Review of Applicability of SDN in OTN

Abstract

Abstract — SDN shifted the perception of value from hardware to software. It has gained popularity in Data Center Networks and are also slowly rising in Telecom Network space. There is a significant value in applying SDN architecture in Optical Transport Network. It is important to understand that the Optical Transport Networks have specific characteristics. Hence the applicability of SDN underlines various specific considerations which are otherwise not applicable in other Ethernet based or L2/L3 networks. The objective of this review paper is to specifically review how Software-defined-networking (SDN) can help in transforming Optical Transport Networks. Section 1 discusses the Optical Transport Networks deployment in general. It outlines the definition of the OTN and then presents the overview of OTN in present day network. Section 2 lists the benefits of SDN, specifically to Optical Transport Network. These benefits take into account not only the traditional OTN, but also the modern OTN with enhanced features. Section 3 presents an illustrative review of important considerations which clearly outlines how applicability of SDN in OTN differs from common Layer2/3 networks. The final section 4, takes a summary view of further research in SDN specifically to help with more inclusion of OTN and how various SDN initiatives are focusing on Optical Transport Network integrations. Keywords — SDN (Software defined network), OTN (Optical Transport Network), OpenROADM, Open Flow, Layer 0