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Thursday 5, June 2008

Opening

Thursday 5, June 2008 10:00-12:20

Opening address
- Tomonori Aoyama, General Chair, Keio University, Japan
- Bijan Jabbari, General Chair, ISOCORE, USA

Keynote
K-1 "Optical Network: from FTTH to Transparent Backbone Network"
- Hiromichi Shinohara, NTT, Japan

Hiromichi ShinoharaBiography: Mr. Hiromichi Shinohara has been a Vice President of NTT, Executive Director of NTT Information Sharing Laboratory Group since June 2007.
He joined NTT Laboratories in 1978. He has consistently been spending his carrier to realize FTTH. In addition, he has recently been engaged in strategic planning and promoting of research and development for NGN architecture and platform technologies.

 

K-2 "Crisis in Transport"
- Kireeti Kompella, Juniper Networks, USA

There are several proposed changes to the transmission/transport infrastructure, including the replacement of SDH equipment, the use of "packet transport", and tighter integration of packet switching and optical equipment. Along with these proposals come suggestions for new protocols to achieve these changes, such as PBB-TE, T-MPLS, "plain old MPLS", and GMPLS.

In this talk, I will review some of the drivers for change, and take a big step back to look at the big picture of how we got here and where we should go. I will conclude with a proposal that I believe essential to "Next Generation Networks" and efficient and cost-effective network infrastructure. I will try to outline the impact that such an approach will have on Service Providers and equipment vendors of both switching and transmission gear.

K2 pdf

Program introduction
- Kireeti Kompella, Juniper Networks, USA and Kohei Shiomoto, NTT, Japan

Exhibition introduction
- Takeshi Akaike, NTT and Satoru Okamoto, Keio University, Japan

Technical Session

Tech. Session 1: ASON
Thursday 5, June 2008 13:45-15:00

Chair: Kireeti Kompella, Juniper

T1-1 "Control Plane Resilience and Security in GMPLS Networks : Fact and Fiction"
Adrian Farrel, Old Dog Consulting, UK

Adrian FarrelOptical transport network security has not traditionally been a topic of great concern to service providers. The only openings for attack on a transport infrastructure have been either through the management plane or by physical intrusion either at the equipment site or on the fibre links between sites. Techniques such as IP access lists and passwords have been considered adequate to protect devices from access through private management networks.

The introduction of the GMPLS control plane has exposed devices to a greater range of message sources and potential commands that can change the configuration of network equipment. But the DCN has still been considered to be a private network with the result that no stronger security techniques have been deployed.

This talk will explain how this naive view of the GMPLS DCN results in confusion about control channel protection and restoration, and could lead to major vulnerabilities in core networks that compromise service delivery.

The speaker will describe how utilizing an IP-based control plane means more than just assigning IP addresses to the ends of dedicated channels such as OSCs. He will show how the definition of a GMPLS control channel in RFC 4204 expresses a logical entity that is independent of the underlying physical connectivity. As a result, discussions of backup control channels and control channel recovery techniques within GMPLS are bogus and should be largely restricted to physical schemes similar to link level protection.

But a consequence of the introduction of the GMPLS control plane is that the network is more open to security attacks. This talk will highlight those vulnerabilities, explain how the GMPLS protocols protect themselves from attack, and explain the areas in which there is still scope for intrusion.

T1-1 pdf

Biography: Adrian Farrel is co-chair of the IETF's CCAMP, PCE, and L1VPN working groups. He is author of GMPLS : Architecture and Application and The Internet and Its Protocols, and is co-editor of the new book MPLS : The Next Steps. Adrian runs a thriving consultancy, Old Dog Consulting, specialising in GMPLS, MPLS, PCE, and routing protocols.

T1-2 "e2e GMPLS P&R with next generation interface for the green networking."
Hidetsugu Sugiyama, Juniper Networks, Japan

Hidetsugu SugiyamaAll optical switching transport networks can reduce the power consumption of the whole network system to solve the issue of "global warming" by reducing gOEO switching nodeh in transport network. As the network system can reduce the power consumption, we call such the networks "green networking". In order to build the "green networking", all circuit switching nodes should support the "photonic cross connect (PXC/OOO)" as it is not necessary for packet buffering. In other words, only packet switching nodes should remain as gOEO switchingh.

However, there is a known issue that OOO transport node can not provide fast link protection as the optical is terminated at packet switching node such as a Router who sends or receives the data packets on single wavelength in the optical fiber.
Therefore, all optical switching transport networks are still not realistic for deployment if users need high availability circuit network. This situation is based on legacy router interface that can support only single wavelength in the optical fiber and connect to transponder in optical transport node.
If router data port has a capability to control dual wavelengths (or multiple wavelengths) in the optical fiber, this circuit protection issue will be solved as router can send or receive data packets by selecting one of available wavelengths in the data port.

In this presentation, gGMPLS based e2e protectionh mechanism on new router interface called gTunable OTN interfaceh is introduced, by comparing other protection mechanism such as MPLS FRR, etc.. And also we will discuss several issues and solutions in terms of technical point of view, in terms of operation point of view, and in terms of business point of view.

T1-2 pdf

Biography: Hidetsugu Sugiyama is an R&D Support Director, Technical Operations APAC at Juniper Networks and manages Open IP Solution Development Program in Asia Pacific.
He is currently focused on next generation IP Optical network integration technology relating MPLS/GMPLS products.@He has over 19 years experience in Telecommunication industry as a Network consultant engineer in data communications.

T1-3"Automated End-to-end Circuit Provisioning for high bandwidth demand applications: the challenges and our experiences in 3TNet"
Weiqiang Sun, Guowu Xie, Yaohui Jin, Wei Guo and Weisheng Hu, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, P. R. China

Weiqiang SunOptical networks, with the tremendous bandwidth it can provide, have been regarded as a premium choice for connecting various systems with high bandwidth demand. Traditionally, optical networks have been used mostly in the form of dedicated links, or in connecting a relatively small number of systems. While the demand for high bandwidth increases in intensity over the years, its extensity has also grown significantly. Optical networks in its historical form with static configurability and coarse granularity is no longer transport candidates for emerging applications, such as E-Science, storage area networking and grid computing.

GMPLS is an important feature added to existing optical networks. It can automate the circuit provisioning process hence simplify network OAM and can potentially reduces OPEX. At the same time, it opens up opportunities for applications that have high bandwidth demand and also require high levels of re-configurability and flexibility. Numerous efforts have been witnessed in the last 5 years, in applying GMPLS enabled optical networks to high bandwidth demand applications. But two questions are still not answered. First, traffic generated by applications in general is much more dynamic then those aggregated in a Metro core node. With the traffic changes quickly with time and significantly in volume, will the network with distributed control plane be able to adapt to it, with acceptable efficiency and stability? Second, end systems generally has inherent multi-point communication requirement. How can an optical network with the tradition of provisioning dedicated circuits meet such a requirement, and in a scalable way?

In this presentation, we will try to present our experiences in dealing these two challenges in a regional testbed in China - 3TNet. First, we will introduce our intensive testing over the testbed regarding the provisioning performance of a typical GMPLS enabled network. We find that the provisioning performance can vary significantly between vendors and under different traffic patterns. We have concluded our findings in an Internet Draft submitted to IETF CCAMP working group [1]. To our knowledge, this is the first draft that tries to characterize the connection provisioning performance of GMPLS networks.

Second, we will present our experiences in building a sophisticated operation support system (OSS), over a GMPLS network. In the OSS, we implemented a proprietary application programming interface (API) on top of the control plane, such that the network resources can be invoked directly from VoD and IPTV services. We also introduced a VLAN based technique to increase the connectivity of end system interfaces. This feature will greatly increase the flexibility of end system circuit provisioning [2].

Reference
[1]W. Sun et al., Label Switched Path (LSP) Dynamical Provisioning Performance Metrics in Generalized MPLS Networks, www.ietf.org/internet-drafts/draft-xie-ccamp-lsp-dppm-02.txt, Nov. 2007
[2]Weiqiang Sun et al., A cross-layer optical circuit provisioning framework for data intensive IP end hosts, IEEE Communications Magazine, Vol.46, No.2, pp.S30-37, Feb. 2008

T1-3 pdf

Biography: Weiqiang Sun is an assistant professor in the Department of Electronic Engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), China. He received his B.Tech. from the Special Class for the Gifted Young (SCGY) at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in 1999 and his Ph.D. from the same university in 2004. His research interests include dynamically configured optical networks, QoS in packet-switched networks, and IPTV.
Dr. Sun has served as invited speaker on AOE 2005 (Shanghai, China), COIN-NGNCON 2006 (Jeju, Korea) and ANTS 2007 (Bombay, India). He is a member of Technical Program Committee of COIN 2008 (Tokyo, Japan). He has one IETF draft contribution in CCAMP working group and more than 40 peer reviewed papers on International Journals and Conferences.

Poster Session

@Convention Hall
Thursday 5, June 2008 15:15-16:30

Chair: Ernesto Damiani, University of Milan

P-1 "Optical Fast Reroute"
Adrian Farrel, Old Dog Consulting, UK

Adrian FarrelFast Reroute (FRR) is a familiar and established technique in MPLS networks where Label Switched Paths (LSPs) are can be rapidly routed around failures by tunneling them through protection tunnels. FRR allows end-to-end LSPs to be repaired without waiting for routing protocols to converge, and without requiring end-to-end protection. New techniques are also being developed for Fast Reroute in IP networks (IP-FRR) to rapidly repair end-to-end delivery without waiting for routing protocols to converge.

