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OIF to Update Industry on Next-Generation Electrical and Optical Interface Projects, including 224 Gbps & Co-Packaging, at DesignCon 2023

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Industry thought leaders will provide an update on work to deliver electrical interfaces for 224 Gbps equipment architectures, co-packaging of optical and electrical interfaces

Fremont, Calif.—January 11, 2023 –OIF has worked to advance the development of interoperable electrical interface specifications, known as CEI (common electrical I/O), for over two decades, leading to the widespread adoption of industry-changing standards. At DesignCon 2023, Jan 31 – Feb 2, in Santa Clara, CA, industry experts will reveal the work OIF is doing to address electrical interfaces optimized for new electrical and optical architecture aspirations, including 224 Gbps and the co-packaging of optical and electrical interfaces with ASICs.

OIF experts will present its work during two panels at the event:

Tuesday, Jan 31, 2023: 4:45-6:00 pm PT
Enabling Next Generation Co-Packaging Solutions
Moderator: Jeff Hutchins, OIF Physical & Link Layer (PLL)  Working Group Co-Packaging Vice Chair and Board Member, Ranovus

Panelists include Jeff Hutchins; Kenneth Jackson, Sumitomo Electric Device Innovations, USA; Yi Tang, Cisco; Nathan Tracy, OIF Market Awareness & Education Committee Co-Chair, PLL, TE Connectivity; and Richard Ward, Astera Labs

OIF experts will summarize OIF’s work on studying the various co-packaging applications, the technical tradeoffs and choices between different approaches, OIF’s projects, and future co-packaging trends. The panel will also cover OIF’s work to create standards (interoperability agreements) that foster the development of a co-packaging ecosystem.

Wednesday, Feb 1, 2023: 4:00 pm-5:15 pm PT
Enabling Next Generation Architectures: 224 Gbps Electrical Interfaces
Moderator: Nathan Tracy, OIF MA&E Committee Co-Chair PLL, TE Connectivity

Panelists include; John Calvin, Keysight; Mike Klempa, OIF PLL Interoperability Working Group Chair, Alphawave IP Group; Mike Li, OIF Board Member, Intel; Cathy Liu, OIF President, Broadcom Inc.

This session will include lessons learned from 112 Gbps and how those lessons are being leveraged for the new 224 Gbps work in OIF. Experts will also discuss the challenges OIF must overcome to enable 224 Gbps electrical I/O interface solutions where reach, performance, power, and cost optimizations become paramount. These solutions are critical to keep the industry moving forward with the next generation of interoperable electrical I/O interface specifications that address the escalating network power consumption trends.

About OIF
OIF is where the optical networking industry’s interoperability work gets done. Celebrating 25 years of effecting forward change in the industry, OIF represents the dynamic ecosystem of 130+ industry leading network operators, system vendors, component vendors and test equipment vendors collaborating to develop interoperable electrical, optical and control solutions that directly impact the industry’s ecosystem and facilitate global connectivity in the open network world. Connect with OIF at @OIForum, on LinkedIn and at http://www.oiforum.com.

PR Contact:

Leah Wilkinson
Wilkinson + Associates for OIF
Email: leah@wilkinson.associates
Office: 703-907-0010

OIF Thought Leaders to Provide Updates on Co-Packaging, 400ZR, Electrical Data Rates and Transport SDN Projects at Global Conferences

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Presenting developments on innovative projects at OFC 2021, Optinet China 2021 and
China Fiber Connect Forum 2021

Fremont, Calif.—June 7, 2021 – OIF thought leaders will share insight into OIF’s interoperability work in groundbreaking technologies at some of the world’s largest global communications conferences: OFC 2021, Optinet China 2021 and China Fiber Connect Forum 2021.

OIF’s dynamic membership has brought about significant advances in the industry through its interoperability work.

“For more than 20 years, we’ve led the way for network operators and system, component and test equipment vendors to collaborate on, and test the interoperability of the electrical, optical and control solutions that directly impact the industry. Our members continue the path forward by sharing their expertise and OIF project updates at three global conferences this month,” said Ian Betty, OIF Board President, Ciena.

OFC 2021 Panels – Virtual

“Electrical Data Rates Keep Pushing Forward: An OIF Update”
Tuesday, June 08, 2021 – 11:00-12:00 PDT
A panel of industry experts and OIF members will provide an update on OIF’s CEI-112G and CEI-224G development work, including discussion and debate of 224G modulations.

