A new internet architecture to enable software defined optics and evolving optical switching models

The design of the SILO network architecture of fine-grain services was based on three fundamental principles. First, SILO generalizes the concept of layering and decouples layers from services, making it possible to introduce easily new functionality and innovations into the architecture. Second, cross-layer interactions are explicitly supported by extending the definition of a service to include control interfaces that can be tuned externally so as to modify the behavior of the service. The third principle is ldquodesign for change:ldquo the architecture does not dictate the services to be implemented, but provides mechanisms to introduce new services and compose them to perform specific communication tasks. In this paper, we provide an update on the current status of the architecture and the prototype software implementation. We also introduce the concept of ldquosoftware defined opticsrdquo (SDO) to refer to the emerging intelligent and programmable optical layer. We then explain how the SILO architecture may enable the rapid adoption of SDO functionality as well as evolving optical switching models, in particular, optical burst switching (OBS).