MPLS FRR was developed for use in packet networks and relies on the use of label stacking, that is, the nesting of one LSP within another. Although hierarchical LSPs are possible in optical networks, they require a mix of technology layers or sub-layers and so are not suitable for use to provide rapid repair in most optical networks.

This presentation will examine the latest standardization efforts within the IETF that give rise to new options for rapid local repair in optical networks.

  • Segment protection is a technique that allows planned protection spans to be signaled as part of the initial LSP setup. It offers dynamic control plane management of service delivery that closely matches the techniques that have traditionally been manually configured in transport networks.
  • LSP stitching combines the control plane behavior of hierarchical LSPs with the data plane characteristics of a single end-to-end LSP. Developed to enable inter-domain LSPs in packet networks, LSP stitching turns out to be very useful in optical networks where LSP nesting is not possible.

In this talk, the speaker will show how the combination of segment protection and LSP stitching can provide many of the benefits of Fast Reroute to provide flexible and dynamic fault protection within optical networks.

P1 pdf

Biography: Adrian Farrel is co-chair of the IETF's CCAMP, PCE, and L1VPN working groups. He is author of GMPLS : Architecture and Application and The Internet and Its Protocols, and is co-editor of the new book MPLS : The Next Steps. Adrian runs a thriving consultancy, Old Dog Consulting, specialising in GMPLS, MPLS, PCE, and routing protocols.

P-2 "GMPLS VLAN Path Establishment using Inter-domain VLAN Tag Swapping"
Kou Kikuta, Masahiro Nishida, Daisuke Ishii, Satoru Okamoto, Naoaki Yamanaka, KEIO University, Japan

Kou KikutaWide-Area-Ethernet Service provides multiple inter-connections among customersf LANs. In Wide-Area-Ethernet network, Virtual paths are established on layer-2 by VLAN (Virtual LAN) technology. Network switches read VLAN tag, path identification extended bit in Ethernet frame, and determine forwarding direction for each frame. We need to setup VLAN configuration of each switch to establish new path.
GMPLS is able to setup the switchesf configuration automatically and establish the new path just after customer demand. We are researching on this protocolfs details, exchanged VLAN information, controlling switches, using limited numbers of VLAN IDs, and others.
We presentation addresses Layer-2 Switching Capability (L2SC) with VLAN tag swapping. In Wide-Area-Ethernet network, same VLAN ID is used throughout a path. However, a number of VLAN ID is limited to 4096 due to extended frame format, thus there is a limit to the number of paths. VLAN swapping enables to use more VLAN IDs in a network like a Wavelength Converter.
We implemented a VLAN swapping function on Linux based PC and controlled the function by using GMPLS. In the experimental network, we used VLAN tag swapping switches that implemented by Linux PC. Multiple paths can be established by VLAN tag based switching that includes VLAN tag swapping.

P2 pdf

Biography: Kou Kikuta was born in Kanagawa, Japan on July 5, 1984. He received B.S degree from Department of Applied Chemistry, Keio University, Japan in 2007. Currently, he is a master course student of the school of Science for OPEN and Environmental Systems, Keio University. His current research interest is GMPLS protocols and next generation layer-2 network technologies.

P-3 "Chromatic Dispersion Compensation Control in Dynamically Reconfigurable All-Optical Networks"
Eiichi Horiuchi, Misato Kamei, Shoichiro Seno, and Yoshimasa Baba, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Japan

Eiichi HoriuchiAdvances in optical technology have realized all-optical DWDM networks where wavelengths are switched and transferred without OEO conversion. Dynamically reconfigurable mesh topology networks can be constructed by deploying all-optical switching nodes such as ROADM and PXC. ASON/GMPLS technology enables automatic configuration, dynamic path setup, and fault recovery such as shared mesh restoration for optical networks. For the all-optical networks, functional extension of the control technology is required to cope with optical signal impairments and other routing constraints such as switching capability. The impairments are not only routing constraints but may also require compensations on-the-fly during a lifetime of a dynamic wavelength path. Chromatic dispersion is the dominant factor of the impairments for regional and domestic backbone networks. This presentation focuses on the chromatic dispersion compensation, and proposes control means of measurement, management, and compensation in the dynamically reconfigurable all-optical networks.

Although various techniques of measurement and dynamic compensation for chromatic dispersion have been proposed, requirements and problems for control plane are in general as follows.
1) Measurement function is implemented in every node in the network and measurement is executed automatically. It requires management of resources such as wavelengths and the measurement function.
2) Before a wavelength path setup, dispersion value is considered as a routing constraint e.g. compensation capability is limited.
3) For high bit rate over 40 Gb/s, tolerable dispersion is very small. Therefore dispersion accumulated over a wavelength path should be measured or estimated accurately to configure compensation device(s) along the path. Factors of residual dispersion after compensation are A) changes of configuration or environment such as exchange of fiber and fluctuation of temperature, B) errors of estimation or measurement such as dispersion slope and resolution.
4) Time to make a connection with sufficient quality of the optical signal should be minimized especially during fault recovery. Accurate dispersion to be compensated over the path should be quickly configured on compensation device(s). If the configured dispersion value is inaccurate, additional adjustment of the compensation takes much time to reach sufficient quality.

Dispersion measurement can be conducted per-span (link) or per-path automatically and periodically. The measurement per-span is easier to implement, while compensation with summation of spans along a path is not always available. This is because errors due to resolution of per-span measurement and dispersion of devices in nodes accumulate along the path, and the residual dispersion after compensation may exceed tolerable dispersion as a result. The measurement per-path is required for such case. However, it has constraints: 1) It can not be conducted before a wavelength and a route for the path is determined 2) Resource contention occurs between different measurements.
By taking into account the above issues, we propose GMPLS extensions which control dispersion measurement per-span and per-path, and control dynamic dispersion compensation for dynamically routed paths (Figure 1).

P-3

Fig.1 Control of Measurement and Dynamic Dispersion Compensation by GMPLS extension

P3 pdf

Biography: Eiichi Horiuchi received the B.E. degree in electronics engineering from Osaka University, Toyonaka, Japan in 1990.
In 1990, he joined Communications System R&D Center, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Kamakura, Japan.
Since 2001 he has been engaged in research and development of IP-optical networking and all-optical networking.

P-4 "IGP Extentension for RWA in WSON"
Jianrui Han, Dan Li, Jianhua Gao, Young Lee Huawei Technologies, P.R.China

Gao JianhuaWith the deployment of the Reconfigurable Optical Add-Drop Multiplexer (ROADM) and the Wavelength Selective Switch (WSS), WDM networks have become more dynamic (Figure 1). In WDM network, RWA is used to calculate an available wavelength path with wavelength information of the network. To calculate a wavelength path accurately, the information should contain not only topology and the TE link states but also wavelength connectivity, wavelength conversion capability and per-fiber wavelength availability. To distribute these constraint information in WDM network, one approach is to extend GMPLS IGP-TE. However, due to the size of all these constraint information, a compact encoding of representing these information is important. This presentation introduces a solution to distribute the constraint information with least possible data, especially for the wavelength connectivity, so as to not affect the performance of IGP.

To represent the wavelength connectivity and wavelength conversion capability of a WDM node, a matrix is used to indicate potential wavelength connectivity (Figure 2). The matrix is represented by a set of bit map. Each bit represents the connectivity of a specific wavelength in a fiber cross to another wavelength in another fiber (set 0 means gcanft cross connecth). And the per-fiber wavelength availability can also be indicated by bit map (Figure 4). Each bit in the bit map represents whether the wavelength in fiber is available or not (set 0 means gnot availableh). When the wavelength is used to establish or tear down an LSP, the bit value is changed accordingly. Before advertising the above information, a sequence of wavelength that an optical fiber can support needs to be advertised (Figure 3). The order of wavelength sequence should be consistent with the order corresponding to wavelength represented by the above bit map; therefore this wavelength sequence can be used to parse above bit map information. In this solution, the wavelength information only need to be advertised once while the potential wavelength connectivity and wavelength status information represented by bit map can be advertised whenever changes would occur. It can reduce the data size effectively.

P-4

P4 pdf

Biography: Jianhua GAO, a system engineer, in Advanced Technology Department of Wireline Network Business Unit of Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., a leader in providing next generation telecommunications networks. He joined Huawei in 1999. He received his M.Sc in Control Engineering from Harbin Institute of Technology of China in 1999. His research interests include GMPLS control planeAPCE and network planning tool.

P-5 "Establishing Inter-domain services"
Richard Douville, Helia Pouyllau, Alcatel-lucent Bell-labs, France

Richard DouvilleThe future of the Internet will dwell on inter-domain services. Such services (e.g. Video on Demand, VPN etc.) concern critical applications in terms of Quality of Service (QoS) which can not be guaranteed in a best effort fashion.

