Performance modelling of IP-centric lambda switched optical networks

The provisioning of lightpaths in an IP-centric wavelength routed network requires a control framework for the establishment and maintenance of optical virtual circuits. This framework should consider scalable protocols required to handle the increasing network complexities/dimensionalities and interact with IP routing and traffic policy management protocols. Moreover, as in conventional IP networks, optical crossconnects are to be considered IP addressable devices, capable of receive and distribute information regarding the different performance parameters relevant to the optical transport network. A self-contained protocol paradigm is no longer valid and cooperation is expected between the upper network layers and the optical layer appended at the bottom of the protocol stack. Hence, a novel multiprotocol lambda switching (MPLS) control framework is proposed based on conventional MPLS traffic engineering and QoS routing using OSPF, thus migrating these concepts into the optical domain