U.S. patent application number 15/639947 was filed with the patent office on 2018-08-02 for proactive multi-layer mechanisms to protect packet-optical transport networks.
The applicant listed for this patent is Infinera Corporation. Invention is credited to Parthiban KANDAPPAN, Loukas PARASCHIS, Abhinava Shivakumar SADASIVARAO, Marco SOSA.
Application Number | 20180219618 15/639947 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 62948598 |
Filed Date | 2018-08-02 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180219618 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
PARASCHIS; Loukas ; et
al. |
August 2, 2018 |
PROACTIVE MULTI-LAYER MECHANISMS TO PROTECT PACKET-OPTICAL
TRANSPORT NETWORKS
Abstract
A method and apparatus for pro-active protection of
packet-optical transport in a software defined network (SDN)
controller are disclosed herein. The SDN controller may define a
proactive protection threshold criterion based on based on a
plurality of optical system performance metrics and may collect at
least one measurement for each of the metrics. The SDN controller
may then determine whether the proactive protection threshold
criterion is met based on at least one of the collected
measurements. Further, the SDN controller may select a protection
mechanism and define a protection threshold criterion on a
condition that the proactive protection threshold criterion is met.
Also, the SDN controller may initiate proactive protection events
based on the selected protection mechanism. The SDN controller may
determine whether the protection threshold criterion is met. The
SDN controller may implement one or more protection events on a
condition that the protection threshold criterion is met.
Inventors: |
PARASCHIS; Loukas;
(Sunnyvale, CA) ; KANDAPPAN; Parthiban;
(Sunnyvale, CA) ; SOSA; Marco; (Sunnyvale, CA)
; SADASIVARAO; Abhinava Shivakumar; (Sunnyvale,
CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Infinera Corporation |
Sunnyvale |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
62948598 |
Appl. No.: |
15/639947 |
Filed: |
June 30, 2017 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62472597 |
Mar 17, 2017 |
|
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62453553 |
Feb 2, 2017 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04B 10/032 20130101;
H04B 10/0795 20130101; H04B 10/07957 20130101; H04B 10/07955
20130101; H04B 10/07951 20130101; H04B 10/07953 20130101; H04B
10/0793 20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04B 10/032 20060101
H04B010/032; H04B 10/079 20060101 H04B010/079 |
Claims
1. A method of pro-active protection of packet-optical transport in
a software defined network (SDN) controller, the method comprising:
defining, by the SDN controller, a proactive protection threshold
criterion based on based on a plurality of optical system
performance metrics; collecting, by the SDN controller, at least
one measurement for each of the plurality of optical system
performance metrics; determining, by the SDN controller, whether
the proactive protection threshold criterion is met based on at
least one of the collected measurements; selecting, by the SDN
controller, a protection mechanism and defining a protection
threshold criterion on a condition that the proactive protection
threshold criterion is met; initiating, by the SDN controller, one
or more proactive protection events based on the selected
protection mechanism; determining, by the SDN controller, whether
the protection threshold criterion is met; and implementing, by the
SDN controller, one or more protection events on a condition that
the protection threshold criterion is met.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: aborting, by the SDN
controller, any previously initiated and currently activated
proactive protection events on a condition that the proactive
protection threshold criterion is not met.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: further collecting,
by the SDN controller, at least one measurement for each of the
plurality of optical system performance metrics on a condition that
the proactive protection threshold criterion is not met.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the SDN controller includes a
proactive decision engine.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the SDN controller is a hybrid
SDN controller.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of optical system
performance metrics include at least two of Q-Factor metrics,
transmission metrics, reception metrics, photonic integrated
circuit (PIC) metrics, digital signal processing (DSP) metrics,
power metrics, chromatic dispersion metrics, signal to noise ratio
metrics, bit error rate (BER) metrics, wavelength division
multiplexing (WDM) metrics, crosstalk metrics, optical
amplification gain level metrics, Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier
(EDFA) gain level metrics, Raman gain level metrics, optical fiber
characteristic metrics, Optical Power Monitor (OPM) metrics,
Optical Time Domain Reflectometry (OTDR) metrics, multi-protocol
label switching (MPLS) tunnel utilization metrics, Optical
Transport Network (OTN) tunnel utilization metrics and Label
Switched Path (LSP) round-trip delay (RTD) metrics.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the proactive protection
threshold criterion is met based on a Q-Factor of less than or
equal to 6.5 dB.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the proactive protection
threshold criterion is met based on the collected measurements of a
plurality of carriers.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the proactive
protection events is proactive protection switching.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the proactive protection
switching is performed in a WDM layer.
11. A software defined network (SDN) controller for pro-active
protection of packet-optical transport, the SDN controller
comprising: a processor configured to define a proactive protection
threshold criterion based on based on a plurality of optical system
performance metrics; a communication interface operatively coupled
to the processor, the communication interface and the processor
configured to collect at least one measurement for each of the
plurality of optical system performance metrics; the processor
configured to determine whether the proactive protection threshold
criterion is met based on at least one of the collected
measurements; the processor configured to select a protection
mechanism and defining a protection threshold criterion on a
condition that the proactive protection threshold criterion is met;
the processor and the communication interface configured to
initiate one or more proactive protection events based on the
selected protection mechanism; the processor configured to
determine whether the protection threshold criterion is met; and
the processor and the communication interface configured to
implement one or more protection events on a condition that the
protection threshold criterion is met.
12. The SDN controller of claim 11, further comprising: the
processor and the communication interface configured to abort any
previously initiated and currently activated proactive protection
events on a condition that the proactive protection threshold
criterion is not met.
13. The SDN controller of claim 11, further comprising: the
processor and the communication interface configured to further
collect at least one measurement for each of the plurality of
optical system performance metrics on a condition that the
proactive protection threshold criterion is not met.
14. The SDN controller of claim 11, wherein the SDN controller
includes a proactive decision engine.
15. The SDN controller of claim 11, wherein the SDN controller is a
hybrid SDN controller.
16. The SDN controller of claim 11, wherein the plurality of
optical system performance metrics include at least two of Q-Factor
metrics, transmission metrics, reception metrics, photonic
integrated circuit (PIC) metrics, digital signal processing (DSP)
metrics, power metrics, chromatic dispersion metrics, signal to
noise ratio metrics, bit error rate (BER) metrics, wavelength
division multiplexing (WDM) metrics, crosstalk metrics, optical
amplification gain level metrics, Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier
(EDFA) gain level metrics, Raman gain level metrics, optical fiber
characteristic metrics, Optical Power Monitor (OPM) metrics,
Optical Time Domain Reflectometry (OTDR) metrics, multi-protocol
label switching (MPLS) tunnel utilization metrics, Optical
Transport Network (OTN) tunnel utilization metrics and Label
Switched Path (LSP) round-trip delay (RTD) metrics.
17. The SDN controller of claim 11, wherein the proactive
protection threshold criterion is met based on a Q-Factor of less
than or equal to 6.5 dB.
18. The SDN controller of claim 11, wherein the proactive
protection threshold criterion is met based on the collected
measurements of a plurality of carriers.
19. The SDN controller of claim 11, wherein at least one of the
proactive protection events is proactive protection switching.
20. The SDN controller of claim 11, wherein the proactive
protection switching is performed in a WDM layer.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Application No. 62/453,553 filed Feb. 2, 2017 and U.S. Provisional
Application No. 62/472,597 filed Mar. 17, 2017, the contents of
which are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth
herein.
FIELD OF INVENTION
[0002] The disclosed embodiments are generally directed to
packet-optical transport network protection. Specifically, the
disclosed embodiments are directed to the pro-active protection of
packet-optical transport networks.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Internet Protocol (IP), such as IP over Ethernet, based
packet transport over wavelength division multiplexing (WDM)
systems has become the standard, and widely deployed, network
architecture. Accordingly, this architecture includes at least an
IP layer and a WDM layer and is typically referred to as a
packet-optical transport architecture. Further, this architecture
may include additional intermediate layers, such as a
multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) layer and an Optical
Transport Network (OTN) layer between the higher IP layer and the
lower WDM layer.
[0004] In currently operating packet-optical networks, protection
is performed predominantly at a packet layer, which may be the IP
layer or, typically, a combination of the IP layer and the MPLS
layer. Such layers can be acceptable for the requirements of
packet-optical network protection mechanisms, which typically
require responses of no more than a few tens of milliseconds.
