Achieving Path Reversal in OTN By Control Plane Programmability

Abstract

SDN  paradigm has been successfully used in IP networks to bring agility and programmability. Applying SDN to OTN (Optical Transport Networks) has some challenges due to circuit switched nature and physical characteristics of OTN. If SDN and OTN can be modified to adapt to each other, there are immense benefits that can be derived from this combination. This paper presents an innovative design by modifying components in OTN and incorporating SDN concepts along-with it. This design encompasses key SDN concepts such as control plane and data-plane separation, central view of network domain for decision making and software-based programmability. This design uniquely implements the flow-reversal in Optical Ring by programmability that its control plane offers. In traditional OTN, it is not only time consuming but also complex process to obtain this type of flow reversal as it requires hardware configurations. The design presented here manages to rapidly configure the flow using its centralized control-plane programmatically. The design was implemented and thoroughly tested using simulator tool OptiSystem. The design is generic and does not depend on any specific vendor component. The design is flexible and can co-exist in end-to-end network setup. This design aims to help fellow researchers in their research work related to SDON (Software Defined Optical Network) and can be used as-is or with suitable modifications. This paper is organized into logical sections, starting with Introduction section that gives background and problem description. The next section is Literature Review which covers review of relevant studies and gaps. Then Methodology section briefly covers research methodology used, how results are collected and stored etc. The Design section depicts the solution by explaining high-level design approach, reasons behind design choices and the detailed design. The Result section denotes the observed outcome and confirms that it matches with expected results. Finally, conclusion section summarizes key points, findings, contribution and future scope.