Advanced network management of the optical control plane in agile photonic networks

• Published in: Bell Labs technical journal 2010-06, Vol.15 (1), p.195-208
• Main Authors: Fogliata, Paolo, Belloli, Ermanno, Grandi, Pietro V., Gumier, Matteo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Computation; Management; Multilayers; Networks; Optical control; Photonics; Switching theory; Traffic flow
• ISSN: 1089-7089; 1538-7305; 1538-7305
• DOI: 10.1002/bltj.20432

Exafloods - the increasing amount of traffic exchanged over worldwide data networks - require optical transport networks to rapidly adapt to meet the service and capacity demands placed upon them. Innovations in optical technology enable an optimal network design to switch traffic flows in available resources at minimum cost per bit. Network management plays a key role in controlling the flexible assignment of network resources to meet traffic demands by mastering the application of optical innovations, from more scalable and agile photonic technologies to architectural solutions for the integrated control of an optical network organized on multiple layers. This paper analyzes the guidelines for an operational model for a multi-layer optical control plane, coordinated with network management applications, to efficiently cover the engineering of traffic flows, the electrical/optical restoration and protection schema, and the strategy to monitor the multi-layer network for service assurance and integrity purposes. The analysis of multi-layer integration, providing vertical scalability in terms of capability to increase network connectivity capacity, is extended to path computation elements, the network management tool enabling horizontal scalability, splitting the load of computing connectivity routes across multiple entities.