SUMMARY
[0005] A method and apparatus for pro-active protection of
packet-optical transport in a software defined network (SDN)
controller are disclosed herein. The SDN controller may define a
proactive protection threshold criterion based on based on a
plurality of optical system performance metrics and may collect at
least one measurement for each of the metrics. The SDN controller
may then determine whether the proactive protection threshold
criterion is met based on at least one of the collected
measurements. Further, the SDN controller may select a protection
mechanism and define a protection threshold criterion on a
condition that the proactive protection threshold criterion is
met.
[0006] Also, the SDN controller may initiate one or more proactive
protection events based on the selected protection mechanism. In
addition, the SDN controller may determine whether the protection
threshold criterion is met. The SDN controller may implement one or
more protection events on a condition that the protection threshold
criterion is met.
[0007] In addition, if the Tpp criterion is not met, the SDN
controller may abort any previously initiated and currently
activated proactive protection events. Further, the SDN controller
may continue collecting and monitoring the one or more optical
system performance metrics.
[0008] In an example, the SDN controller may include a proactive
decision engine. Further, the SDN controller may be a hybrid SDN
controller. In addition, the plurality of optical system
performance metrics may include at least two of Q-Factor metrics,
transmission metrics, reception metrics, photonic integrated
circuit (PIC) metrics, digital signal processing (DSP) metrics,
power metrics, chromatic dispersion metrics, signal to noise ratio
metrics, bit error rate (BER) metrics, wavelength division
multiplexing (WDM) metrics, crosstalk metrics, optical
amplification gain level metrics, Erbium Doped Fiber Amplifier
(EDFA) gain level metrics, Raman gain level metrics, optical fiber
characteristic metrics, Optical Power Monitor (OPM) metrics,
Optical Time Domain Reflectometry (OTDR) metrics, multi-protocol
label switching (MPLS) tunnel utilization metrics, Optical
Transport Network (OTN) tunnel utilization metrics and Label
Switched Path (LSP) round-trip delay (RTD) metrics.
[0009] In a further example, the proactive protection threshold
criterion may be met based on the collected measurements of a
plurality of carriers. In an additional example, at least one of
the proactive protection events may be proactive protection
switching. Further, the proactive protection switching may be
performed in a WDM layer.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating an example of a software
defined network (SDN) controller providing proactive protection in
a packet-optical network;
[0011] FIG. 2A is a network diagram illustrating an example of a
centralized SDN controller providing proactive protection in a
multi-channel network at steady state before pro-active protection
is applied;
[0012] FIG. 2B is a network diagram illustrating an example of a
centralized SDN controller providing proactive protection in a
multi-channel network at end state after pro-active protection has
been applied;
[0013] FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 3E and 3F are workflow diagrams
illustrating an example of a centralized SDN controller providing
proactive protection in a multi-channel network;
[0014] FIG. 4 is a network diagram illustrating an example of an
SDN controller providing proactive protection in a multi-fiber
network across both the packet layer and the optical layer;
[0015] FIG. 5 is a network diagram illustrating an example of an
SDN controller providing proactive protection in a multi-fiber
network across the Internet Protocol (IP)/multi-protocol label
switching (MPLS) layer, the Optical Transport Network (OTN) layer
and the wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) layer;
[0016] FIG. 6 is a network diagram illustrating an example of an
SDN controller providing proactive protection in a multi-fiber
network across the IP/MPLS layer and the WDM layer;
[0017] FIG. 7 is a network diagram illustrating an example of a
centralized SDN controller providing proactive protection in a
multi-fiber network across the IP/MPLS layer and the OTN layer;
[0018] FIG. 8 is a network diagram illustrating an example of a
hybrid SDN controller providing proactive protection in a
multi-fiber network across the IP/MPLS layer and the OTN layer;
[0019] FIG. 9 is a network diagram illustrating an example of a
multi-layer SDN controller providing proactive protection in a
multi-fiber network, and the platforms and applications of the SDN
controller; and
[0020] FIG. 10 is a diagram of an example SDN controller server
computing device that may be used to implement one or more features
described herein as performed by the SDN controller.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS
[0021] Examples and embodiment described herein provide for
improved protection in packet-optical transport networks. In a
packet-optical network, optical signals carrying packets are
transmitted from one node to another. In an example, a software
defined network (SDN) controller using an SDN control plane may
monitor and analyze, in real-time, optical system parameters for a
packet-optical network. When a parameter value crosses a specific
system performance threshold based on a predefined procedure, the
SDN controller may pro-actively trigger an appropriate protection
scheme, at the appropriate network layer. For example, the SDN
controller may provide for pro-active re-routing of traffic to
avoid failures. Further, the SDN controller may then predictively
evaluate a determined re-route path and determine if a parameter
value crosses a specific system performance threshold for the
re-route path. Based on the re-route path crossing a threshold, the
SDN controller may then select another re-route path and evaluate
that path. The SDN controller may continue to select and evaluate
re-route paths until an acceptable re-route path is found.
[0022] The optical system parameters may include those used in
systems having an FDR. Further, a plurality of optical system
parameters may be monitored.
[0023] Also, the SDN control plane may be a multi-layer
control-plane. Further, an all-SDN control plane approach or
centralized control plane approach provides previously unattainable
functions of pro-active re-routing of existing wavelength division
multiplexing (WDM) service on a particular optical fiber or fiber
path.
[0024] In an example, the SDN controller may enable WDM layer
protection by pro-actively initiating all WDM system calibrations
in ways that would accelerate the WDM system response time to be
within the network acceptable time limits. Such proactive
calibrations could also take into account specific network
characteristics. In an example of multi-fiber network
implementations, the SDN controller may combine analytics from
multiple WDM systems to provide proactive protection. The SDN
controller may then further implement protection events based on a
determination that a protection threshold is met.
[0025] As used herein, an SDN controller may refer to one, several
or all different types of SDN controllers known to one of ordinary
skill in the art. These types of SDN controllers may include, for
example, multilayer or single layer SDN controllers, and
centralized controllers, de-centralized SDN controllers, or hybrid
SDN controllers. A centralized controller may be considered to be a
single entity which controls the underlying network. A
de-centralized SDN controller may be considered to be a collection
of federated SDN controllers that logically act as a centralized
controller. A hybrid SDN controller may be considered to be a
controller that operates on the SDN principles but also rely on
nodal control plane such as generalized multi-protocol label
switching (GMPLS). Further, a hybrid SDN controller is a mid-point
control option between an all-SDN control plane approach and a
legacy network element ("nodal") control plane approach, typically
without SDN control. In a legacy control plane approach, each node
may independently route its network traffic, whereas in an all-SDN
control plane approach the SDN controller routes network traffic
for each node. A native SDN control plane approach and a pure SDN
control plane approach may refer to an all-SDN control plane
approach, and the terms may be used interchangeably. Further, a
hybrid SDN controller has the capabilities of a centralized SDN
controller and program every node hop-by-hop along the end-to-end
path on which a service needs to be created. Also, a hybrid SDN
controller has the capabilities of a de-centralized SDN controller
and program nodes using an embedded nodal control plane, such as,
for example, GMPLS to indicate either the head-end node or tail-end
node along the end-to-end path to create a service.
[0026] A native SDN controller may have complete visibility of
device to device or port to port connectivity. In an example, an
SDN controller may rely on data path verification tools to ensure
connectivity correctness. Further, the SDN controller may initiate
data path connectivity verification using trail-trace-identifiers
(TTI), an Internet Protocol (IP) ping, a Label Switched Path (LSP)
ping, and the like.
[0027] A hybrid SDN controller may have partial visibility of the
underlying networks. In typical examples, a hybrid SDN controller
may only be aware of edges of the layer or domain boundaries.
Further, network devices which the SDN controller communicates with
may send a summary to the Controller of the state of the network.
Within the domain, the network devices may rely on an embedded
control plane for routing and signaling. Also, path computation may
be performed by the hybrid SDN controller with assistance from the
embedded control plane. The SDN controller may communicate with the
edge network devices and request them to setup services. The SDN
controller may also monitor the edge network devices. Further,
network devices in each of the layers may rely on the control plane
to provision and re-route traffic. Additionally, the network
devices may summarize the network state and inform the SDN
controller of this summary by using border gateway protocol (BGP)
BGP-link state (BGP-LS), path computation element protocol (PCEP)
and the like.