Problems like negotiating, provisioning and monitoring end-to-end QoS are central issues for inter-domain service establishment. Meeting end-to-end QoS requirements and monitoring them are non-trivial problems studied and partially solved by many authors. However, few of them designed solutions taking into account the economical relations that exist between domains.
On the economical point of view, some carriers may not agree on cooperating with all others to perform end-to-end services. Furthermore, domains have to be administrated independently to one other; and, critical data like resource capacities have to stay private. The contract approach which consists in setting up SLAs (Service Level Agreements) between domains is not a sufficient solution to figure out economical questions. Moreover, SLAs do not solve questions like how to publish them, how negotiating them with respect to domain privacy and cooperation agreements, how to determine penalties in case of contract violations, etc.
Finally, technical heterogeneity have to be overcome: solutions for end-to-end QoS guarantee have to be applicable for any network solution (e.g. DiffServ, GMPLS, etc.).

Hence, in this presentation, we aim to propose a solution for establishing inter-domain services and that handle the following questions:

  • Economical relations between domains: they lead us to consider alliance mechanisms (like in air transport). In addition, we propose a centralized architecture where a third party would resell inter-domain services and thus may be an interface between domains and customers.
  • Technical difficulties: considering the technical difficulties to overcome, we recommend the use of a PCE-based architecture on the network layer and the implementation of inter-domain and QoS functionalities on the service layer.
  • Adaptability: we suggest to enrich the current inter-AS (G)MPLS-TE technology (RSVP-TE, PCEP and policing procedures) in order to enable automatic provisioning of inter-domain TE services. Our purpose is to make these extensions applicable to different contract negotiation frameworks (e.g. classical bilateral negotiation or service layer based negotiation).
  • Algorithms: we introduce some algorithmic solutions for inter-domain service level publication and QoS provisioning.

P5 pdf

Biography: Richard Douville received the M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Versailles, France, in 2000. In 2000, he joined Alcatel Research Labs where he has been involved in IP over optical inter-networking issues, including network and system architectures, traffic engineering, resource dimensioning and performance evaluation. His current research interests include control (GMPLS) and management architectures, and solutions enabling the automation of end-to-end inter-domain/layer service deployments.

P-6 "Shared Backup Mesh Protection in PCE-based WSON networks "
Greg Bernstein, Grotto Networks, USA, Young Lee, Huawei, USA

This paper presents shared backup mesh protection control plane and computation strategies in GMPLS and PCE-based Wavelength Switched Optical Networks (WSON). Shared backup mesh protection allows carriers substantial efficiencies in terms of bandwidth as well as wavelength resources saving compared to 1+1 or 1:1 protection schemes. It would also provide satisfactory protection against a single failure. Figure 1 shows a typical scenario for share backup mesh protection scheme.

P-5

Figure 1: Network example with Shared Mesh Protection Scheme

In shared backup path computations one computes both a working path and a backup path for the connection simultaneously and in a way that minimizes the amount of resources reserved for the backup path by sharing these resources among other working paths. When applying shared mesh protection to WSON we have constraints that stem from both the wavelength continuity requirement and the backup sharing condition. In addition we have optimality conditions stemming from both the desire to maximize the sharing of backup resources and minimize the total number of wavelengths in use in the network. Finally, we need to keep track of information on a per wavelength basis.

Current approaches [1,2] have had a goal of reducing the amount of additional information that needs to be distributed via a GMPLS routing protocol. While [3] has shown that too little information in the case of a WSON can lead to higher blocking probabilities and higher restoration overbuild. This previous work has focused on what is known as sequential connection requests, however an important application for PCEs is in concurrent lightpath computation. In this paper we look at the information needed in shared backup path computations in WSONs and suggest a server-based PCE approach that keeps track of the mapping information between working paths and shared backup paths. This approach could aid in reducing the amount of information that would need to be flooded.

[1] M. Kodialam, M. Kodialam, and T. Lakshman, gDynamic routing of restorable bandwidth-guaranteed tunnels using aggregated network resource usage information,h Networking, IEEE/ACM Transactions on, vol. 11, 2003, pp. 399-410.
[2] Guangzhi Li et al., gEfficient distributed path selection for shared restoration connections,h INFOCOM 2002. Twenty-First Annual Joint Conference of the IEEE Computer and Communications Societies. Proceedings. IEEE, 2002, pp. 140-149 vol.1; http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/iel4/7943/21921/01019255.pdf.
[3] R. Martinez, R. Munoz, and R. Casellas, gExperimental Shared Path Protection Algorithms in Distributed All-Optical GMPLS-based Networks,h Proc. 6th International Workshop on the Design of Reliable Communications Networks (DRCN), 2007.

P6 pdf

P-7 "P2MP Path Computation & Operation in MPLS & Optical Networks"
Quintin Zhao, Huawei, USA, Daniel King, Aria Networks, UK, Fabien Verhaeghe, Marben, France, Tomonori Takeda,NTT, Japan

Fabien VerhaegheIn this presentation, we discuss an application of PCE-based operation of point-to-multipoint (P2MP) label switched paths (LSP) in MPLS and optical networks. Path computation for P2MP traffic-engineered (TE) LSPs presents a significant challenge because of the complexity of the computation. Determining disjoint protection paths for P2MP TE LSPs can add considerably to this complexity, while small modifications to a P2MP tree (such as adding or removing just one leaf) can completely change the optimal path. Reoptimization of a network containing multiple P2MP TE LSPs requires considerable computational resources. All of this means an ingress label switched router (LSR) may not have sufficient processing power to perform the necessary computations, and even if it does, the act of path computation might interfere with the control and management plane operation necessary to maintain existing LSPs. We will summerise the latest IETF work, which facilitates offloading such path computations from LSRs to a dedicated network resource capable of computing constrained P2MP paths using a PCE-based architecture.

Fundamental to the determination of the paths for P2MP label switched paths (LSPs) within a network is the selection of branch points. Not only is this selection constrained by the network topology and available network resources, but it is determined by the objective functions that may be applied to path computation. The selection of branch points within the network is further complicated by the fact that not all LSRs in the network are necessarily capable of performing branching functions. Additionally, network policies may dictate specific branching behavior. Alternatively, administration policies may dictate that replication should be concentrated on specific key replication nodes behaving like IP multicast rendezvous points.

The presenter will highlight the PCE-based requirements and solutions for operation of point-to-multipoint (P2MP) label switched paths (LSP) in MPLS and optical networks. These will include the network architecture used to support path computation for P2MP applications, the requirements in support of the path computation for P2MP application and the protocol extensions to the PCEP (PCE communication Protocol) to satisfy the identified requirements.

P7 pdf

Biography: Fabien Verhaeghe is Senior consultant for Marben Products for 10 years. Originally as a software programmer working on OSI protocols and OSI to IP gateways. I am now responsible for the Marben Products GMPLS routing protocols software (OSPF-TE, ISIS-TE and PCE) and am in charge of keeping those products up to date by following the standardization process. I am currently involved in the Point to Multipoint PCEP extensions in the IETF PCE WG.

Technical Session

Tech. Session 2: WSON
Thursday 5, June 2008 16:45-18:25

Chair: Wataru Imajuku, NTT

T2-1 "GMPLS Extensions in Support of All-optical Networking"
Hongxiang Guo, Takehiro Tsuritani, Noboru Yoshikane, Tomohiro Otani, KDDI R&D, Japan

Hongxiang GuoThe opaque optical network and its GMPLS-base control plane have been so far claimed to be mature and stable for the deployment. However, due to the ever-increasing bandwidth demands from various emerging applications, advanced and cost-effective all-optical networking technologies are desirable to be gradually introduced. As described in the IETF draft [1], such an all-optical network poses some new requirements on the GMPLS control plane. For example, the high-cost O/E/O regenerators are supposed to be only sparsely placed, and as a result, the wavelength continuity constraint has to be considered in each transparent section. This issue may become even more complicated when a tunable laser is introduced at ingress/egress nodes. Furthermore, it is indispensable to be capable of properly routing a light path through a particular node and explicitly specify the usage of its accommodated regenerator. Otherwise, the light path may fail to be established due to the accumulated physical impairment. Thus, a more effective control plane mechanism incorporating both signaling and routing extensions is preferred, as compared with the previous control plane of the opaque optical network.

Considering these requirements, this presentation investigates the architecture of a typical all-optical network consisting of multi-vendor equipments such as the PXC, ROADM/WXC, transponder and regenerator, and then proposes some potential GMPLS extensions enabling automatic control of all-optical networks. Specifically, a lambda label with global semantic is introduced to simplify the interoperability in this multi-vendor environment [2]. In addition, it is also applicable to insert this wavelength label into ERO in order to explicitly specify the preferred wavelength used at a specific hop such as the transponder at egress node or the intermediate regenerator when the regeneration is needed. This is indicated by defining a new bit-flag named gregeneration bith in the label sub-object. Furthermore, in conjunction with the definition of such a lambda label, the wavelength mask extended in OSPF-TE can effectively solve the wavelength continuity issue in the path computation process. By using these proposals, the end-to-end light path provisioning and protection by incorporating a tunable laser and the O/E/O regenerator were successfully verified in the all-optical testbed.

In conclusion, we hope the work in this presentation can further promote the standardizing progress of glambda labelh in order to enable a flexible deployment of various all-optical nodes in the existing optical network.

Reference
[1] G. Bernstein, et al., gFramework for GMPLS and PCE control of wavelength switched optical networksh, work in progress: draft-bernstein-ccamp-wavelength-switched-02.txt, Oct 2007.
[2] T. Otani, et al., gGeneralized labels of lambda-switching capable label switching routers (LSR)h, work in progress: draft-otani-ccamp-gmpls-lambda-labels-01.txt, Nov 2007.

