GMPLS-based multi-region control plane for integrated hybrid optical networks

In this paper we present a GMPLS-based control plane framework for the integrated hybrid optical networks (IHON). IHON supports both packet switching (PS) and circuit switching (CS) forwarding paradigms in the same node. It is integrated because the low-priority PS traffic is inserted in the same channels as the high-priority CS traffic to increase the overall wavelengths utilization. We make use of new standardized functionalities within GMPLS for mUlti-region networks (MRN) that extend the description of the network resources with both packet and circuit switching capabilities. The framework applies GMPLS to the IHON network in order to control the label switched paths (LSP) for the circuit and packet forwarding paradigms. The control plane is integrated so that a single GMPLS instance is used to control both PS and CS virtual network topologies. The logical inter-operation is given through a detailed illustration. Our approach is to adapt the IHON controlplane logic to be fully described by the standardized GMPLS framework. The framework is compatible with the standardized GMPLS protocol suite, is independent of specific labeling schemes for physical differentiation of CS and PS forwarding, and requires no extra control messages.