[0028] Approaches using SDN controllers are improvements over prior
methods and were previously unattainable. Network operators have
long understood that packet layers, such as an IP layer, a
multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) layer or both, can be
acceptable for the requirements of packet-optical network
protection mechanisms, which typically require responses of no more
than a few tens of milliseconds. As a result, IP/MPLS protection
mechanisms have been widely adopted. Accordingly, the use of a
wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) layer for protection
mechanisms has not been previously adopted because the protection
mechanisms of WDM systems have been limited to response times in an
order of minutes, which is thus a much slower response than
required. As used herein, network operator may refer to traditional
network service providers as well as content providers.
[0029] In order to mitigate WDM slow response times, elaborate WDM
restoration mechanisms have been developed. However, these
mechanisms have rarely been adopted since packet-level WDM
restoration and WDM protection typical fail to achieve the
performance needed for optical restoration in most cases and
increase network management complexity. In addition, time division
multiplexing (TDM)-based protection mechanisms, such as optical
transport network (OTN) switching, have been developed to offer an
alternative to IP/MPLS protection. However, TDM-based protection
mechanisms have not been as widely adopted as IP/MPLS protection
mechanisms for IP/MPLS packet transport.
[0030] While improving transport network protection by coordinating
among the packet and optical network layers has long been very
attractive, such protection has remained limited until now mainly
due to the lack of a mature and effective coordination process. For
example, network management system (NMS)/element management system
(EMS) protection has been used in optical networks by network
controllers but rarely available in optical routers. Further,
NMS/EMS has been too slow for effective coordination among the
packet and optical transport layers. Also, while GMPLS has been
defined as a unified control-plane in order to extend the IP/MPLS
control-plane paradigm to optical networks, GMPLS has not been
effectively adopted for multi-layer protection.
[0031] In another example, multi-layer proactive protection
mechanisms may use pre-forward error correction (FEC) WDM
information. However, in practical application, these mechanisms
provide IP/MPLS layer only protection and not WDM layer protection.
Further, the adoption of these mechanisms have been limited by
their single channel nature, which limits the ability of these
mechanisms to define an appropriate proactive trigger for most
network protection cases.
[0032] Recent SDN evolution of networks using IP/MPLS layers to
include a hybrid control plane, or even a centralized only control
plane, shall enable beneficial control for packet-optical
transport, in implementations with or without GMPLS. A hybrid
control plane may be considered to be a hybrid of a centralized
control plane and a de-centralized control plane. In a specific
example, an SDN controller may interface directly with IP/MPLS and
optical layers independently. In a further example, the SDN
controller may interface only with the IP/MPLS layer(s), which may
use GMPLS to interact with the optical layer.
[0033] In addition, traditional static WDM layer monitoring made
limited use of optical system analytics and typically, the FEC bit
error rate (BER) was the main parameter monitored in optical
networks. However, newer, coherent, flex-grid WDM systems have
provided significant motivation for the development of more
advanced optical system analytics applied at the WDM layer. For
example, a "flight data recorder" (FDR) may include a database that
stores hundreds of optical system parameters that can be used for
such system analytics. These parameters are updated either
frequently or continuously such that up-to-date analytics can be
provided. Further, the introduction of SDN control by an SDN
controller has motivated a significant advancement in network
analytics frameworks, such as for information collection and
sharing, across all of the layers of a packet-optical transport
network. For example, an SDN Controller can collect the results of
streaming telemetry schemes from one or more network
elements/devices at a relatively high rate. The SDN controller may
then run analytics based on the collected results.
[0034] FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating an example of an SDN
controller providing proactive protection in a packet-optical
network. As shown in an example in chart 100, an SDN controller may
define a proactive-protection threshold (Tpp) criterion based on a
plurality of optical system performance metrics, at step 110. The
SDN controller may then collect, monitor and store the a plurality
of optical system performance metrics, step 120. In an example, a
generic remote procedure call (gRPC) may periodically send or
stream measured optical system performance metrics from an optical
device in the network to the SDN controller. In this way, the SDN
controller may monitor the optical system performance metrics.
Further, the optical system performance metrics may be archived in
a network analytics time series database, which may complement the
SDN controller. The database may be a database as shown in FIG. 4,
FIG. 9 or both.
[0035] Further, the SDN controller may perform active profiling of
the optical system performance metrics. For example, based on the
archived optical system performance metrics, the SDN controller may
build a correlation hysteresis to identify threshold crossing
events.
[0036] Accordingly, while conducting continuous collection and
monitoring, the SDN controller may determine if the defined Tpp
criterion is met 130. If the Tpp criterion is met, the SDN
controller may select a protection mechanism 140. In an example,
the protection mechanisms may be pre-defined by a network operator.
Also, the Tpp criterion may be pre-defined by a network
operator.
[0037] In another example, the protection mechanisms may not be
pre-defined by the network operator. In addition, the Tpp criterion
may be pre-defined with a default criterion, such as a default
event or condition. In an example, a default criterion may be a
Q-Factor, as explained further below.
[0038] In addition, the SDN controller may define a protection
threshold (Tp) criterion 150. Further, the SDN controller may then
initiate one or more proactive protection events based on the
selected protection mechanism 160. In an example, the SDN
controller may program the required layer 3/layer 0
connections/LSPs on alternate paths and switch the end-to-end
traffic over these alternate paths. For example, the SDN controller
may use device programmable application programming interfaces
(APIs), such as OpenFlow and the like, to initiate the one or more
proactive protection events.
[0039] Also, the SDN controller may determine if the Tp criterion
is met 170. In an example, the Tp criterion may be more stringent
as the Tpp criterion. If another example, the Tp criterion may be
the same as the Tpp criterion. In an example, the Tp criterion may
be met if the SDN Controller observes an equipment degrade
(EQPT-DEGRADE) alarm anywhere in the network. Such an EQPT-DEGRADE
may be emitted when a hardware component, such as a photonic
integrated circuit (PIC), wears out. Further examples of Tp
criteria are provided elsewhere herein. If the Tp criterion is met,
the SDN controller may implement one or more protection events
190.
[0040] If the Tp criterion is not met, the SDN controller may again
define a Tpp criterion 110. Further, the SDN controller may
continue collecting and monitoring the one or more optical system
performance metrics 120. In addition, if the Tpp criterion is not
met, the SDN controller may abort any previously initiated and
currently activated proactive protection events 180. Further, the
SDN controller may continue collecting and monitoring the one or
more optical system performance metrics. Further, while the SDN
controller implements steps 130 through 180, it may continue to
collect and monitor the one or more optical system performance
metrics. In these ways, the SDN controller may collect and monitor
optical system performance metrics continuously.
[0041] In an example, the SDN controller may enable wavelength
division multiplexing (WDM) layer protection by pro-actively
initiating all WDM system calibrations in ways that would
accelerate the WDM system response time to be within the network
acceptable time limits. Such proactive calibrations could also take
into account specific network characteristics. For example, the
specific network characteristics of a point-to-point network could
be taken into account. In another example, the specific network
characteristics of a mesh network could be taken into account.
[0042] Further, proactive protection may include proactive tuning
of spare WDM channels at a sufficient time before an actual
protection event occurs, so that WDM response time meets required
timelines. The spare WDM channels may be WDM channels that have
been pre-deployed but initially unused until called upon. Further,
the spare WDM channels may be used in a WDM PIC-based system. In
typical examples, the required timelines usually measure less than
a second.
[0043] In examples using a multi-fiber network, the SDN controller
may use shared risk link group (SRLG) information. Specifically,
the SDN controller may use the SRLG information to make protection
switching decisions intelligently. For example, the SDN Controller
may use the SRLG information to determine that one wavelength in
the fiber is degrading, and may therefore infer a likely
degradation of other wavelengths incident on the same fiber
link.
[0044] In further examples, non-WDM layer protection may be
improved by the SDN controller. For example, the SDN controller may
advance packet protection by pro-actively initiating protection
switching at the packet client layer, which will typically be the
IP or MPLS layer. Such protection switching may be part of fast
re-route (FRR). Further, the SDN controller may advance OTN
protection, which may include optical carrier protection, by using
this approach to pro-actively initiate protection switching at the
OTN layer or any other TDM layer, most obviously for the case of
non-IP/MPLS traffic that cannot be protected at the WDM layer.
