Benefits of implementing a dynamic impairment-aware optical network: results of EU Project DICONET

Dynamic optical networking allows operators to effectively maximize the capacity of their physical infrastructure and cope with the rapid growth rates of the Internet traffic. In the framework of the European DICONET project we proposed and developed a comprehensive solution that utilizes the dynamicity as well as the valuable physical layer information of a reconfigurable WDM core network to provide a smooth transition from the quasi-static networking of today to an intelligent reconfigurable and physical impairment-aware architecture. In this work we discuss the benefits of implementing the DICONET solution and present some of the major achievements of the project that support both the planning and operation phase of a core optical network.