Protocol Agile Optical Networking for the Next Generation Internet

University Of California-Davis, Davis CA

Investigators

Abstract

The researchers propose to investigate and to demonstrate an optical networking technique that offers extremely high performance and flexibility, targeting the goals of the Next Generation Internet and beyond. In particular, the researchers will study the Optical-Label Switching technique which offers the following unique properties: 1) Accommodates signals of any protocol and format, 2) Achieves ultra-low latency transport of high burst rate packets, 3) Requires no network or packet synchronization, 4) Interoperates with both circuit-switched and packet-switched traffic, 5) Automatically detects and restores network failures, and 6) Provides on-demand Quality of Service (QoS) and priority based differentiated services. The proposed effort makes comprehensive studies of the Next Generation Internet, and seeks innovations in both hardware and software. Specifically, the researchers will pursue an integrated effort of the following research activities: 1) NGI architecture and protocol studies, which will design and simulate an optimum network, architecture and protocol to transport optical packets over multi-wavelength signals, 2) NGI network control & management (NC&M), and signaling, which will pursue efficient and rapid routing of packets while intelligently reflecting the network traffic conditions, 3) NGI network element design and optical technologies, which will design, simulate, and prototype network elements that effectively route packets while resolving packet contentions, and 4) NGI Testbed Integration and Demonstration, which will bring network elements and NC&M together to implement a testbed and to experimentally demonstrate broad aspects of networking research covered in this proposed effort. The designed architecture, protocol, and network elements will be put to test at this step and the simulation results will be experimentally verified.