[0045] As used herein, a carrier may refer to a channel or a
wavelength and the terms may be used interchangeably. A trunk may
refer to a link that may carry a plurality of carriers, channels or
wavelengths.
[0046] The example mechanisms discussed herein may monitor multiple
optical system performance parameters and allows the definition of
performance metrics that combine many of these parameters to
establish the most appropriate protection thresholds or criteria.
In some examples, the mechanisms may monitor as many parameters as
possible. As a result, the example mechanisms discussed herein
extend well beyond prior solutions which consider only BER
monitoring of a single WDM channel for IP/MPLS proactive
protection. Importantly, the currently proposed correlation among
multiple WDM channels may allow for much better proactive
protection decisions by the SDN controller. For example, such
improved proactive protection decisions may include distinctions
between fiber-wide (or even multi-fiber) degradation versus
channel-specific degradation. Such a distinction would be
impossible through any single channel monitoring, like the ones
proposed in prior solutions.
[0047] Typical example optical system performance parameters
monitored by the SDN controller in the proposed example mechanisms
discussed herein may include single-channel metrics of transmission
and reception as measured or determined by a transmitter and/or
receiver, including, for example, a PIC. Digital signal processing
(DSP) metrics like power, chromatic dispersion, signal to noise
ratio, BER, and the like. DSP metrics may be generated by the DSP,
which may be implemented as specialized hardware, such as, for
example, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). In
addition to providing DSP metrics, DSP perform FEC, coherent
detection and the like.
[0048] Other example parameters may include aggregated WDM channels
metrics like power, crosstalk, optical amplification (Erbium Doped
Fiber Amplifier (EDFA) or Raman) gain levels. Further, the SDN
controller may even monitor optical fiber characteristics, such as
loss, as these may become available from Optical Power Monitor
(OPM) and Optical Time Domain Reflectometry (OTDR)
functionality.
[0049] In a typical example, a network operator user may define a
procedure or an algorithm including a system performance threshold
that could trigger a pro-active protection event. For example, the
procedure may determine if increasing levels of pre-FEC BER is a
channels specific degradation, or a degradation observed among
many, or potentially all, WDM channels in which case a whole-fiber
pro-active protection event would be needed. Such a degradation
observed among multiple WDM channels and the associated trigger of
a pro-active protection event would have impossible in prior
solutions, which typically considered only single channel
effects.
[0050] In addition, compared with prior solutions, the use of the
SDN controller in the proposed example mechanisms discussed herein
allows for much more flexibility, and better optimization of the
network layer at which the pro-active protection mechanism would be
initiated, because an SDN controller can enable proactive
protection at the WDM layer in addition to the packet IP/MPLS layer
or the OTN layer, due to the SDN Controller having visibility to
all of these layers at the same time. Such proactive protection at
the WDM layer was not possible before under prior solutions. This
is a new and significant improvement over those prior solutions
which consider only IP/MPLS router based proactive protection.
[0051] Moreover, the use of the SDN controller in the proposed
example mechanisms discussed herein allows the SDN controller to
have better visibility of activity of the network. Accordingly, the
SDN controller may manage the network in a centralized way. For
example, the SDN controller may make management decisions based on
a full view of the network.
[0052] In addition, the use of the SDN controller in the proposed
example mechanisms allows for decision making based on correlation
of system analytics among different layers. For example, the system
analytics may include OTN or MPLS tunnel utilization.
[0053] Further, the use of a stateful SDN controller further allows
for network analytics with much better predictive ability. In an
example, this predictive ability may be due to improved
correlations of performance degradations with different timescales.
One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the lack of
accurate predictive ability has been the main limitation of the
proactive protection schemes which are based on single-parameter
network-monitoring, such as those in prior solutions. In contrast
to prior solutions, in the examples described herein, the proactive
protection threshold criterion may be met based on the collected
measurements of a plurality of carriers.
[0054] Also, the SDN controller in the proposed example mechanism
allows for the use of heuristics and/or data mining techniques to
perform predictive analyses on possible failures in the network,
with a determined percentage of confidence, based upon historical
data. The SDN controller may make different degrees of failure
determination, such as, for example, determining if a group of
fibers will fail or even if an individual fiber will fail.
[0055] As a result, the SDN controller provides for pro-active
re-routing of traffic to avoid failures. Further, an all-SDN
control plane approach or centralized control plane approach
provides previously unattainable functions of pro-active re-routing
of existing WDM service on a particular fiber path.
[0056] For example, a single optical carrier or optical channel
(OCh) may be pro-actively re-routed to an alternate path. In a
further example, a group of optical carriers or an optical channel
group (OCG) may be pro-actively re-routed to an alternate path.
[0057] In examples described herein, the alternate path may be a
pre-computed, dedicated path that matches the original path in
characteristics and metrics one-to-one. The alternate path may be a
backup to the existing original path, which may be susceptible to
failures. In further examples described herein, the alternate path
may be dynamically computed by the SDN controller, as the SDN
controller profiles and monitors the health and metrics of the
carrier or group of carriers, such as an OCh, OCG or both. Further,
the SDN controller may also take into account SRLG information in
order to infer the potential impact to a collection of carriers,
such as on OCG, which share common resources.
[0058] The SDN controller may monitor one or more of several
different types of optical parameters and may determine if a
threshold is met based on an indicator of one of these parameters.
For example, the SDN controller may monitor carrier parameters, WDM
system parameters and fiber parameters. Specifically, the SDN
controller may monitor a variety of carrier parameters, such as
SRLG, which may be a logical parameter and BER, which may be an
digital parameter. Further, the SDN controller may monitor a
variety of analog carrier parameters, such as Q-Factor,
transmission power, receive power, chromatic dispersion,
polarization mode dispersion (PMD), jitter, and the like. Also, the
SDN controller may monitor a variety of WDM system parameters, such
as SRLG, EDFA-power, which may be an analog parameter, carrier
count, which may be a digital parameter, and the like. In addition,
the SDN controller may monitor a variety of fiber parameters, such
as OTDR, which may be an analog parameter, and the like.
[0059] The SDN controller may use objective functions to represent
the optimization coefficients of the state the network will be in
if the re-route were to occur. There may be several objective
functions which are associated with priorities. In an example, the
SDN controller may set to objective functions, with a first
objective function to evaluate low latency, least cost and/or hop
count, and a second objective function to evaluate least cost,
minimal regeneration and low power. For example, the SDN may set
the following: OF.sub.1={(low latency), (least cost), (lowest hop
count)} and OF.sub.2={(least cost), (minimal regeneration), (lower
power)}.
[0060] FIG. 2A is a network diagram illustrating an example of a
centralized SDN controller providing proactive protection in a
multi-channel network at steady state before pro-active protection
is applied. FIG. 2B is a network diagram illustrating an example of
a centralized SDN controller providing proactive protection in a
multi-channel network at end state after pro-active protection has
been applied. FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 3E and 3F are workflow diagrams
illustrating an example of a centralized SDN controller providing
proactive protection in a multi-channel network. The examples shown
in FIGS. 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 3E and 3F may be an example
implementation of the process shown in FIG. 1.
[0061] In an example as shown in network diagram 200, SDN
controller 210 may communicate and have management connectivity
with one or more routers and/or one or more optical add/drop
multiplexing (OADM) devices over communication paths in a
management network, such as a data communications network (DCN)
220. For example, SDN controller 210 may communicate with router
230 over path 221, OADM 271 over path 222, OADM 275 over path 223,
OADM 277 over path 224, OADM 278 over path 225, OADM 276 over path
226, OADM 273 over path 227, and router 240 over path 228. The
routers and OADMs may stream performance monitoring (PM) data to
SDN controller 210. The management connectivity implemented through
communications 221-228 may use protocols such as OpenFlow, network
configuration protocol (NETCONF), simple management network
protocol (SNMP), command line interface (CLI), and the like. The
SDN controller 210 may include a proactive decision protection
engine (not shown in FIG. 2A or 2B), which may be complementary to
the SDN controller 210. The routers 230, 240, 250, 260, 270, 290,
may be IP/MPLS routers which may perform IP routing as well as MPLS
encapsulation. OADM devices 271, 273, 275-280 may be layer 0
devices and may perform optical add/drop multiplexing. Further,
each of OADM devices 271, 273, and 275-280 may be a re-configurable
OADM (ROADM) or a fixed OADM (FOADM). In addition, routers 230,
240, 250, 260, 270, 290 and OADM devices 271, 273, 275-278 may be
part of an autonomous system 1, while routers 250, 260 and OADM
devices 279, 280 may be part of an autonomous system 2.
