OIF to Demo EoS, Control Plane Interoperability at SUPERCOMM

The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) announced today seven carriers and 13 vendors are participating in a multivendor interoperability test of Ethernet services over multi-domain SONET/SDH transport networks in a multi-carrier, multivendor environment. The test began last month and will culminate in a real-time global demonstration at next month’s SUPERCOMM in Chicago.

In 2004 OIF’s interoperability demo addressed signaling of SONET/SDH connections from network edge to network edge. The 2005 event will go farther by demonstrating complete client-to-client Ethernet-over-SONET/SDH signaling. This enables Ethernet clients to signal for dynamic connections, which the SONET/SDH network provides, without requiring the client to be aware of the underlying server layer network.

Jonathan Sadler, staff engineer for Tellabs and chair of the OIF Architecture and Signaling working group, told xchange the testing has two components. One is bearer plane testing for Ethernet over SONET.

“This year we are adding the ability to differentiate between different Ethernet services being carried over the same SONET infrastructure,” Sadler says. This would make it possible for a carrier to have multiple customers at a location connected to an MSPP using the same SONET trunking facilities in order to get to other services within the network – such as Internet access, for instance -- or to other locations across the network. In effect, the test proves out the concept of “virtual services,” the ability for multiple Ethernet virtual private lines to be carried over a common SONET path wherein multivendor MSPPs are being used to carry the services.

The second test is control-plane testing of the dynamic set up and tear down of Ethernet over SONET services, and similarly builds on gains in 2004. “Last year we were looking at the setup of SONET/SDH in the network, so the routers had SONET/SDH interfaces to make the request,” he says. “This year the routers have Ethernet interfaces. They are now able to request dynamically the set up of Ethernet paths across the network.”

The other piece is automation, says Jim Jones, network architect for Alcatel and chair of the OIF Technical Committee. “Those end-to-end paths can be signaled and controlled via a distributed control plane. The automation aspect, I think, is new,” he says, explaining the OIF’s UNI and ENNI protocols allow the automated setup to occur.

The demo includes vendor equipment on-site at carrier lab locations in Asia, Europe and North America

“Operating on such a global scale provides realistic challenges for carriers and vendors alike. Real-world scenarios will test the ability of technologies, platforms and networks to carry different data formats such as video, streaming video and VoIP traffic,” said OIF Carrier working group chair Hans-Martin Foisel of Deutsche Telekom in a press statement.

DT is on of the seven participating carriers, which also include AT&T, China Telecom, France Telecom, NTT Laboratories, Telecom Italia and Verizon. Participating vendors include Alcatel, Avici Systems, Ciena Corp., Cisco Systems Inc., Fujitsu, Huawei Technologies, Lambda OpticalSystems, Lucent Technologies, Mahi Networks, Marconi, Nortel, Sycamore Networks and Tellabs. The demonstration is supported by test equipment provided by Navtel Communications.

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