T2-1 pdf

Biography: Hongxiang Guo is received the B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical and communication engineering from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (BUPT), Beijing, China, in 2000 and 2005, respectively. He is currently with KDDI R&D Laboratories, where his work is focus on the algorithm design and performance analysis in optical burst/packet switching network, and the control and management technologies for photonic networks.

T2-2 "Optical Reach Computation with GMPLS"
Snigdho Bardalai, Richard Colter, Sugiya Hideaki, Fred Gruman, Mike White, Sanjay Gera, Fujitsu, USA

One of the major applications that are being addressed by the Generalized MPLS protocols is the controlling of optical transport networks based on wavelength division multiplexing (i.e. WDM). Today WDM networks are widely being deployed using the reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexing technology (i.e. ROADM). Deploying such networks involves two basic network planning and design processes - network and link planning and then followed by service planning. Optical service planning is a more complex traffic engineering problem because in addition to the regular constraints, optical signal reach is limited to a certain number of spans and network elements due a number of factors that depend on the physical characteristics of the optical devices and fiber in use. This is due to the impairments of the signal over longer distances.

From an operational perspective one issue has to do with the accurate inventory (i.e. planned versus actual) and state, which may include items such as fiber length, of the network resources that are being used to carry out the optical reach estimations. Distributed approaches can help address some of these issues since it eliminates the synchronization of the network inventory and state with a stand-alone server. The distributed solution that is being presented in this paper is based on GMPLS concepts. Optical information related to optical signal to noise ratio (OSNR), polarization mode dispersion (PMD), residual dispersion (RD) etc. for each node and span is advertised. Using this information and given a specific route (i.e. a sequence of nodes and links) it is possible to estimate the optical signal reachability.

The other aspect that this paper is addressing is the end-to-end operational flow and the application of this function in network management scenarios.

Outline
Optical traffic engineering problem statement
Relation between routing and wavelength assignment (RWA) and optical reach
Call-flow and application model
Optical link data model
Routing protocol advertisements
Optical reach criteria
Future topics - route optimization, regeneration sites, inter-domain solutions

T2-2 pdf

Biography: Snigdho Bardalai is a Distinguished Systems Engineer working for Fujitsu Network Communications Inc. located in Plano, Texas, USA. He has been working for Fujitsu for the last 11 years. He is a subject matter expert in optical control-plane technologies and is the lead architect for the control-plane development. He is an active follower of the IETF CCAMP and PCE working groups. He has also contributed to several CCAMP drafts. He holds a Masters degree in Computer Science and a Bachelors degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering.

T2-3 "GMPLS perspectives to control WSON"
Pierre Peloso, Benoit RONOT, Martin VIGOUREUX, Richard DOUVILLE, Alcatel-Lucent, France

Richard DouvilleWavelength Switched Optical Networks (WSON) consists in the transport of optical circuit connections, without O-E-O conversion through photonic nodes. The induced signal continuity brings technological challenges to control plane protocols. Namely, wavelength assignment and physical limits of the transmission reach. Wavelength assignment is the logical setup of a LSP with the same wavelength all along the route, and the placement of re-coloration points. Transmission reach limitations occur in widespread network where long distance LSP shall use O-E-O regeneration in some intermediate nodes to insure its signal quality (error-free). O-E-O regeneration is needed because WSON deployments are not limited to transparency islands.

GMPLS current state contains basic specialisation to support WSON constraints. We believe the extent of these specialisations is too limited today. Let us consider a typical WSON GMPLS implementation based on a two steps process of Routing Wavelength Assignment (RWA):

  • OSPF-TE describes network links (LSA), which are used to compute a spatial route.
  • The spectral routing (wavelength assignment) is achieved in a distributed manner through RSVP-TE signalling, wavelength continuity being ensured through label swapping mechanism.

In ideal WSON world, GMPLS would embed additional features to better address aforementioned specificities.
A first mechanism would help determining whether signal regeneration is needed or not. This certainly implies carrying some parameters describing the physical properties of links either during routing or signalling. A joint mechanism should also be able to allocate O-E-O regenerators when building LSPs.
As far as wavelength assignment is considered, limitations appear when no wavelength is available all along a route. Currently carried information is insufficient to determine a correct placement for re-coloration. Concurrent setup of PROTECT and WORKING LSPs stresses even more these limitations.
Two options can be considered to solve these issues:

  • Option 1: Perform wavelength assignment jointly with route calculation in the ingress node. This solution demands the flooding of a detailed view of the network (wavelength usage, nodes switching capacity). This questions the scalability of the solution, and demands much standardization work. Nevertheless, the high bandwidth of WSON LSPs limits their dynamicity and this solution facilitates optimal resource usage and path computation.
  • Option 2: Enrich the signalling phase. The path message containing a Generalized_Label_Request should convey information about re-coloration resources, helping wavelength assignment, which happens after spatial routing computation.

Finally, a helpful complementary feature for WSON GMPLS can be the global semantic given to wavelength label (e.g. channel frequency). This eases both inter-operability and usage of Explicit_Label_Control to synchronize the setup of multiple LSP sharing wavelengths (bidirectional or protection patterns).

This presentation will survey IETF initiatives in the perspective of the aforementioned WSON issues. It would detail the strength and weaknesses of contributions before concluding on the evolutions brought to GMPLS framework.

T2-3 pdf

Biography: Richard Douville received the M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Versailles, France, in 2000. In 2000, he joined Alcatel Research Labs where he has been involved in IP over optical inter-networking issues, including network and system architectures, traffic engineering, resource dimensioning and performance evaluation. His current research interests include control (GMPLS) and management architectures, and solutions enabling the automation of end-to-end inter-domain/layer service deployments.

T2-4 "Wavelength Switched Optical Networks with Distributed Control"
Hiroaki Harai and Sugang Xu, National Instituteof Information and Communications Technology, Japan

Hiroaki HaraiIn a foreseeable future, wavelength paths will be dynamically provided to users on-demand basis in a wavelength switched optical network (WSON). The number of wavelengths multiplexed and the number of nodes in the network will be large. Distributed control mechanisms for wavelength decision and path selection play very important roles in the robustness and fast path setup for the WSON.

We developed a small-scale WSON with distributed control system recently. This consists of optical equipment such as photonic cross-connects (PXCs), arrayed waveguide gratings (AWGs) for wavelength multiplexing/ demultiplexing, optical amplifiers, and optical transceivers each of which wavelength is compliant with 100 GHz interval specified in ITU-T G.694.1. Each host is capable of multiple Gigabit Ethernet interfaces (with different wavelengths) for D-Plane and an Ethernet interface for C-Plane. A distributed control system consisting of a link-state advertisement mechanism, a path calculation mechanism, and a path setup mechanism is implemented. Lambda switch capable (LSC) function is available in part.

We here propose a distributed control mechanism for wavelength path setup. This is done by using existing RSVP-TE for GMPLS and local internal procedures at edge (or user) and core nodes. For reservation, a wavelength is decided at the destination node by a local policy (i.e., a domain-specific rule such as random, first-fit, ranking, etc). More importantly, a set of wavelengths in the Label Set in the Path message are selected at the source node by a local policy. In a case of no policy at the source, all wavelengths may be included in the Label Set object. This is likely situation to avoid wavelength-resource starvation. However, the number of wavelengths in the Label Set should be kept small for alleviating processing burden of intermediate nodes and for avoiding blocking due to the same wavelength reservation by the simultaneous different wavelength-path requests. The number of wavelengths in the Label Set object changes according to some measurement results at the source node. Thatfs why we call it a distributed system.

For link-state advertisement, wavelength-state information (i.e., busy/idle state for each wavelength on a fiber) is optionally advertised for reflecting signaling result. Link-state change from both unidirectional and bi-directional path setups/releases is supported. For the experimentation purpose, OSPF-TE for GMPLS is further extended. In this talk, we will present our WSON testbed and an RSVP-TE friendly distributed signaling mechanism, which was summarized in this abstract.

T2-4

T2-4 pdf

Biography: Hiroaki Harai is currently a Project Leader of National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), Tokyo, Japan, where he is leading Optical Grid Infrastructure Project. His interest also includes design of new generation network architecture and optical circuit and packet switch integrated network. He received the M.E. and Ph.D. degrees in Information and Computer Sciences from Osaka University, Osaka, Japan. He was elected to Outstanding Young Researcher in the 3rd IEEE ComSoc Asia-Pacific Young Researcher Award. He is concurrently a Visiting Associate Professor of The University of Electro-Communications, Tokyo, Japan.

 

Friday 6, June 2008

Technical Session

Tech. Session 3: PCE
Friday 6, June 2008 10:00-11:40

Chair: Young Lee, Huawei

T3-1 "Inter-Carrier PCE-Based Path Computation in Keihanna Interoperablity Project"
Tomonori Takeda, NTT, Eiji Oki, NTT, Yohei Iizawa, NEC, Itaru Nishioka, NEC, Machiko Asaie, Hitachi, Kazuhiro Kusama, Hitachi, Shuichi Okamoto, KDDI R&D, and Tomohiro Otani, KDDI R&D, Japan

Tomonori TakedaThis presentation reports that an interoperability test on PCEP (Path Computation Element communication Protocol) was performed among four vendors/carriers in Keihanna Interoperablity Project. Basic functions of PCEP in a single-PCE environment were successfully confirmed referring to [1]. This presentation also describes our goal, which is inter-carrier PCE-based diverse path computation shown in Figure 1. The key extensions to achieve inter-carrier diverse path computation preserving confidentiality are Path Key ID and Exclusive Route Objects [2][3].