[0062] As shown in workflow diagram 300 of FIG. 3A, at stage 310,
time t=t.sub.0 the SDN controller 210 may define a Tpp as a
threshold criterion based on a plurality of performance metrics.
Stage 310 may correspond to step 110 of FIG. 1. In an example, Tpp
may be a function of X, Y and Z (or F(X, Y, Z)), where X, Y and Z
are performance metrics. In another example, Tpp may be a function
of X and Y. Further, in an example, a user of the network operator
may use representational state transfer (REST) and a RESTful API as
a configuration interface to input the Tpp into the SDN controller
210.
[0063] In an example, performance metric X may be a single carrier
or a single channel performance metric, such as Q-Factor, optical
signal to noise ratio (OSNR), BER and the like. Such metrics may be
indicative of per carrier or per channel health. For example, X may
be set as a Q-Factor for every carrier (.lamda.), accordingly:
X=Q-Factor.sub.i=1 . . . N for every .lamda..sub.1=1 . . . N, where
N represents the total number of carriers monitored by the SDN
controller.
[0064] Further, performance metric Y may be a fiber physical
performance metric, such as an optical Raman amplifier pump power
(P.sub.out) and the like. Such a fiber physical performance metric
may be indicative of characteristics of the fiber, which may carry
all of the channels together. As a result, fiber characteristics
may impact all of the channels that ride over the fiber.
[0065] In addition, performance metric Z may be a service
performance metric such as a LSP round-trip delay (RTD). The RTD
may be the sum of channel propagation delay (PD) in each of the two
directions in a path. RTD may be determined or computed through
many ways. One way to determine RTD may include an ITU
International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Telecommunications
Standardization Sector (ITU-T) G.709 path delay measurement scheme
to obtain carrier level latency. This measurement scheme may
provide the RTD on a per-ODU k logical path. The RTD measurements
may be performed on-demand or may be performed automatically at the
direction of the SDN controller at pre-configured intervals.
[0066] In an example, the SDN controller 210 may set the Tpp
thresholds including X and Z. Accordingly, the SDN controller 210
may set X as Q-Factor.sub.i=1 . . . N for every .lamda..sub.1=1 . .
. N less than or equal to an .alpha. criterion for a path. In other
words, the network operator may expect the Q-Factor for all of the
channels of that path to be less than or equal to .alpha.. For
example, based on inputs from a user of the network operator, the
SDN controller 210 may set X as Q-Factor.sub.i=1 . . . N less than
or equal to .alpha..sub.i for every .lamda..sub.1=1 . . . N for
path 234 between OADM 275 and OADM 276, where N is 125 channels.
Further, the SDN controller 210 may set Z as RTD.sub.i=1 . . . N
less than or equal to a .delta..sub.i criterion for every
.lamda..sub.i=1 . . . N. The RTD.sub.i=1 . . . N measures the delay
over the path between router 230 and router 240. In an example, for
path 234 between router 230 and router 240, .alpha. may be 7 and
.delta. may be 4 ms. In further example, .alpha. may be expressed
logarithmically. For example, for path 234 .alpha. may be 6.5 dB
and .delta. may be 5 ms. Further, .alpha. may related to a system
alarm/fault, such as a Q-SIGNAL-DEGRADE-alarm. Other example values
of Q related to Q-SIGNAL-DEGRADE-alarm condition may include the
range [9 dB to 15 dB].
[0067] In a further example, the SDN controller 210 may set Y as
one of the Tpp thresholds. Specifically, the SDN controller 210 may
set Y as P.sub.out is less than or equal to a decibels (dB)
criterion for Raman power for all of the Raman amplifiers
OADM.sub.i=1 . . . M along the WDM links on the path, where M is
the total number of Raman amplifier OADMs along the path. For
example, in a path between router 230 and router 240 may include
link 232 to OADM 271, then link 233 to OADM 275, then link 234 to
OADM 276, then link 235 to OADM 273 and finally link 242 to router
240. Accordingly, M may be 4 in that example as there are four
OADMs along the path between router 230 and router 240. In an
example may be 55 dBs. Other paths that may be measured for a
P.sub.out include path 237 between OADM 277 and OADM 278 and path
244 between OADM 279 and OADM 280. The above described examples are
some of the ways that step 110 of FIG. 1 may be performed.
[0068] In addition, in an example, step 150 may be performed at
stage 310. For example, at stage 310, the SDN controller 210 may
define Tp thresholds. For example, the SDN controller 210 may
define a Tp threshold as P.sub.out is less than or equal to a
.theta. dB criterion for all of the Raman amplifiers OADM.sub.i=1 .
. . M along the WDM links on the path. In one example, .theta. may
be set as equal to the used for Y above. In another example,
.theta. may be set as greater than the used for Y above.
[0069] As the procedure shown in FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D,
3E and 3F progresses, one, more, or all of the above and below
indicated parameters may be continuously monitored by the SDN
controller 210 for pro-active traffic re-route. Such continuous
monitoring is shown in step 120 of FIG. 1 and may start at stage
310 of FIG. 3A.
[0070] In an example, all services on carriers .lamda..sub.1=1 . .
. N may be required to meet the Q-Factor .alpha. criterion.
However, services on carriers .lamda..sub.1=1 . . . 8 may be
required to additionally meet the RTD .delta..sub.i criterion.
[0071] As shown in FIG. 2, the SDN controller 210 may combine
analytics from multiple WDM systems to provide proactive
protection. The different WDM systems may operate on different
optical domains.
[0072] In an example, eighty (80) carriers may be needed by a
network operator. The network may have a capacity of 125 carriers.
For example links 234, 237 may each accommodate up to 125 carriers.
In an example, each WDM fiber may accommodate up to 125 carriers,
using, for example, the ITU C-Band spectrum at 1530-1565 nm
wavelengths. While 80 and 125 carriers are shown, one of ordinary
skill in the art will readily appreciate that many more carriers,
even hundreds of carriers, may be used and still be consistent with
the examples provided herein. The network operator may require the
operation of 80 carriers in a path between router 230 and router
240. The SDN controller may then route the 80 carriers over a path
including links 232, 233, 234, 235, 242.
[0073] In an example illustrating features of proactive protection,
at step 130 in stage 320 of FIG. 3B, the SDN controller 210 may
determine that the Tpp criterion is satisfied. For example, the SDN
controller 210 may determine that the Q-Factor exceeds a for at
least one of the 80 carriers on link 234. Therefore, link 234
should not be used in the path. As a result, the SDN Controller 210
may then pro-actively compute alternative paths and may select a
protection mechanism 140 for one, some or all of the 80 carriers.
In an example shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the SDN Controller 210
may pro-actively compute alternative paths and may select a
protection mechanism 140 for all 80 carriers.
[0074] For example, the SDN controller 210 may plot a new potential
path including links 232, 233, 236, 237, 238, 235, 242. However,
the SDN controller 210 may determine that the end-to-end RTD
exceeds the service level agreement (SLA) of .delta..sub.i for
eight of the carriers (.lamda..sub.1=1 . . . 8). As a result, the
SDN controller 210 may plot a separate, new path for the eight
carriers which includes links 231, 245, 244, 243, 241 and which
meet the RTD requirements of the eight carriers. Further, the SDN
controller 210 may plot this new, separate path using layer 3 (L3)
restoration and protection mechanisms. The remaining seventy-two
(72) carriers of the 80 carriers may remain plotted on the path
including links 232, 233, 236, 237, 238, 235, 242.
[0075] Further, at stage 330 in FIG. 3C, the SDN controller 210 may
initiate one or more proactive protection events based on the
selected protection mechanism 160. For example, the SDN controller
210 may establish the path for the eight carriers based on the
plot. As a result, the SDN controller 210 may establish a path
including links 231, 245, 244, 243, 241 for the eight carriers, as
shown in FIG. 2B. In an example, links 231, 241 may use an exterior
gateway protocol (EGP), which may be similar to a BGP or a
BGP-LS.
[0076] In addition, at stage 330, SDN controller 210 may define the
Tp criterion, if it has not already been established. The Tp
criterion may be applicable to both the path including links 231,
245, 244, 243, 241 for the eight carriers and the path including
links 232, 233, 236, 237, 238, 235, 242 for the remaining 72
carriers.
