With the TRX-24000 officially in the Alcatel-Lucent fold as the 1696 Metrospan ROADM, it's arguably the vendor's strongest ROADM product. But, questions including upgrade path for older 1696 platforms or how Tropic's OAM IPR will be used remain. This report contains insight and analysis of the product or service strengths and weaknesses, list of buying criteria and how the product or service fares in each category, and a comprehensive table of product or service metrics and specifications. This report is useful for purchasers who need to evaluate products, or as a source of competitive intelligence for vendors.