  • Moderator: Nathan Tracy, OIF VP of Marketing, TE Connectivity
  • Panelists: David Stauffer, OIF Physical & Link Layer Working Group Chair, Kandou Bus SA; Gary Nicholl, OIF Secretary/Treasurer, Cisco; Cathy Liu, Broadcom Inc.; Mike Li, OIF Board Member, Intel and Thananya Baldwin, Keysight Technologies

“OFC Media/Analyst Panel: Data Center Optics are Heading Toward Co-packaged Optics: Why, How and When?”
Tuesday, June 08, 2021 – 12:30 – 13:30 PDT
This OFC-sponsored panel of industry experts will discuss the need for co-packaged optics (CPO) inside the data center. The path to CPO commercialization is fraught with risk. An entire ecosystem must be developed to support the transition from pluggable modules. The panel consists of specialists who come from different parts of this potential ecosystem to deliberate CPO’s merits, its potential pitfalls, how and perhaps when it can be successful.

  • OIF Speaker: Mark Filer, OIF Board Member, Microsoft

“400ZR Deployment and What’s Next: An OIF Update”
Friday, June 11, 2021 – 11:30-13:00 PDT
A panel of industry experts will provide an update to the state of the 400G coherent transmission ecosystem. They will provide an update for 400ZR deployment and the status of ongoing OIF projects that are intended to accelerate the deployment of optical networking equipment. A panel discussion including representatives of the DSP, optics, equipment, and end-user communities will ensure this will be a lively discussion.

  • Moderator: Richard Ward, OIF Market Awareness & Education Committee Co-Chair – PLL, Intel
  • Panelists: Ian Betty, OIF President, Ciena; Josef Berger, Marvell; Tom Williams, Cisco;  Paul Brooks, Viavi Solutions

Optinet China 2021 – Beijing

“Overview of OIF Transport SDN Projects”
Wednesday, June 16, 2021 – 11:50-12:10 China Standard Time
During this session, an OIF expert will discuss OIF’s Transport SDN projects and the 2020 Transport SDN API Interop Demonstration, where operator-defined use cases and deployment scenarios for multi-vendor Layer 0 and Layer 1 networks were tested in the Telefonica Madrid lab using the ONF T-API 2.1.3 and OpenConfig device APIs for interoperability between devices, SDN controllers and orchestrators.

  • Presenter: Hu Qian, OIF Representative, Senior Engineer, Optical Communication Research Center of China Telecom Beijing Research Institute

China Fiber Connect Forum 2021 – Suzhou

“Standardization for the Co-packaging of Photonics and Electronics”
Thursday, June 24, 2021 – Time TBD
OIF has been studying the co-packaging of ASICs with optical and electrical transceivers within its Co-Packaging Framework Project.   During this session, an OIF expert will define co-packaging, its’ unique challenges, and describe OIF activities to address multi-vendor interoperability for co-packaging.

  • Presenter:  Jeff Hutchins, OIF Physical & Link Layer Working Group – Co-Packaging Vice Chair, Ranovus

 

About OIF

OIF is where the optical networking industry’s interoperability work gets done. Building on more than 20 years of effecting forward change in the industry, OIF represents the dynamic ecosystem of 100+ industry leading network operators, system vendors, component vendors and test equipment vendors collaborating to develop interoperable electrical, optical and control solutions that directly impact the industry’s ecosystem and facilitate global connectivity in the open network world. Connect with OIF at @OIForum, on LinkedIn and at http://www.oiforum.com.

 

PR Contact:

Leah Wilkinson

Wilkinson + Associates for OIF

Email: leah@wilkinson.associates

Office: 703-907-0010

 

 

OIF Validates Maturity of Transport SDN APIs in 2020 Multi-Vendor Interoperability Demonstration – Results published in new white paper

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Successful collaborative multi-vendor demo revealed high percentage of network operator-favored use cases supported and high product maturity, identified areas for interoperability improvement

Fremont, Calif. – OIF today revealed the results of its 2020 Transport SDN Application Programming Interface (API) Interoperability Demonstration in a new white paper now available here. The white paper includes details on the test topology, testing methodology, technical specifications, use cases and findings.

The 2020 joint network operator, multi-vendor demo event focused on testing SDN-based programmability, control, and automation to support the industry to develop standard, robust, interoperable APIs for widescale adoption. The testing was conducted on a partially disaggregated open optical network architecture with operator-defined use cases.

“Interoperable transport SDN APIs are essential capabilities to enable open optical networks,” said Mauro Costa, Head of planning, strategy & architecture, Telia Company, a consulting network operator for this year’s demo. “International co-operations, like this one with OIF, allow the industry to progress at a high pace and Telia Company welcomes the opportunity offered by this interoperability demo. It reinforces that we are advancing in the right direction and that the maturity of the APIs implementation for optical SDN architecture is improving.”

