTH. Learn to correctly calculate power budgets, manage dispersion (CD & PMD), and deploy WDM & amplifier solutions. Build reliable, cost-effective networks and avoid expensive design errors.
Description
A Link Fails. Is it the Loss Budget or the Dispersion?
Your 10G link won’t come up. Your 100G DCI link is flapping. You’ve checked the splices, but the problem isn’t the install… it’s the design.
Your new 100G link is dark. Your DCI turn-up just stalled. Why? The design was a guess.
That 100G DCI link won’t come up just because the transceivers fit. Direct detection systems are the workhorse for everything from FTTH to 5G, and they all obey the laws of physics. A bad loss budget calculation isn’t a small error. Missing a dispersion limit isn’t a minor oversight. These are the mistakes that grind a project to a halt, forcing costly re-designs and brutal project delays.
Master the “Rules” of Optical Network Design
The Certified Optical Network Associate (CONA) is a 5-day, comprehensive certification that provides the solid, vendor-neutral foundation every network professional needs.
This course is laser-focused on the “rules of the road” for optical networking. We teach you how to master link design, from the fundamentals of light to the practical design of complex, multi-channel WDM networks. You will learn to control for every variable that affects performance: fibre type, attenuation, reflections, chromatic dispersion (CD), and polarization mode dispersion (PMD).
Using a course-long case study and our unique ‘WhizzieKit’ virtual network builder, you won’t just learn the theory. You will design real-world, cost-effective, and reliable optical links.
Who Should Attend?
This is the essential course for anyone who plans, builds, or manages optical networks. It is ideal for project teams who need a common technical language and provides the fundamental knowledge for a long-term career in telecoms.
- Optical Network Planners
- Network Operations Staff & WAN Service Engineers
- Datacentre Operations Engineers & Fibre Specialists
- Network Managers
- Project Managers who oversee network deployments
(This course is the foundation for the advanced Certified Optical Network Engineer (CONE) course.)
What You Will Master:
Upon completing your CONA certification, you will be able to:
- Master Link Budgeting: Learn to correctly calculate optical power budgets AND optical loss budgets for any direct-detection system.
- Conquer Dispersion: Know exactly when chromatic dispersion (CD) and polarization mode dispersion (PMD) become a problem, and how to specify the right dispersion compensation (DCM).
- Multiply Capacity with WDM: Go beyond single-channel. Learn to design and specify components for CWDM, DWDM, and other WDM systems to light up dark fibre.
- Extend Network Reach: Confidently decide when and where to use optical amplifiers (EDFAs, Raman, SOAs) to extend link distances and avoid costly regeneration.
- Qualify Your Infrastructure: Learn to assess existing fibre plants and documentation to determine if they are suitable for 10G, 100G, or 400G upgrades.
- Specify Components with Confidence: Stop guessing. Select the right transceivers (100G, 400G Ethernet, etc.), multiplexers, and fibre types for any direct-detection application.
Your First Step to Becoming a Network Architect
CONA is the first and most critical step in your optical networking career. It provides the complete picture for direct detection systems. Once you have this certification, you will be prepared to advance to our expert-level Certified Optical Network Engineer (CONE) course, which covers the advanced world of coherent transmission, DSP, and 400G/800G+ network design.
