Chapter 14 - Optical performance monitoring in optical transport networks

Abstract

This chapter introduces the functional elements required for the implementation of optical transport services and presents the role of optical performance monitoring functions in the operation and maintenance process of optical layer networks and their integration into a telecommunications management network (TMN). Driven by the tremendous growth in IP-based data traffic, telecommunications providers are facing the urgent need to manage ultra-high-capacity networks and provide the capability for evolving to a multiservice transport platform that supports packet-based data transport as well as legacy traffic. The underlying optical transport network (OTN) infrastructure must be inherently scalable to handle this traffic and flexible enough to respond to rapidly changing traffic patterns. Deregulation and global competition in the telecommunications industry have created a situation where multiple service providers and transport providers are cooperating to deliver an increasing range of services to the end user. Provisioning of optical transport services requires integration of transport functions, management functions, and control functions in a multivendor/multiprovider environment. A management concept based on layering and partitioning and abstraction was developed to master the complexity of optical networking in a global multivendor/multiprovider environment. Those concepts are the enablers for flexible and cost-effective network integration, rapid provisioning of broadband services, and controllable service quality on optical networks. The separation into data networking and transport networking is a first step toward layered functional architecture. However, this simple approach is not sufficient for modeling the full range of networking and control processes required for implementation of intelligent transport services.