Hierarchical path-computation-element based lightpath control in multi-domain software defined optical network

The lightpath provision issue is a major challenge in multi-domain software defined optical networks, due to lack of topology and resources information exchangement among domains. Based on the Hierarchical PCE (H-PCE) architecture, this article proposed a Fast Lighpath Provision Mechanism (FLPM) to provide a more rapid inter-domain path establishment solution and decrease the influence of requirement differences, by combining the H-PCE and the OpenFlow Agent. The H-PCE architecture consists of a single parent-PCE serving as the arbitrator and multiple child-PCEs equipped with OpenFlow Agent. By cooperation between the H-PCE and OpenFlow, inter-domain lightpath control can be processed in parallel to accelerate and optimize lightpath provisioning and to reduce the blocking probability. Simulation results show that the proposed mechanism can achieve lower delays and blocking probabilities on the provision of multi-domain lightpaths.