T3-1

Figure 1: Inter-Carrier Diverse PCE-based Path Computation

[1] JP. Vasseur and JL. Le Roux (Ed.), gPath Computation Element (PCE) Communication Protocol (PCEP)", IETF draft, draft-ietf-pce-pcep-09.txt, Nov. 2007.
[2] Rich Bradford, JP Vasseur, and A. Farrel, gPreserving Topology Confidentiality in Inter-Domain Path Computation Using a Key-Based Mechanism ", IETF draft, draft-ietf-pce-path-key-01.txt, Sep. 2007.
[3] E. Oki and A. Farrel, efExtensions to the Path Computation Element Communication Protocol (PCEP) for Route Exclusionsff, IETF draft, draft-ietf-pce-pcep-xro-02.txt, Sep. 2007.

T3-1 pdf

Biography: Tomonori Takeda received the B.E. and M.E. degrees in Electronics, Information and Communication Engineering from Waseda University, Tokyo. Currently, he is with NTT Network Service Systems Laboratories, where his work is focused on IP optical network architecture and related protocols. He has been involved in standardization activities, and co-chairs the Layer 1 Virtual Private Network (L1VPN) working group in the IETF.

T3-2 "End-to-End path routing with PCEs in multi-domain GMPLS networks"
Itaru Nishioka, Shinya Ishida, Yohei Iizawa, NEC, Japan

Itaru NishiokaThis presentation provides our prototype of the multi-domain PCE-based path routing system, after reviewing the comparison of multi-domain routing models that have been being discussed in standard bodies.
There are three available routing models, the per-domain routing, the ASON hierarchical routing, and the PCE-based routing, for the ASON/GMPLS multi-domain networks. We compare these three routing models in terms of path computation capabilities, on-line multiple path planning capability and inter-domain confidentiality [1]. According to our analyses, the PCE-based routing and the ASON hierarchical routing models have rich capabilities enough for multi-domain ASON/GMPLS network operation, while the per-domain routing does not provide much capabilities. One of the significant issues left for the ASON hierarchical routing model is an appropriate abstraction mechanism which strongly affects the path computation capabilities and inter-domain confidentiality. In addition to the sufficient path computation capabilities, the PCE-based routing model offers the on-line bulk optimization for multiple requests. Therefore, we concluded that the PCE-based routing is the most suitable for path routing in the multi-domain ASON/GMPLS networks.
In the rest of our presentation, our PCE-based path routing system with newly-developed diverse path computation algorithm is discussed.
The key features of this system are inter-PCE path computation capabilities for the shortest path and end-to-end diverse path by BRPC (Backward Recursive PCE-based Computation). BRPC [2] is a path computation procedure that computes the shortest path along a chain of PCEs, by exchanging summarized TE information called VSPT (Virtual Shortest Path Tree). Ref. [2] also mentions applicability of BRPC to the diverse end-to-end path computation, but the detail procedure is not described. In the presentation, we demonstrate the usage of BRPC for the end-to-end diverse path computation. In addition, our PCE has the optimized path computation algorithm for BRPC procedure. Diverse path computation complexity using BRPC is generally proportional to the square of the number of border nodes between domains. Our developed algorithm can reduce it from O(N^2) to O(N), and contribute to improve computation time dramatically. The detail of path computation algorithm is also provided in iPOP2008.

Acknowledgment:
This work was partly supported by National institute of Information and Communications of Technology Japan.

[1] I. Nishioka, Y. Iizawa, S. Araki, "Multi-domain ASON/GMPLS network operation: current status and future evolution," Proceedings of SPIE Vol. 6784, 67840T (2007).
[2] JP. Vasseur, et. al., gA Backward Recursive PCE-based Computation (BRPC) procedure to compute shortest inter-domain Traffic Engineering Label Switched Paths,h IETF Internet-Draft draft-ietf-pce-brpc-07.txt (Work in progress), Feb. 2008.

T3-2 pdf

Biography: Itaru Nishioka received the B.E. and M.E. degrees in communications engineering from Osaka University, Osaka, Japan, in 1998 and 2000, respectively. In 2000, he joined NEC Corporation, Kawasaki, Japan, where he has been engaged in the research and development of optical networking systems and the design of its control/management architecture. He is a member of IEEE.

T3-3 "Path Computation Issues and Solutions in Wavelength Switched Optical Networks (WSON)"
Young Lee, Huawei, USA, Greg Bernstein, Grotto Networks, USA, Daniel King, Aria-Networks, UK

Young LeeThe use of GMPLS-based and PCE-based path computation for Wavelength Switched Optical Networks is considered in this paper with respect to the following key issues:

  • Types of path computation and constraints in WSON
  • Path computation architecture choices
  • Information requirements for WSON path computation
  • Information dissemination strategies

Unique to lightpath computation in WSON is routing and wavelength assignment (RWA). In a WSON without wavelength converters two lightpaths that share a common fiber link can not be assigned the same wavelength. This constraint is referred to as gwavelength continuityh constraint. From the perspective of a carrier path computation functions should support both sequential path computation in which one path computation is done at a time and concurrent path computation in which a set of paths are computed optimally. Distributed path computation may not be suitable for concurrent path computation when the set of paths to be computed have different head-end nodes. This scenario occurs when computing shared backup path computation for a set of independent working paths.

There are a number of options from the path computation architectural and protocol perspective. These vary in the number of path computation elements involved with the computation, the amount of information distributed via routing protocols or other mechanisms, and the amount of information carried via signaling and the amount of processing at each node along the signaling path.

Understanding information requirements for control plane to be able to compute lightpath is one of the key issues in WSON path computation. WSON nodes characteristics and link characteristics must be made known to control plane path computation module. As WSON nodes are typically mixture of fully wavelength convertible switches (e.g., OXC), partial wavelength convertible switches or no wavelength convertible switches (e.g., PXC), these node characteristics and its port capability are required in lightpath computation function. As port connectivity in ROADM is typically asymmetric while that in OXC is symmetric, port connectivity information is required in lightpath computation function. Wavelength availability on each fiber link is also key information for path computation function to be able to provision a lightpath.

WSON path computation information can be disseminated either via flooding (e.g., OSPF-TE) or via a direct management interface. However, scalability and convergence time has been a concern with the flooding mechanism and management interfaces are not suitable for highly dynamic information. We give compact representation of WSON information and discuss a possible alternative to flooding.

T3-3 pdf

Biography: Young is currently Principal Technologist at Advance Technology Division, Huawei Technologies USA Research Center, Plano, Texas. He is leading optical transport control plane technology research and development.? His research interest includes distributed path computation architecture, multi-layer traffic engineering methodology, and network optimization modeling and new concept development in optical control plane signaling and routing. ?
Prior to joining to Huawei Technologies, Young was a co-founder and a Principal Architect at Ceterus Networks (2001-2005) where he developed topology discovery protocol and control plane architecture for optical transport core product. Prior to joining to Ceterus Networks, Young was Principal Technical Staff Member at AT&T/Bell Labs in Middletown/Holmdel, New Jersey. ?At AT&T Labs (1996-2000), he was responsible for core IP/MPLS network architecture evolution and AT&T End-to-end architecture planning. He also involved voice/data convergence architecture planning and evolution. At Bell Labs (1987-1995), Young was responsible for developing dynamic routing schemes and traffic network management control and measurement development. He is currently active in IETF PCE and CCAMP WGs and is a co-author of RFC 3214. He holds several patents in the area of dynamic routing and switching technology and several patents pending in optical networking.
Young Lee received B.A. degree in Applied Mathematics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1986, M.S. degree in Operations Research from Stanford University, Stanford, CA, in 1987, and Ph.D. degree in Decision Sciences and Engineering Systems from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, in 1996. He is a member of IEEE and Alpha Phi Mu honor society.

T3-4 "Deploying Advanced Path Computation Technologies for Optical Transport Networks"
Daniel King, Aria Networks, UK, Takehiro Tsuritani, KDDI R&D, Japan

Currently, most optical transport network nodes are fairly static and services are pre-planned and deployed manually. Adding new services requires significant planning and sub-optimal deployment of services wastes resources, and in extreme cases, can cause network instability or network failures. In this proposal, we highlight the experiences of deploying and using advanced path computation technologies to facilitate dynamic, flexible and optimal management of optical transport networks.

When computing paths across an optical transport network, the path computation technology should consider more than just routing constraints to provide optimal paths and facilitate service deployment. These extended constraints include: lightpath route parameters, wavelength continuity, attenuation (power loss), amplified spontaneous emission (ASE), chromatic dispersion (CD), polarization mode dispersion (PMD), optical fiber non-linear phase shift (NLPS) and filter concatenation effect.