[0077] Moreover, at stage 340 in FIG. 3D, the SDN controller 210
may determine if the Tp criterion is met 170. In an example, the Tp
criterion is met for the 72 carriers because the measured Raman
pump amplifier optical output may approach the threshold 0 dBm for
link 234 between OADM 275 and OADM 276. Alternatively, the SDN
controller 210 may determine if the Tpp criterion is met at this
stage. In an example, the Tpp criterion is met for the 72 carriers
because the measured Raman pump amplifier optical output may
approach the threshold 0 dBm for link 234 between OADM 275 and OADM
276.
[0078] At stage 340, as the measured Raman pump amplifier optical
output may approach the threshold for link 234 between OADM 275 and
OADM 276, all 72 carriers for this link face the prospect of
disruption. However, these 72 carriers may not have the same
latency SLA requirements as the other 8 carriers. For example,
these 72 carriers may have higher acceptable RTD than the other 8
carriers.
[0079] Therefore, at stage 350 in FIG. 3E, the SDN controller 210
may establish the plotted path for the 72 carriers including links
232, 233, 236, 237, 238, 235, 242. Further, the SDN controller 210
may implement one or more protection events 190.
[0080] At stage 360 in FIG. 3F, the new steady state may be
monitored by the SDN controller 210 for the newly established
paths, as shown in FIG. 2B. If needed, the SDN controller 210 may
continue to perform proactive L0 and L3 protection.
[0081] FIG. 4 is a network diagram illustrating an example of an
SDN controller providing proactive protection in a multi-fiber
network across both the packet layer and the optical layer. As
shown in diagram 400, an SDN controller 410 may include a proactive
decision engine 415 based on user defined thresholds. The SDN
controller 410 may have multi-layer and multi-vendor capabilities.
The user may be a manager of a network operator. Further, the SDN
controller 410 and the proactive decision engine 415 may draw on
one or more databases 420 for information about the network and
network system performance metrics, such as, network topology,
traffic engineering, performance monitoring and the like. The
network may be an optical network. In an example, database 420 may
be an FDR.
[0082] In an example shown in FIG. 4, the SDN controller 410 may
have management connectivity over a management network, such as a
DCN, with devices such as routers 430, 440, 450 and OADM devices
460, 470, 480, 490. The management connectivity may be implemented
through communication channels, such as channels, 411, 412, 413,
and may use protocols such as OpenFlow, NETCONF, BGP-LS, PCEP and
the like. In an example case, BGP-LS and PCEP may be used in hybrid
mode. The routers 430, 440, 450 may be IP/MPLS routers which may
perform IP routing as well as MPLS encapsulation. OADM devices 460,
470, 480, 490 may be layer 0 devices and may perform optical
add/drop multiplexing. Each of OADM devices 460, 470, 480, 490 may
be a ROADM or a FOADM.
[0083] The routers 430, 440, 450 may communicate with each other on
the packet layer 435 by way of intra-layer logical connectivity
using links 431, 441, 451. For example, routers 430, 440, 450 may
have router to router connectivity using logical connectivity, with
physical connectivity through an underlying layer. The packet layer
435 may include both data plane and control plane connectivity.
[0084] OADM devices 460, 470, 480, 490 may communicate with each
other on optical domains 465, 485 by way of inter-optical layer
connectivity using links 472, 482. For example, OADM devices 460,
470 may have WDM device to WDM device connectivity with each other
over link 472 and OADM devices 480, 490 may have WDM device to WDM
device connectivity with each other over link 482. Such
connectivity may include long-haul connectivity, such as over 80
kilometers (km), or shorter reach connectivity.
[0085] OADM devices 460, 470, 480, 490 may communicate with routers
430, 440, 450 by way of cross-layer port-to-port connectivity using
links 461, 471, 481, 491. For example, OADM devices 460, 470 may
have cross-layer connectivity with routers 440, 450 over links 461,
471, respectively. Similarly, OADM devices 480, 490 may have
cross-layer connectivity with routers 450, 430 over links 481, 491,
respectively. Such connectivity may include a short or medium reach
optical fiber patch. For example, such connectivity may include 2
km, 10 km or 40 km range connectivity. This cross-layer
connectivity may be between layer 3 and layer 1, layer 3 and layer
0 or layer 1 and layer 0.
[0086] Through the example connectivity shown in FIG. 4, the SDN
controller may communicate with the network to follow the
procedures provided in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. For example, the SDN
controller may communicate with the network using the example
connectivity shown in FIG. 4 to determine if the Tpp criterion is
met and if the Tp criterion is met.
[0087] FIG. 5 is a network diagram illustrating an example of an
SDN controller providing proactive protection in a multi-fiber
network across the IP/MPLS layer, the OTN layer and the WDM layer.
As shown in diagram 500, the SDN controller 510 may have management
connectivity over a management network, such as a DCN, through
communication channel 511 with devices such as routers 521, 522,
523, 524 on IP/MPLS layer 520. The management connectivity may use
protocols such as OpenFlow, NETCONF, BGP-LS, PCEP and the like. The
IP/MPLS layer 520 may be considered to be layer 3, layer 2.5 or
both. Further, the SDN controller 510 may have management
connectivity through communication channel 512 with OTN network
elements 541, 542, 543, 544, 545, 546 on OTN layer 540. The OTN
layer 540 may be considered to be layer 1. The OTN network elements
541, 542, 543, 544, 545, 546 may be ITU-T G.709 capable. Further,
the OTN network elements 541, 542, 543, 544, 545, 546 may perform
layer 1 functions, such as grooming, multiplexing and switching of
optical channel data unit (ODU) k connections and optical channel
transport unit (OTU) framing and/or transport of k channels. The
output of the OTN network elements 541, 542, 543, 544, 545, 546 may
be pipelined to OADM devices, such as OADM devices 561, 562, 563,
564, 565, 566, such as in examples explained further herein. In
addition, the SDN controller 510 may have management connectivity
through communication channel 513 with OADM devices 561, 562, 563,
564, 565, 566 on WDM layer 560. The WDM layer 560 may be considered
to be layer 0.
[0088] Similarly to the example shown in FIG. 4, in FIG. 5 the
routers 521, 522, 523, 524 may communicate with each other on
IP/MPLS layer 520 using logical connectivity links, such as link
529, for example. Further, OTN network elements 541, 542, 543, 544,
545, 546 may communicate with each other on OTN layer 540 using
intra-OTN layer links, such as link 549, for example. In addition,
OADM devices 561, 562, 563, 564, 565, 566 may communicate with each
other on WDM layer 560 using has intra-optical layer connectivity
links, such as link 571, for example. Link 571 and similar links
may be a fiber span.
[0089] OTN network elements 541, 542, 544, 546 may communicate with
routers 521, 522, 523, 524 by way of cross-layer port-to-port
connectivity using links 531, 532, 533, 534, respectively as shown
in FIG. 5. Such port-to-port connectivity may use short or medium
reach optical connections and may be similar to port-to-port
connectivity shown in FIG. 4.
[0090] Similarly, OADM devices 561, 563, 565, 566 may have
cross-layer connectivity with OTN network elements 542, 543, 545,
546 over links 554, 553, 552, 551 respectively. OADM device 561 may
also have cross-layer connectivity with OTN network element 541
over link 559. In an example, each of links 554, 553, 552, 551 may
be a separate collection of N carriers. For example, link 551 may
be a collection of carriers .lamda..sub.i=1 . . . N. Further, link
552 may be separate collection of carriers .lamda..sub.i=1 . . . N.
Similarly, links 553, 554 may each be separate collections of
carriers .lamda..sub.i=1 . . . N. In comparison, link 559 may be a
single carrier .lamda..sub.1.
[0091] Through the example connectivity shown in FIG. 5, the SDN
controller may communicate with the network to follow the
procedures provided in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. For example, the SDN
controller may communicate with the network using the example
connectivity shown in FIG. 5 to determine if the Tpp criterion is
met and if the Tp criterion is met.