The results of the 2020 demo were presented during a public read-out webinar held on 12 January 2021 in conjunction with Lightwave and on 19 January 2021 at a private, invitation-only virtual event jointly hosted by OIF and Telefónica. On-demand viewing of the Lightwave webinar is available here.

The interoperability testing involved three phases over ten weeks, Sept – Nov 2020, in Telefónica’s Madrid lab:

  • Phase 1: Open Networking Foundation (ONF) T-API NBI testing, Scope: ONF T-API v2.1.3 reference implementation agreement TR-547
  • Phase 2: Open terminals testing including discovery, provisioning, service de-activation and streaming telemetry
  • Phase 3: End-to-end disaggregation demo, Scope: evaluation and demonstration of end-to-end use cases

Findings and results of the testing include:

  • Vendor products demonstrate a high level of maturity and support of operator-favored use cases, based on T-API version 2.1.3 and OpenConfig APIs. Vendors have adopted the ONF 2.1.3 Reference Implementation Agreement (ONF TR-547) rapidly and with few deviations.
  • Inconsistent interpretation of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) RESTCONF standard was one interoperability issue identified, especially standard authentication. Clarification to RESTCONF provisioning behavior and implementation scalability were also identified as issues.
  • A particularly good level of compliance to the OpenConfig models was demonstrated by implementations, however, some areas such as key exchange algorithms for IETF NETCONF and complex use cases for device provisioning and commissioning did generate issues.

Participating vendors included ADVA, Ciena, Cisco Systems, Infinera and Nokia. Network operator Telefónica hosted the demo. China Telecom, Telia Company and TELUS participated as consulting network operators.

Additional information and an infographic describing the demo can be found here.

About OIF

OIF is where the optical networking industry’s interoperability work gets done. Building on 20 years of effecting forward change in the industry, OIF represents the dynamic ecosystem of 100+ industry leading network operators, system vendors, component vendors and test equipment vendors collaborating to develop interoperable electrical, optical and control solutions that directly impact the industry’s ecosystem and facilitate global connectivity in the open network world. Connect with OIF at @OIForum, on LinkedIn and at http://www.oiforum.com.

 

PR Contact:

Leah Wilkinson

Wilkinson + Associates for OIF

Email: leah@wilkinson.associates

Office: 703-907-0010

 

OIF Completes Successful 2020 Joint Network Operator, Multi-Vendor Transport SDN API Interoperability Demonstration

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Public webinar, read-out events planned for Q1 2021

Fremont, Calif.—December 2, 2020 – OIF today announced the completion of its multi-vendor 2020 Transport SDN Application Programming Interface (API) Interoperability Demonstration. To validate the benefits of transport SDN worldwide and transport network transformation for the 5G era, OIF members participated in a ten-week long interoperability testing exercise in Telefonica’s Madrid lab.

The testing focused on SDN-based programmability, control and automation — testing Layer 1 and Layer 0 OTN control using ONF T-API 2.1.3, with additional testing of OpenConfig device APIs for transport equipment in network-operator-defined use cases.

“Operators have demanded more open optical networks to enable flexibility, lower costs, and best-of-breed options,” said Scott Wilkinson, Lead Analyst at Cignal AI. “Standard management interfaces and multi-vendor interoperability are critical to open optical networks. The interoperability demonstration recently performed under the guidance of the OIF is a major step towards achieving those operator goals.”

Participating vendors included ADVA, Ciena, Cisco Systems, Infinera and Nokia. Network operator Telefonica hosted the demo. China Telecom, Telia and TELUS participated as consulting network operators.

“The successful completion of the OIF 2020 Transport SDN API interoperability demonstration is a significant milestone toward widespread SDN deployment in production networks,” said Arturo Mayoral, Telefónica Transport Global CTIO Unit – Technology Expert and Lead of Optical SDN strategy. “By aligning vendors for a shared purpose – interoperability – and testing multiple use cases, we’re fostering manageability and flexibility in the network to allow deployment of cloud-based services, meet dynamic bandwidth demands and accelerate transport network transformation for the 5G era.”

The much-anticipated results of the multi-vendor demonstration will be revealed during a public read-out webinar event being held in partnership with Lightwave, Tuesday 12 January 2021, 6:00-7:30am PST. Register for free here.

A private read-out event for demo participants and invited Network Operators is scheduled for Tuesday 19 January 2021.

OIF representatives will give presentations on the current status of the 2020 OIF Transport SDN API Interoperability Demonstration during the below events:

NGON & DCI World Digital Symposium – Friday 04 December 2020 – 20:00-20:15pm CET, OIF Speaker: Arturo Mayoral López de Lerma, Telefonica S.A

ECOC – Monday 07 December 2020 – 17:20-17:40pm CET, OIF Speaker: Arturo Mayoral López de Lerma, Telefonica S.A

Additionally, OIF developed an infographic to visually explain the 2020 Transport SDN API Interop Demo. Print and web-ready files can be downloaded here: https://1drv.ms/u/s!AgxJQTMC3jSUiIhCVZzu9vewlRGU0w?e=hl5D3C

A technical white paper and an executive summary of the demo result will be available in Q1 2021.

