RFC 3604 (rfc3604) - Page 2 of 16

Requirements for Adding Optical Support to the General Switch Management Protocol version 3 (GSMPv3)

RFC 3604            Adding Optical Support to GSMPv3        October 2003


   traditional TDM switches (all electrical).  The resulting systems
   could form IP based optical routers, optical label switches,
   wavelength routers, and dynamic optical cross connects.

   Several different generic models exist defining how to provide
   control plane functionality in an optical network [2], [3], [4].
   This document takes no position on which model is most appropriate
   (e.g., single or multiple routing plane instances).  The only
   assumption is that the ability to separate the control mechanisms
   from the data switching is as useful for the signaling of optical
   paths (e.g., GMPLS) as it is for the signaling of L2 paths (e.g.,
   MPLS).  Therefore, the requirements contained within are focused only
   on the separation of control functions from data functions in order
   to provide a more flexible network architecture.

   GSMPv3 [5] is well suited for providing the control interface
   necessary for allowing an IP based controller to direct the
   activities of an optical switch.  In order for GSMP to operate
   between controllers and optical switches and cross connects, support
   for optical labels and service and resource abstractions must be
   added to GSMP.

   This document also includes changes recommended by implementers that
   will facilitate easier development of a GSMP implementation.  These
   changes consist of rearranging PDU formats, clarification of flags,
   transaction identifiers, and response codes.

2.  Requirements for Optical Support

2.1.  Label

2.1.1.  Label Types

   New labels are needed to identify the entities that are to be
   switched in the optical fabric.  These are longer than the labels
   defined in GSMPv3 as they have physical and structural context.  As
   GMPLS [2], [3] has had very similar requirements for label formats,
   alignment with GMPLS is proposed.  This includes support for:

        - Digital Carrier Hierarchy (e.g., DS-1, E1)
        - SONET and SDH Hierarchy (e.g., OC-3, STM-1, VT1.5, VC-12)
        - Plesiochronous Data Hierarchy (PDH) labels [6]
        - OTN G.709 labels
        - Lambdas
        - Fibers






Khosravi, et al.             Informational