[0092] FIG. 6 is a network diagram illustrating an example of an
SDN controller providing proactive protection in a multi-fiber
network across the IP/MPLS layer and the WDM layer. As shown in
diagram 600, the SDN controller may communicate over the IP/MPLS
layer and the WDM layer in a similar manner to the examples shown
in FIG. 5. However, in contrast to the examples shown in FIG. 5, in
diagram 600 the SDN controller may not communicate over the OTN
layer. Specifically, as shown in diagram 500, the SDN controller
510 may have management connectivity over a management network,
such as a DCN, through communication channel 611 with devices such
as routers 621, 622, 623, 624 on IP/MPLS layer 620. The IP/MPLS
layer 620 may be considered to be layer 3, layer 2.5 or both. In
addition, the SDN controller 610 may have management connectivity
through communication channel 612 with OADM devices 661, 662, 663,
664, 665, 666 on WDM layer 660. The WDM layer 660 may be considered
to be layer 0. The management connectivity may use protocols such
as OpenFlow, NETCONF, BGP-LS, PCEP and the like.
[0093] Similarly to the examples shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, in
FIG. 6 the routers 621, 622, 623, 624 may communicate with each
other on IP/MPLS layer 620 using logical connectivity links, such
as link 629, for example. In addition, OADM devices 661, 662, 663,
664, 665, 666 may communicate with each other on WDM layer 660
using has intra-optical layer connectivity links, such as link 671,
for example. Link 671 and similar links may be a fiber span.
[0094] In an example, links, such as link 679, may be a separate
collection of N carriers. For example, link 679 may be a collection
of carriers .lamda..sub.i=1 . . . N. In comparison, link 671 may be
a single carrier .lamda..sub.1.
[0095] OADM devices 661, 662, 663, 664, 665, 666 may communicate
with routers 621, 622, 623, 624 by way of cross-layer port-to-port
connectivity using links 631, 632, 633, 634, respectively as shown
in FIG. 6. Such port-to-port connectivity may use short or medium
reach optical connections and may be similar to port-to-port
connectivity shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5.
[0096] Through the example connectivity shown in FIG. 6, the SDN
controller may communicate with the network to follow the
procedures provided in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. For example, the SDN
controller may communicate with the network using the example
connectivity shown in FIG. 6 to determine if the Tpp criterion is
met and if the Tp criterion is met.
[0097] FIG. 7 is a network diagram illustrating an example of a
centralized SDN controller providing proactive protection in a
multi-fiber network across the IP/MPLS layer and the OTN layer. As
shown in diagram 700, the centralized SDN controller 710 may have
management connectivity over a management network, such as a DCN,
through communication channels with devices such as routers 730,
740, 750 on an IP/MPLS layer and such as with OTN network elements
760, 770, 780, 790 on an OTN layer. The management connectivity may
use protocols such as OpenFlow, NETCONF, BGP-LS, PCEP and the like.
In an example shown in FIG. 7, the centralized SDN controller 710
may communicate over communications channels 711, 713, 716 with
routers 730, 740, 750, respectively. Further, the centralized SDN
controller 710 may communicate over communications channels 712,
714, 715 with OTN network elements 760, 770, 780, 790,
respectively.
[0098] In addition, routers 730, 740, 750 may communicate with each
other on the IP/MPLS layer using intermediate system to
intermediate system (IS-IS) protocol and label distribution
protocol (LDP). Also, OTN network elements 760, 770, 780, 790 may
communicate with each other on the OTN layer using GMPLS. In
addition, routers 730, 740, 750 may communicate with OTN network
elements 760, 770, 780, 790 by way of cross layer port-to-port
connectivity. In an example shown in FIG. 7, router 730 may
communicate with OTN network element 760 and router 750 may
communicate with OTN network element 790 by way of cross layer
port-to-port connectivity.
[0099] In an example shown in FIG. 7, the centralized SDN
controller 710 may have full visibility of all of the devices in
the network. For example, the centralized SDN controller 710 may
have full visibility of the statuses and health indicators of the
devices and statuses of the connections among the devices, for
routers 730, 740, 750 and OTN network elements 760, 770, 780, 790.
As shown in box 720, the centralized SDN controller 710 may have
full visibility regarding the connections among the routers and OTN
network elements of the network. Further, the centralized SDN
controller 710 may determine that status of the connections among
the devices and whether each connection is active or not. Further,
routers 730, 740, 750 and OTN network elements 760, 770, 780, 790
may not run any control plane protocols and may have minimal peer
discovery mechanisms.
[0100] Through the example connectivity shown in FIG. 7, the SDN
controller may communicate with the network to follow the
procedures provided in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. For example, the SDN
controller may communicate with the network using the example
connectivity shown in FIG. 7 to determine if the Tpp criterion is
met and if the Tp criterion is met.
[0101] FIG. 8 is a network diagram illustrating an example of a
hybrid SDN controller providing proactive protection in a
multi-fiber network across the IP/MPLS layer and the OTN layer. As
shown in diagram 800, the hybrid SDN controller 810 may have
management connectivity over a management network, such as a DCN,
through communication channels with devices such as routers 830,
850 on an IP/MPLS layer and such as with OTN network elements 860,
890 on an OTN layer. The management connectivity may use protocols
such as OpenFlow, NETCONF, BGP-LS, PCEP and the like. In an example
shown in FIG. 8, the hybrid SDN controller 810 may communicate over
communications channels 811, 716 with routers 830, 850,
respectively, and over communications channels 812, 815 with OTN
network elements 860, 890, respectively.
[0102] In addition, routers 830, 840, 850 may communicate with each
other on the IP/MPLS layer using intermediate system to
intermediate system (IS-IS) protocol and label distribution
protocol (LDP). Also, OTN network elements 860, 870, 880, 890 may
communicate with each other on the OTN layer using GMPLS. In
addition, routers 830, 840, 850 may communicate with OTN network
elements 860, 870, 880, 890 by way of cross layer port-to-port
connectivity. In an example shown in FIG. 8, router 830 may
communicate with OTN network element 860 and router 850 may
communicate with OTN network element 890 by way of cross layer
port-to-port connectivity.
[0103] In an example shown in FIG. 8, the hybrid SDN controller 810
may have partial visibility of the devices in the network. For
example, the hybrid SDN controller 810 may have partial visibility
of the status of the devices and status of the connections among
the devices. For example the hybrid SDN controller 810 may have
visibility only of the edge nodes in the network, such as routers
830, 850 and OTN network elements 860, 890. As shown in box 820,
the hybridSDN controller 810 may have partial visibility regarding
the connections among the routers and OTN network elements of the
network. For example, the hybridSDN controller 810 may have
visibility of the edge nodes in the network, as shown in box 820.
Further, the hybridSDN controller 810 may determine that status of
the connections among the edge nodes and whether each such
connection is active or not. Further, routers 830, 840, 850 and OTN
network elements 860, 870, 880, 890 may run routing and signaling
protocols. Also, the hybrid SDN controller 810 may indicate the
intent to re-route traffic to the edge nodes. The edge nodes may in
turn invoke embedded control plane functions for service setup.
[0104] Through the example connectivity shown in FIG. 8, the SDN
controller may communicate with the network to follow the
procedures provided in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. For example, the SDN
controller may communicate with the network using the example
connectivity shown in FIG. 7 to determine if the Tpp criterion is
met and if the Tp criterion is met.
[0105] FIG. 9 is a network diagram illustrating an example of a
multi-layer SDN controller providing proactive protection in a
multi-fiber network, and the platforms and applications of the SDN
controller. As shown in diagram 800, the multi-layer SDN controller
910 may have management connectivity over a management network,
such as DCN 920, through communication channels with devices in a
network, such as first network 930. The devices in the network may
include a variety of devices, such as routers on an IP/MPLS layer,
OTN network elements on an OTN layer, OADM devices on a WDM layer
and optical muxponders on layer 0. Overall, the network may include
one or more of layer 0, layer 1 and layer 3.
[0106] Further, the multi-layer SDN controller 910 may run
controller applications 918 and functions on controller platform
912. The controller applications 918 and functions on controller
platform 912 may run on physical servers or virtual machine based
servers, and may use a network traffic engineering database 940 and
a time series database 950. The network traffic engineering
database 940 may house information concerning topology states of
each layer and cross-layer connectivity, used and available
bandwidth resources on links and shared risk groups (SRGs). An SRG
may include a collection of entities, such as links, equipment,
buildings, conduits, and the like, which indicate a shared fate.
