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on transport networks, making SDN an attractive alternative to current management technology.” Many network operators though will require additional training and operations tools to take advantage of software- based networking. The ONF’s Open Transport Working Group is responsible for defining standard SDN interfaces for transport networks, and has produced a number of documents to assist network engineers, including results of prototype demonstrations done jointly with the OIF to test SDN deployments across multiple carrier labs globally. STRIKING A DEAL Despite the barriers a number of deals have already been signed to commercially adopt TSDN. Huawei, for instance, announced earlier this year that China Unicom will use its MS-OTN+TSDN leased-line solution for the construction of low-latency networks. China Unicom will increase its competitiveness in the leased line market by using Huawei’s solution to provide agile, flexible and on-demand leased- line connection services for financial, government and enterprise customers. Huawei’s solution deploys MS-OTN devices on physical networks to ensure low line latency. The TSDN controller on the control plane supports centralised network resource management, allowing the fast end-to-end provisioning of leased-line services. The TSDN controller helps provision minimum-latency leased lines using a centralised optimal algorithm. Huawei’s TSDN technology has also been deployed by operators in the Philippines and in the UK. The number of such deals growing perhaps isn’t surprising considering that Adva Optical Networking points out that most networks today are intentionally provisioned at only 30-40% of capacity.
By extending software-defined networking (SDN) to the transport layer, says Adva Optical networking, operators can capture the additional 60-70% with “no additional major infrastructure investments”. Virtualisation allows all resources to be dynamically allocated under the supervision of a centralised control system, with Adva advocating the use of OpenFlow software to do just this. After all, why provision your transport networks for peak tra c if that tra c only exists for a few moments a day? “With transport SDN, new links can be brought up and torn down again in less than a minute,” says Adva. “This flexibility results in less over-provisioning and more bang for your buck. Extending SDN to the transport layer can more than double your network utilisation,” ADVA says, confirming where the industry should be moving to. The Open Transport Working Group working to finalise a white paper on the latest PoC as an industry reference for supporting SDN in microwave networks. The next PoC is currently being planned and will target integration with the ONF’s broader Cloud/SDN/NFV solution (M-CORD), the industry’s leading open source platform for 5G evolution in the metro.
Smith acknowledges however that things could be faster moving, with SDN not quite living up to the hype so far. “At the moment, no it hasn’t. There are parallels to be drawn between SDN adoption and cloud adoption. Just like cloud before it, SDN has had a tough battle in moving from niche tech curiosity to critical component of an IT strategy. But at SSE we’re regularly testing cutting edge technologies to improve the experience of our customers. SDN, NFV and by extension, TSDN, are included within that.” MEETING THE STANDARD Some of the obstacles to greater reliance on decoupled and open software to improve matters are linked to standards and proven set-ups. Non-profit carrier consortium The Open Networking Foundation (ONF) has been working with the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) for some time to promote SDN for optical networks, but it acknowledges that network operators are still asking how they can deploy SDN while avoiding interoperability and operational issues. This includes working with their established core networks, which are not going to be simply switched o . The ONF says: “Transport networks were originally designed to support voice and data tra c with high reliability. Spikes in tra c were predictable. But these networks were not built to deal with the dynamic capacity demands facing networks today and are hindered by lack of integration across vendors and management systems. “We now live in a connected world and the age of the cloud. Applications needing rapid re-allocation of resources have changed the demands placed
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ISSUE 10 | Q3 2017
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