The overall architecture of the optical path computation solution developed includes a path computation engine referred to as an optical path computation element (PCE), and a network management system. The optical PCE developed can consider a number of advanced optical constraints for path computation, as well as supporting the conventional network constraints, such as share risk link groups (SRLG), the number of hops and a metric (cost) in addition to the physical impairments and the wavelength continuity constraints. These constraints can be independently weighted based on a specific service type and simultaneously considered for the path computation. Once the path or set of paths are computed the results are handed back to the network management system for activation in the optical network.

Our talk will cover the requirements for deploying and operating advanced optical networks. We will highlight how PCE technologies, in cooperation with network management systems can help with the deployment, operation of these advanced optical networks. The speaker will also outline successfully verified results of effective and fast optical-path computation using a PCE, while being able to consider a wide range of optical and service constraints.

T3-4 pdf

Tech. Session 4: GELS
Friday 6, June 2008 13:00-14:15

Chair: Don Fedyk, Nortel

T4-1 "Experimenting with GMPLS to control a PBB-TE network"
Benoit Tremblay, Attila Takacs, Howard Green, Ericsson Research, Canada

Benoit TremblayEthernet has become over the years the undisputed leading Local Area Network (LAN) technology. This achievement stems from the intrinsic characteristics of the technology: simple, cheap, easy to manage, and backward compatible. A range of enhancements in terms of scalability, manageability, Operation and Maintenance (OAM), resilience, Quality of Service (QoS), and synchronization are currently being discussed, studied and standardized by IEEE, IETF, ITU-T and MEF, to prepare native Ethernet for Carrier Class deployment.

These will move the Ethernet technology from the ps-cl paradigm towards a ps-co one making it suitable for converging the transport of High Speed Internet (HSI), Internet Protocol TV (IPTV), Business Communication and Radio Access Network (RAN) backhauling services.

The basic control plane provided by Ethernet relies on the spanning tree protocols and do not fulfill the traffic engineering requirements of transport networks. Moreover STPs do not assures recovery times in accordance with the stringent requirement imposed by critical applications. GMPLS has proven to be an efficient mechanism to provide traffic engineering and to automate the operations and configuration of TDM (SONET/SDH and G.709) networks. Extensions to GMPLS to support Ethernet transport networks, will provide similar mechanisms for control as for other transport technologies (i.e. optical networks). The work on the GMPLS extensions is currently in progress at IETF CCAMP and known as GMPLS controlled Ethernet Label Switching (GELS).

Ericsson has implemented an experimental test-bed of the emerging PBB-TE (IEEE 802.1Qay) network, applying an extended GMPLS control plane. This test-bed is used to validate the emerging PBB-TE data plane as well as to validate the necessary extensions to GMPLS. Backed with the implementation experience, we provide feedback to the work in progress in the related standardization bodies. The test-bed demonstrates traffic management, OAM features, restoration and sub-50 ms protection switching.

In this presentation, we will describe IEEE PBB-TE data plane and GMPLS control plane aspects of the test-bed and present results from the experimentation. The presentation will conclude on further work to be done to validate and if necessary refine specifications to provide point-to-multipoint services.

T4-1 pdf

Biography: Benoit Tremblay collaborates with Ericsson for more than 10 years. He has been involved in developing distributed servers for mobile networks. He joined Ericsson Research in 2002 where he focused on establishing experimental systems for the IP edge, access and broadband networks. He graduated in Mathematics with specialization in Computer Science from the Universite du Quebec a Montreal in 1986 and completed a Master Degree in 1988. His current topics of interest are broadband network and packet systems.

T4-2 "GMPLS control of PBB-TE"
Don Fedyk, Nortel, USA

Don FedykTarget Audience:  Who should attend this presentation - Service Providers

Description: 

This talk covers an important recent development in Ethernet technology, namely Provider Backbone Bridges -Traffic Engineering (PBB-TE, known within IEEE as 802.1Qay) and how GMPLS can be used effectively as a control plane solution.

Ethernet has been evolving to allow scalable provider backbones. PBB introduced the concept of recursion and VLAN partitioning to support many virtual customer networks with great scalability and improved security. PBB-TE is a new technology that has removed the traditional Ethernet control plane and replaced it with a simple configuration model. The OAM advantages of Ethernet and protection schemes are adopted by PBB-TE.

PBB-TE is a connection oriented technology and is thereby very suitable for control by GMPLS. This paper looks at the proposals to control PBB-TE with GMPLS and the current developments regarding GMPLS and Ethernet protocols.

T4-2 pdf

Biography: Don Fedyk (dwfedyk@nortel.com) is a Senior Technical Advisor at Nortel. Don is an authority on Routing System design for both connectionless and path oriented routing. Don is a contributor to several GMPLS drafts and an active follower of several the IETF Working groups including CCAMP, MPLS, Routing Area WG. Recently Don has been focused on application of GMPLS and Link State protocol to Provider Ethernet in the IEEE. Don received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo, Waterloo Ontario, Canada.

T4-3 "Example of a GMPLS control plane interconnected with an Ethernet data plane in a rack-mounted prototype"
A. Dupas, R. Boislaigue, C. Cosse-maniere, G.Post, M. Lorret, Alcatel-lucent Bell-labs, France

A. DupasNetwork concept.
Many studies are focusing on the concept of Label Switch Path (LSP) at the layer 2 level. As GMPLS is a promising control plane for distributed and scalable networks, different alternatives for the label format are still considered. One solution to transport the control label is to use the Ethernet frame format, and thus mixing the advantages of a low cost Ethernet data plane and the robustness of a GMPLS control plane. This paper presents a possible implementation of an Ethernet data plane directly interconnected with a GMPLS control plane. We experimentally demonstrate the automation of bidirectional LSP establishment for native L2 flows from server to client and the Explicit Label Control of the client label with tunneling feature.

T4-3

Experimental validation.
The prototype, built in the frame of European project IST/NOBEL phase 2, is composed of three nodes, linked with standard fibers. Each node is equipped with 1GE and 10GE interfaces, and is connected with one GMPLS controller, which performs the management of the node and implements the OSPF-TE and RSVP-TE modules. Each node is connected to a video client or server and real time video traffic is sent over the network within the established bidirectional LSP to validate the routing and switching features. The switching operation is realized in a FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) by a non-blocking architecture with a maximum throughput of 16 Gb/s. For each incoming frame, the first or two first labels can be processed and compared to the input of an internal Look Up Table. Depending of its content, the switch performs the frame forwarding with label operation like push, pop, swap, or a combination of these operations (like swap + push). We observed the behavior of the node by sending in band GMPLS control frames with real data traffic. At full load, no loss has been measured on the GMPLS control frames, which have the highest priority within the switch. Due to a parallel processing and a non-blocking architecture, the node latency is low (~5 ƒÊs) and compatible with GMPLS carrier grade network requirements. This concept is attractive for future extended Ethernet-based transport networks and can be adapted to any layer 2 technologies.

T4-3 pdf

Biography: Arnaud Dupas works as R&D Engineer at Alcatel-Lucent Bell-labs in Nozay, France. He is involved in the networking research domain and more particularly in hardware FPGA prototyping of advanced network functions and GMPLS protocols. He participated to several European projects like IST/NOBEL 2, IST/DAVID and ATCS/KEOPS.
Prior to joining Alcatel CIT in 1999, Arnaud Dupas worked as PhD student in the National Research Center of France Telecom, CNET, Lannion, France on new optical functions and its applications for WDM Networks. He received in 1996 the Eng. Dipl. in physics from the Institut National des Sciences Appliquees, INSA, Rennes, France.

Tech. Session 5: OAM
Friday 6, June 2008 14:30-16:10

Chair: Adrian Farrel, Old Dog

T5-1 "Design, implementation and validation within ADRENALINE® testbed of a Path Computation Element for Wavelength Switched Optical Networks"
Ramon Casellas, Ricardo Martinez, Raul Munoz, CTTC -Centre Tecnologic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya, Spain

Ramon CasellasThe Path Computation Element (PCE) working group has defined the architecture [1] and a communications protocol (PCEP) [2] so entities within a GMPLS network -- or Path Computation Clients (PCCs) -- may request the computation of an explicitly routed path given a set of constraints. Such architecture is motivated by the complexity of path computation in large, multi-domain, multi-region, or multi-layer networks, which may eventually require dedicated computational resources and cooperation between network domains. The new architecture raises challenges and new issues that need to be addressed regarding the feasibility and applicability of the PCE in general, and in GMPLS controlled wavelength switched optical networks (WSONs) in particular.

In this presentation, an overview of the design and implementation of a PCE for WSONs is given, covering both the functional and protocol architectures and its integration in a GMPLS network. In this context, the following aspects are detailed: first, the deployed extensions for WSONs (either proprietary and / or proposed by relevant state of art and normalization efforts at the IETF CCAMP and PCE WGs), such as bitmap-based OSPF-TE wavelength information dissemination [3][4] or specific PCEP extensions for optical networks [5]; second, the design criteria for the actual gpath computation engineh, which drives the constrained path computation, including the implemented modular algorithm application programming interface (API) using shared libraries and, finally, the preferred synchronization mechanism with the Traffic Engineering (TE) database, by means of deploying PCE node(s) collocated in a Network Element and tied to an OSPF-TE routing controller. The approach uses stateful inspection of TE Link SubTLVs contained within OSPF-TE LS updates and, in consequence, passively reusing the OSPF-TE dissemination mechanism.

