The IP/MPLS over ASON/GMPLS test bed of the IST project LION

The introduction of intelligence for management and control of optical networks and the interworking of different resilience capabilities in the IP/multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) and optical layers are two important issues for the evolution of the telecom networks in the next years. This paper analyzes these topics and reports the main results obtained in the European IST project LION. In particular, it describes an experimental feasibility demonstration of setup/teardown of soft-permanent optical connections with generalized MPLS signaling in a managed, multivendor, and multidomain test bed. Moreover, it describes the results of resilience experiments in single-layer (MPLS traffic engineering fast reroute or optical restoration) and multilayer configurations where the two mechanisms are coordinated by configuring a holdoff timer in the IP/MPLS layer.