OIF nails down 100G OTN monitoring for carrier networks, lays foundation for transport SDN

The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) has completed two critical technical projects that address the increased adoption of optical transport network (OTN) technology for 100G carrier networks, and the use of PCE control technology, as building blocks toward Software Defined Networking (SDN). The OIF says its new Tandem Connection Monitoring (TCM) white paper and the Path Computation Element (PCE) Implementation Agreement will ease deployment of new OTN and PCE technologies and ensure that these meet the goals of service providers.

The OTN TCM white paper provides guidelines on the use of Tandem Connection Monitoring, a way of monitoring performance on segments of an OTN connection. It focuses on guidelines for how to apply the six levels of TC and is intended to help carriers best take advantage of the advanced monitoring functions provided by TCM. The white paper provides a framework that can be pre-configured into switches to further reduce administrative overhead.

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“The adoption of 100G transport technology produced by the OIF is fueling increased need for and adoption of OTN to efficiently fill 100G pipes," comments Remi Theillaud of Marben Products, and the OIF’s Networking and Operations Working Group chair. “The TCM white paper identifies use cases and default configuration for TCM monitoring of performance along OTN paths, using enhanced detection and localization of performance issues possible with OTN.”

Also newly completed, the OIF's PCE Implementation Agreement (IA) defines the use of Path Computation Elements in a multidomain ASON network, taking standards for PCE created by the IETF and identifying subsets of the standards that can be adopted for interoperability across a multivendor, multi-domain carrier network.

"The OIF is working to define a framework for Transport SDN requirements and functions in multi-domain ASON networks, leveraging input from OIF carrier members,” explains Lyndon Ong of Ciena, and editor of the PCE IA. “PCE defines the separation of path computation functions from the data path and is an early step carriers can take towards SDN that extends the OIF E-NNI control plane. The OIF E-NNI control plane has been tested in multiple OIF interoperability demonstrations,” he adds.

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