All programmable and synthetic optical network: Architecture and implementation

This paper reports on the design, implementation, and evaluation of a multitechnology, multirate, and adaptable network architecture for metropolitan/edge areas. It is empowered by programmability in control and data planes, providing users with an open network platform to redefine and optimize its behavior and performance. It uses a hybrid data plane of fixed-grid [(sub)wave-length] and flex-grid systems to support a broad range of data rates (1 to 555 Gb/s). The programmability in the data plane is achieved by building the nodes with a modular and flexible architecture (architecture on demand nodes) to achieve different functionalities (fixed-/flex-grid switching with or without time multiplexing) on demand. A centralized, modular, and scalable control framework has been constructed for this network. It uses a set of software plug-ins designed for architecture synthesis and adaptation for policing network resources access and as algorithms of routing and resource allocation for network operation. The proposed hybrid network architecture, along with allocation policies and resource allocation algorithms, is evaluated through simulations across a broad range of traffic profiles with bandwidth requests stretching from 1 to 400 Gb/s. Finally, the programmable data-plane/control-plane architecture has been implemented in an experimental testbed and the functionality of the node and network elements individually and together have been tested, demonstrating the feasibility of the system.