In order to validate and assess the applicability of the implemented PCE on real production networks, an outline of carried-out experimentations and selected numerical results are provided, obtaining simple yet meaningful performance indicators such as path computation times and LSP setup delays using a 14-node NSFNET network topology (fig.1) with a GMPLS control plane using CTTCfs ADRENALINER testbed (fig. 2), when compared to more traditional distributed source-based path computation. Finally, the presentation concludes with an overview of missing features and extensions, the assessment of proposed redundancy mechanisms, and ongoing work related to exhaustive scalability measurements.

‚s5-1_1

Figure 1. 14-node NSFNET topology

T5-1_2

Figure 2. ADRENALINE GMPLS controlled WSON testbed References

[1] A. Farrel et al. gA Path Computation Element (PCE)-Based Architectureh, RFC4655.
[2] J.P. Vasseur et al. gPath Computation Element (PCE) Communication Protocol (PCEP)h draft-ietf-pce-pcep, work in progress.
[3] G. Bernstein et al. WSON framework draft-bernstein-ccamp-wavelength-switched, work in progress.
[4] R. Martinez, R. Munoz, R. Casellas, J. Comellas, G. Junyent, Experimental Shared Path Protection Algorithms in Distributed All-Optical GMPLS-based Networks, 6th International Workshop on the Design of Reliable Communication Networks (DRCN2007), La Rochelle (France). October 8-10 2007.
[5] Y.Lee et al. PCE and WSON draft-lee-pce-wson-routing-wavelength, work in progress.

T5-1 pdf

Biography: Ramon Casellas (Barcelona, 1975) graduated in Telecommunications Engineering in 1999 both from Technical University of Catalonia (UPC, Barcelona) and from the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Telecommunications (ENST, Paris). He obtained his PhD degree in Telecommunications in 2002 (ENST, Paris) funded by a CTI project with France Telecom Research and Development. He has worked as an undergraduate researcher at France Telecom Research and Development - FT R&D formerly known as Centre Nationale d'Etudes des Telecommunications (CNET) and British Telecom Labs (Ipswich). In 2002, he joined the Networks and Computer Science Department at the ENST as an Associate Professor. In March 2006, he joined the CTTC Optical Networking Area, and he is currently Research Associate and CTTC ADRENALINE Testbed coordinator. His research interest areas include GMPLS architecture, Traffic Engineering and Distributed control schemes.

T5-2 "GMPLS OAM Tool Kit"
Zafar Ali, Cisco Systems, USA, T. Otani, KDDI R&D, Japan, Roberto Cassata, Cisco Systems, USA, Marco Anisetti, Valerio Bellandi, Ernesto Damiani, Francesco Diana, Umberto Raimondi, University of Milan, Italy

GMPLS OAM has been recently added to IETF CCAMP Charter and the idea is to evaluate GMPLS OAM requirements and device required solutions. This presentation starts by providing a summary of GMPLS OAM requirement and highlighting the solution gaps.

GMPLS OAM solutions can be broadly divided into technology based or technology independent solutions. Specifically, if OAM mechanisms provided by the underlying data plan technology, we call such solutions as technology based solutions. E.g., G.709 addresses the problem of trace routing in DWDM network. However, G.709 OAM mechanisms are only applicable to OEO (Optical-Electrical-Optical) capable node. In such cases we need technology independent solutions to address GMPLS OAM requirements.

This talk presents both technology based and technology independent solutions as a tool kit available to address GMPLS OAM requirement. It also provides applicability statement for each solution. The later part of the presentation is focused on technology independent solutions. As mentioned above, technology independent solutions are to fill gaps in technology based OAM solution space; in particular it addresses GMPLS OAM functionality in optical networks with wavelength routers, ROADMs nodes, etc. with no OEO conversion capability. The presentation outlines how control plan mechanism based on Link Management Protocol (LMP) [RFC4204] and RSVP-TE [RFC3209], [RFC3473] can be used to provide technology independent GMPLS OAM solutions.

The presentation also highlights physical quality measurement along a GMPLS LSP as another important aspect of GMPLS OAM. Specifically, it details why for successful fault detection on a light-path, the fault isolation mechanism must be aware of all physical evidence (consisting of optical measurements such as signal power, OSNR, OCM (Optical Channel Monitor), etc.) that have effect on the light-path. The presentation than proposes technique that is also suitable for optical networks that suffer of physical dysfunction due the non-ideal optical transmission medium and/or to critical situations (e.g., a fiber cut). It explains that in this scenario even if every node along the path is connected, the reachability of the end node with an acceptable signal quality is not guaranteed. Such evidence can consist of real optical measurements or estimates computed via a prediction model. The former may require mutually exclusive access to hardware to avoid interference; therefore, evidence can also be classified as blocking or non-blocking. This presentation details on how both type of evidences can be collected.

T5-2 pdf

Biography: Zafar Ali is a Senior Technical Leader at Cisco Systems, Inc. where he leads software protocol development in Cisco Systems high speed, carrier-class routing business unit. Most recently Zafar has been focused on designing and developing GMPLS protocols, multicast over MPLS, and high availability solutions. Prior to joining Cisco, Zafar worked at Nortel Networks and Hughes Network Systems.
Zafar Ali is quite active as a member of the MPLS, CCAMP, BFD, IDR, RTG and other working group within IETF. He has authored a number of IETF drafts and RFCs. In addition, Zafar Ali has also authored several Journal papers, conference publications, and book chapters. He is also author of several patents.
Zafar Ali received his Ph. D. and MS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. He obtained his Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering from NED University, Karachi, Pakistan where he was awarded the University Gold Medal.

T5-3 "Lessons learned from operational experience on the JGN II GMPLS network test bed"
S. Okamoto and T. Otani, KDDI R&D, Japan

Shuichi OkamotoThanks to the continuous development of GMPLS technology in recent years, stable and interoperable GMPLS-controlled equipment have been achieved to date, although the issues raised during the actual operation and experiment have not been explicitly discussed. This presentation describes the lessons learned from our operational and management experiences over four years on the GMPLS-controlled network test bed of JGN II to share with the industry and provides motivation to initiate future advanced functional research and development.

This presentation initially describes the design for control and management planes built on the IP-based data communication network (DCN) from the viewpoint of redundancy, functionality and address architecture. Even if the data plane is subject to failure, the DCN should be kept alive to ensure appropriate GMPLS protocol exchange and network element management. The protocol monitoring capability on the control plane should be implemented for troubleshooting, because GMPLS interoperability is always required with various vendors based on usersf preference. During the operation, the layer-2 tunneling protocol (L2TP) was verified to gather the protocol captured at the remote site to the network operation center. In addition, global IP address assignment should be applied, even within GMPLS networks, when the GMPLS network is interconnected with another GMPLS test bed outside Japan.

This presentation also shows tools introduced to assist in the management of GMPLS LSPs for BoD (bandwidth on demand) service as well as for operators by themselves. The GUI (Graphical user interface) tool was developed for BoD service users in order to minimize the userfs operational procedure to provision GMPLS LSPs. On the other hand, GMPLS NMS was developed to ensure the effective management of GMPLS LSPs for operators provisioned in an intra/inter-domain as well as user initiated connections, and detailed information of LSPs can be displayed, such as the route, the port of ingress and egress node, the historical log of LSPs and so forth.

Future functional lists for research and development are posed based on our experience, as a conclusion. We describe the framework of GMPLS networks interworking with higher layer networks (such as Ethernet, MPLS, IPv4/v6) and applications (like GRID computing and bandwidth-on-demand capability), how to confirm the quality of the data-plane prior to LSP services commencing, and the further extension of inter-domain signaling and routing protocols for effective operation.

T5-3 pdf

Biography: Shuichi Okamoto received the B.E. and M.E. degrees from Osaka University, Japan, in 2000 and 2003, respectively. He joined KDDI R&D Laboratories, Inc. in 2003. He was a researcher of the National Institute of Information and Communication Technology (NICT) Tsukuba Research Center from 2004 to 2006. Currently he is a reseacher of KDDI R&D Laboratories Inc., and investigating the GMPLS technology from the operational point of view.

T5-4 "Service and Operation of GMPLS-Controlled Photonic Internet Exchange"
Yoshiaki Sone, Wataru Imajuku, Ippei Shake, Kazuhiro Matsuda, NTT Network Innovation Labs., Tomohiko Kurahashi, Junichi Shimagami, Toshiya Asaba, Internet Initiative Japan Inc., Yukiyasu Tarui, Nobuhisa Miyake, Katsuyasu Toyama, Internet, Multifeed Co., Japan

The Internet exchange (IX) is a key piece of infrastructure in inter-connecting Internet service providers (ISPs) and has been sustained growth of the internet for last decade. Currently, the amount of traffic at an IX is doubling every two years in step with the spread of broadband access services such as Fiber To The Home (FTTH) services. The increase in the amount of traffic over the IX requires architectural reconsideration of the IX, which has been constructed using Layer 2 switches. The deployment of Layer 1 switches, Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching controlled optical cross-connects (GMPLS-OXCs), is now becoming a feasible solution to enhance not only the scalability but also the efficiency and integrity of the IX.

