Abstract
Internet protocol (IP) over optical (IP-over-optical) networks is the widely accepted solution to meet the ever increasing demands of IP traffic. In an IP-over-optical network, the IP routers are attached to an optical core network, composed by optical cross-connects (OXC) that are interconnected by dynamically established optical wavelength channels called lighpaths (Rajagopalan, Pendarakis, Saha, Ramamoorthy, & Bala, 2000). To control such lightpaths in a dynamic, efficient, and realtime manner, generalized multiprotocol label switching (GMPLS) based control plane has been proposed by the Internet engineering task force (IETF) in the RFC 3945 edited by Mannie (2003).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Lightpath: An all-optical wavelength channel between two nodes, it may span more than one fiber link.
Label Edge Router (LER): An ingress router of a MPLS controlled network.
Generalized Multiprotocol Label Switching (GMPLS): Extends the capabilities offered by MPLS to network elements that have non-packet-based forwarding mechanism.
Network Survivability: The capacity of the network to provide continuous service in the presence of failures.
Label Switch Path (LSP): A specific traffic path through an MPLS network.
Label Switched Router (LSR): A core router of a MPLS controlled network.
Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS): Supports the forwarding of data based on a label.