For example, failure of a particular SRG or member of the
particular SRG may impact all other entities which use the
particular SRG. the multi-layer SDN controller 910 may utilize the
data in the network traffic engineering database 940 to compute
end-to-end level 3 node to level 3 node paths. The time series
database 950 may contain performance monitoring data from network
devices such as packet layer statistics, OTN/WDM statistics, and
the like. Packet layer statistics may include Octets, Packet,
ErroredOctets, BadPackets, Jumbo Frames, and the like. OTN/WTM
statistics may include pre-FEC-Q, pre-FEC-BER, PMD, CD,
OutputPower, and the like. The performance monitoring data may be
timestamped to allow the multi-layer SDN controller 910 to build a
temporal profile of the collected data.
[0107] The controller applications 918 may include diagnostics
applications, data analytics applications, multi-layer path
computation element protocol (PCE) applications, proactive re-route
engine applications and plug-in applications. The plug-in
applications may use functions such as request functions, response
functions, hypertext transport protocol secure (https) functions,
RESTful functions and JavaScript object notation (JSON) functions.
Further, the other applications in the controller applications 918
may use the plug-in application functions to draw on functions of
the controller platform 912.
[0108] In addition, the controller platform 912 may include
security functions, which may include Open Authorization (OAuth),
secure sockets layer (SSL), and transport layer security (TLS)
functions. Also, the controller platform 912 may include:
adaptation functions, such as inventory functions, provisioning
functions and monitoring functions; inventory functions, such as
SubNetwork functions, Network Element (NE) functions and Port
functions; and provisioning functions, such as LSP functions,
SubNetwork Connection (SNC) functions and cross-connects (XCON)
functions. Further, the controller platform 912 may provide
notification functions as well as virtualization and overlay
functions. Moreover, the controller platform 912 may provide port
monitoring functions, such as state monitoring, fault monitoring
and configuration monitoring. In order to communicate with the
first network 930 and possibly another network, such as a second
network 913, the controller platform 912 may use a NE communication
layer, which may use protocols such as OpenFlow, NETCONF, BGP-LS,
PCEP and the like, as well as gRPCs and the like.
[0109] FIG. 10 is a diagram of an example SDN controller server
computing device that may be used to implement one or more features
described herein as performed by the SDN controller. The SDN
controller server computing device 1000 may include a processor
1010, a memory device 1020, a communication interface 1030, a
peripheral device interface 1040, a display device interface 1050,
and a data storage device 1070. FIG. 10 also shows a display device
1060, which may be coupled to or included within the SDN controller
server computing device 1000.
[0110] As used herein, the term "processor" refers to a device such
as a single- or multi-core processor, a special purpose processor,
a conventional processor, a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a
digital signal processor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or
more microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller,
a microcontroller, one or more ASICs, one or more Field
Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) circuits, any other type of
integrated circuit (IC), a system-on-a-chip (SOC), a state machine,
or a similar type of device. Processor 1010 may be or include any
one or several of these devices.
[0111] The memory device 1020 may be or include a device such as a
Random Access Memory (RAM), Dynamic RAM (D-RAM), Static RAM
(S-RAM), other RAM or a flash memory. Further, memory device 1020
may be a device using a computer-readable medium. The data storage
device 1070 may be or include a hard disk, a magneto-optical
medium, a solid-state drive (SSD), an optical medium such as a
compact disk (CD) read only memory (ROM) (CD-ROM), a digital
versatile disk (DVDs), or Blu-Ray disc (BD), or other type of
device for electronic data storage. Further, data storage device
1070 may be a device using a computer-readable medium. As used
herein, the term "computer-readable medium" refers to a register, a
cache memory, a ROM, a semiconductor memory device (such as a
D-RAM, S-RAM, or other RAM), a magnetic medium such as a flash
memory, a hard disk, a magneto-optical medium, an optical medium
such as a CD-ROM, a DVDs, or BD, or other type of device for
electronic data storage.
[0112] The communication interface 1030 may be, for example, a
communications port, a wired transceiver, a wireless transceiver,
and/or a network card. The communication interface 1030 may be
capable of communicating using technologies such as SDN technology,
wide area network (WAN) technology, SD-WAN technology, Ethernet,
Gigabit Ethernet, fiber optics, microwave, xDSL (Digital Subscriber
Line), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
802.11 technology, Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) technology,
wireless cellular technology, or any other appropriate
technology.
[0113] The peripheral device interface 1040 is configured to
communicate with one or more peripheral devices. The peripheral
device interface 1040 operates using a technology such as Universal
Serial Bus (USB), PS/2, Bluetooth, infrared, serial port, parallel
port, FireWire and/or other appropriate technology. The peripheral
device interface 1040 may, for example, receive input data from an
input device such as a keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a trackball, a
touch screen, a touch pad, a stylus pad, a detector, a microphone,
a biometric scanner, or other device. The peripheral device
interface 1040 may provide the input data to the processor 1010.
The peripheral device interface 1040 may also, for example, provide
output data, received from the processor 1010, to output devices
such as a speaker, a printer, a haptic feedback device, one or more
lights, or other device. Further, an input driver may communicate
with the processor 1010, peripheral device interface 1040 and the
input devices, and permit the processor 1010 to receive input from
the input devices. In addition, an output driver may communicate
with the processor 1010, peripheral device interface 1040 and the
output devices, and permit the processor 1010 to provide output to
the output devices. One of ordinary skill in the art will
understand that the input driver and the output driver may or may
not be used, and that the SDN controller server computing device
1000 will operate in the same manner or similar manner if the input
driver, the output driver or both are not present.
[0114] The display device interface 1050 may be an interface
configured to communicate data to display device 1060. The display
device 1060 may be, for example, a monitor or television display, a
plasma display, a liquid crystal display (LCD), or a display based
on a technology such as front or rear projection, light emitting
diodes (LEDs), organic LEDs (OLEDs), or Digital Light Processing
(DLP). The display device interface 1050 may operate using
technology such as Video Graphics Array (VGA), Super VGA (S-VGA),
Digital Visual Interface (DVI), High-Definition Multimedia
Interface (HDMI), Super Extended Graphics Array (SXGA), Quad
Extended Graphics Array (QXGA), or other appropriate technology.
The display device interface 1050 may communicate display data from
the processor 1010 to the display device 1060 for display by the
display device 1060. Also, the display device may connect with
speakers and may produce sounds based on data from the processor
1010. As shown in FIG. 10, the display device 1060 may be external
to the SDN controller server computing device 1000, and coupled to
the SDN controller server computing device 1000 via the display
device interface 1050. Alternatively, the display device 1060 may
be included in the SDN controller server computing device 1000. An
instance of the SDN controller server computing device 1000 of FIG.
10 may be configured to perform any feature or any combination of
features of the system and method described herein as performed by
the SDN controller.
[0115] It should be understood that many variations are possible
based on the examples described herein. Although features and
elements are described above in particular combinations, each
feature or element may be used alone without the other features and
elements or in various combinations with or without other features
and elements.
[0116] The methods provided may be implemented in a general purpose
computer, a processor, or a processor core. Suitable processors
include, by way of example, a general purpose processor, a special
purpose processor, a conventional processor, a digital signal
processor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more
microprocessors in association with a DSP core, a controller, a
microcontroller, metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors
(MOSFETs), ASICs, FPGAs circuits, any other type of IC, and/or a
state machine. Such processors may be manufactured by configuring a
manufacturing process using the results of processed hardware
description language (HDL) instructions and other intermediary data
including netlists (such instructions capable of being stored on a
computer readable media). The results of such processing may be
maskworks that are then used in a semiconductor manufacturing
process to manufacture a processor that implements aspects of the
embodiments.
[0117] The suitable processors may include circuitry to implement
the methods provided herein. The circuitry may include receiving
circuitry, processing circuitry and transmitting circuitry.
[0118] The methods and flow charts provided herein may be
implemented in a computer program, software, or firmware
incorporated in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium
for execution by a general purpose computer or a processor.
Examples of non-transitory computer-readable storage media,
include, but are not limited to, a ROM, a RAM, a register, cache
memory, semiconductor memory devices, magnetic media such as
internal hard disks and removable disks, magneto-optical media, and
optical media such as CD-ROM disks, and digital versatile disks
(DVDs).
[0119] Further, the devices according to various embodiments
described herein may be interspersed among other devices depending
on the functionality of the microelectronic device. In addition,
the number and components of the devices may vary depending on the
functionality of the microelectronic device. By way of example, the
number of servers, which may be virtual servers, acting as the SDN
controller may be one or may be several servers, such as tens of
servers.
* * * * *