This presentation clarifies the concepts of the photonic IX employing GMPLS-OXCs, which have been studied in collaboration with three Japanese service providers, i.e., Internet Multi-Feed (IMF), Internet Initiative Japan (IIJ), and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT). This presentation focuses on the issues of service, architecture, and operational functionalities of the photonic IX based on a series of experimental studies involving IP packet transport between dynamically created external Border Gateway Protocol (e-BGP) peers located in different Autonomous Systems (ASes) and the GMPLS-based recovery of optical paths to create a reliable private peer network within the photonic IX domain. Furthermore, this presentation clarifies the technical requirements to actualize the proposed service and the operation of the photonic IX.

T5-4 pdf

Tech. Session 6: MLN
Friday 6, June 2008 16:25-17:40

Chair: Tomohiro Otani, KDDI R&D

T6-1 "Is SRLG Optimization a Business Case for GMPLS Deployment?"
Stefan Schnitter, T-Systems, Martin Horneffer, Deutsche Telekom, Germany

Stefan SchnitterThe deployment of multilayer technologies like GMPLS promises various advantages for network operators and services providers: Fast provisioning and on demand services, higher degree of automation in network management or intelligent restoration mechanisms to name just a few topics that have been studied in the past. In this proposal we will focus on one aspect of possible benefits from the deployment of multilayer techniques and present a case study in a realistic environment.

For the operation of IP/MPLS backbone networks service providers often define a tolerable state of the network and decide on maximum link utilizations both for the failure and non-failure case of the network. These boundary conditions have to be respected in network (extension) planning what is often done by traffic and failure simulations. The failure of shared risk link groups (SRLG) - i.e. IP links that have a common risk within the transport layer - are an important part of the failure scenarios that have to be considered and they have an important effect on the network dimensioning and thus on the capital expenditure. On the other hand SRLGs are defined be the routing of IP links in the transport and a part of the SRLGs could be optimized dynamically using GMPLS. This leads to the question: Can SRLG and CAPEX optimization be a business case for GMPLS deployment? (Obviously a service provider can benefit from this optimization potential in a manual process, too, but only an automatic/dynamic process will utilize it fully)

In our case study we analyze this question for Deutsche Telekomfs global IP/MPLS backbone: We assume that the existing static WDM layer would be replaced by a GMPLS enabled optical transport layer and optimize those SRLGs that are currently introduced by the joint usage of WDM links. To solve this optimization problem for a large realistic network with a measured traffic matrix we use an approximation method that allows us to reduce the multilayer traffic engineering problem to a traffic engineering problem for the WDM network. We will present preliminary results which demonstrate that SRLGs for the IP network may be reduced quite substantially in some cases and that there is a realistic opportunity for CAPEX savings from GMPLS deployment. Open issues that are subject to further research are the optimality and feasibility of our first results as well as the study of the benefits from SRLG optimization as a dynamic process.

T6-1 pdf

Biography: Stefan Schnitter has joined Deutsche Telekom group in 2001. He is currently a project manager for the traffic management & network optimization group of T-Systems' line of business "Networks and Processes". His interests focus on routing methods (especially for IP/MPLS and SDH), traffic engineering and traffic matrices in IP/MPLS networks. He received a diploma and PhD in applied mathematics from the Technical University of Clausthal, Germany.

T6-2 "GMPLS based Multi Layer Service Network Architecture and Layer 1 On Demand Service Resource Management "
Ichiro Inoue, Kaori Shimizu, Rie Hayashi, Hisashi Kojima, Kohei Shiomoto, NTT and Shigeo Urushidani, National Institute of Informatics, Japan

Ichiro InoueThe bandwidth explosion incurred by the popularity of the Internet and the development of new packet based service, coupled with the widespread deployment of WDM based Optical Transport Systems in the core network, has led to the urgent need for tighter coordination among IP, Ethernet(or Layer 2) and Optical layers for higher reliability, flexibility, and efficiency.

We have proposed a solution called as a Multi Layer Service Network Architecture based on GMPLS and path computation element (PCE). The proposed architecture is composed of multiple (routing) domains to accommodate GMPLS and non-GMPLS (i.e., Layer 2 and 3) based technology in the control and data planes by our proposed border node. At the domain border, PCE realizes end-to-end traffic engineering.

We show the following technical challenges with our proposed solutions in order to feasibly implement above new backbone network architecture.
1. sharing the backbone among multiple layer services, by multiple logical instances at the border between GMPLS and non-GMPLS domains
2. coordinating the multiple layersf different recovery techniques, by notifying failure and its recovery actions between layers so that each layer can take or hold actions in a coordinated manner
3. dynamic resource management according to different layersf demands, by centralized traffic engineering (TE) server (as the above mentioned PCE) with real time network monitoring and network manipulating capability (virtual network topology management)
4. unified multi layer resource handling, by a generalized resource handling capability of GMPLS with unified naming convention among multi layer resource
5. a brand new layer 1 on demand service, by GMPLSfs fast provisioning function and a L1OD server function capable of user interface, request handling (reservation), and route calculation with the help of the above mentioned TE server

We detail the L1OD service requirement especially in its characteristics for time (i.e., reservation) based nature to propose a novel time based traffic engineering technique for the L1OD.

Finally, we introduce a Japanfs latest research community network, called SINET3 which incorporates GMPLS to implement a Worldfs first L1OD service and show numerical evaluation of the above mentioned traffic engineering technique showing resource utilization enhancement.

T6-2 pdf

Biography: Ichiro Inoue is Senior Research Engineer, Supervisor, Backbone Networking Systems Group, Broadband Network Systems Project, NTT Network Service System Laboratories.
He received the B.E and M.E. degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Tokyo, Tokyo, in 1988 and 1990 respectively. He joined NTT in 1990. Since then, his research interests have included telecommunication protocols such as IP and ATM. He was engaged in research and international standardization of ATM Adaptation Layer protocol for data and control plane applications over ATM networks. He joined a xbind program investigating end-to-end high level network service virtualization technologies as a Visiting Scholar at Columbia University, New York City, NY, USA, from 1995 to 1996. After that, he became a technical manager responsible for audio visual conferencing network architecture and its trial and commercial service at a NTT division. After joining the NTT network service systems laboratories again, he conducted many research and development projects of broadband IP core and edge routers and networking. In 2001, he began research and international standardization of IP Optical networking technologies such as multi layer service network architecture and layer 1 VPN. He has been active in standardization such as ISO/ISC (as a national committee member), ITU-T, and IETF. He is a member of IEICE and IEEE. (From 2007, he is a secretariat of IEICE communication societyfs technical committee on network systems.)

T6-3 "Next Steps for Deploying Multi-layer Traffic Engineered Networks"
Steve West, Cyan Optics Inc., USA, Peter Willis, BT Group, UK, Daniel King, Aria Networks, UK

Steve WestThe multiple technologies required to deliver high capacity services are making multilayer networks a reality. Layering is a powerful abstraction tool that allows a technology to be deployed in a consistent way independent of the other layers. Within each layer, traffic is groomed into high capacity aggregates. These aggregates are then transported at lower cost at lower layers. Deploying services and ensuring network survivability within a multi-layer network requires the coordination of several technologies including:

  • Multi-layer Network Design & Planning Tools
    The link and node resources assigned to each layer must be sized to match the sum of demands placed on the layer. This is a multilayer grooming and aggregation problem. Layered mesh network topology optimization and routing heuristics can be used for layered network design. Diverse routing, required to support highly available services, must consider shared failure groups, and may support the sharing of protection resources.
  • Dynamic Path Computation Capabilities
    Path calculation and resource management can be centralized on Path Computation Elements (PCEs), or partially or fully distributed within the control plane. Multiple PCEs can collaborate to manage different resource partitions and improve service availability and scalability. Peering and interoperability with the IP/MPLS control plane will simplify integration with the services layer.
  • Multi-technology Hardware
    Hardware that pre-integrates multiple switching technologies, provides both cost and operations advantages. Flexible platforms are required to accommodate changes in bandwidth, service mix and technology, over-time and to meet the needs of different network locations.
  • Enhanced Operations Tools
    Integration of multiple technologies into a common infrastructure has profound impact on network operations. Operations Support Systems and Service Delivery Platforms will need to adapt to support this technology.

This presentation will demonstrate how these technologies can be combined to meet the requirements of multi-layer networks. We will outline the technology required to support deployment of services across inter-layer capable nodes in a multi-layer network, and the benefits of using a PCE-based architecture.

Stephen West is CTO of Cyan Optics, a manufacturer of multi-layer packet optical transport equipment.

Peter Willis is Chief Data Networks Strategist for the BT Group

Daniel King is Vice President at Aria Networks, a leading provider of multi-layer network planning and traffic engineering solutions.

T6-3 pdf

Biography: Steve West is a founder and Chief Technology Officer of Cyan, an optical networking equipment manufacturer located in Petaluluma California. His current technology focus is multi-layer networking. Cyan is Steve's third communications systems start-up. Prior to founding Cyan, he was a member of the founding team at Turin Networks, Inc. a manufacturer of Next Generation SONET/SDH transport products. where he was responsible for product architecture. Steve was an early employee at Advanced Fibre Communications Inc. a manufacturer of Digital Loop Carrier and Optical Access Network products, where as Director of Engineering, he was responsible for the international product line. He graduated with MSc (Engineering) and BSc (Engineering) (Cum Laude) degrees from The University of the Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Closing Remarks

Friday 6, June 2008. 17:40-17:50

Naoaki Yamanaka, Organization Committee Chair, Keio University, Japan

 

 


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