Additional information can be found at https://www.oiforum.com/technical-work/2020-oif-transport-sdn-api-interoperability-demo/

2020 Transport SDN Application Programming Interface (API) Interoperability Demonstration PR Boilerplate:

Leading the acceleration of the commercialization of transport SDN worldwide and transport network transformation for the 5G era, OIF will bring new use cases and deployment scenarios into Telefonica’s lab to test multi-vendor interoperability of Layer 1 and Layer 0 OTN control using ONF T-API 2.1.3 and OpenConfig Transport APIs. The 2020 Transport SDN Application Programming Interface (API) interoperability demonstration builds on OIF’s previous transport API requirements and interoperability demonstrations which substantiated T-API as the northbound interface (NBI) of choice, establishing a foundation for open, programmable networks that allow network operators to efficiently deliver dynamic multi-domain connectivity services to the market.

About OIF

OIF is where the optical networking industry’s interoperability work gets done. Building on 20 years of effecting forward change in the industry, OIF represents the dynamic ecosystem of 100+ industry leading network operators, system vendors, component vendors and test equipment vendors collaborating to develop interoperable electrical, optical and control solutions that directly impact the industry’s ecosystem and facilitate global connectivity in the open network world. Connect with OIF at @OIForum, on LinkedIn and at http://www.oiforum.com.

 

PR Contact:

Leah Wilkinson

Wilkinson + Associates for OIF

Email: leah@wilkinson.associates

Office: 703-907-0010

 

OIF Announces Participants in 2020 Joint Network Operator, Multi-Vendor Transport SDN API Interoperability Demonstration

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Interoperability is vital to facilitating operator deployment of SDN and accelerating transport network transformation for the 5G era

Fremont, Calif. —June 16, 2020 – Leading the acceleration of the commercialization of transport SDN worldwide and transport network transformation for the 5G era, OIF today announced plans for its 2020 Transport SDN Application Programming Interface (API) interoperability demonstration.

The 2020 event will focus on SDN-based programmability, control and automation and showcase testing in Telefonica’s lab in Europe over a six-week period (September to October).

Building on OIF’s 2018 and 2016 interoperability demonstrations that helped establish ONF Transport-API (T-API) as the defacto northbound interface (NBI) standard, the 2020 demonstration will test Ethernet, Layer 1 OTN and Layer 0 OTN control using ONF T-API 2.1.3, with additional testing of OpenConfig device APIs for transport equipment in network-operator-defined use cases.

Manageability and flexibility of the network are critical to allow network operators to successfully deliver a range of cloud-based services, meet dynamic bandwidth demands, and to accelerate transport network transformation for the 5G era. Established open Transport SDN APIs can help network operators:

  • improve network agility to adapt to dynamic service demands and traffic patterns
  • improve service provisioning and time-to-revenue
  • reduce maintenance and management with simplified control and automation

The multi-vendor interoperability demonstration includes participating vendors ADVA, Ciena, Cisco Systems, Infinera and Nokia. China Telecom and Telia are participating as consulting network operators.

“Widespread adoption of transport SDN is a must for network operators to accelerate their transformation for the 5G era and reap the benefits of a more dynamic and open network,” said Dave Brown, Nokia and OIF Officer – Director of Communications. “OIF’s facilitation of this thorough test of specifications and interoperability of open transport SDN APIs will highlight the tools necessary to create an open manageable, flexible network.”

“Interoperability is the key success factor for SDN deployment in production networks,” said Arturo Mayoral, Telefónica Transport Global CTIO Unit – Technology Expert and Lead of Optical SDN strategy. “This OIF interop event arrives at the perfect moment to evaluate maturity of the commercial solutions, fostered by the recent efforts done by Telefónica through the iFUSION project, in the design of reference implementations based on ONF T-API and OpenConfig standards.”

Public read-out events highlighting the results of the testing will take place at select industry events in Q4 2020. In Q1 2021, OIF will hold a webinar and launch a whitepaper describing the results of the event. Additional information can be found at https://www.oiforum.com/technical-work/2020-oif-transport-sdn-api-interoperability-demo/

About the 2020 OIF Transport SDN Application Programming Interface (API) Interoperability Demonstration

Leading the acceleration of the commercialization of transport SDN worldwide and transport network transformation for the 5G era, Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF), will bring new use cases and deployment scenarios into Telefonica’s lab to test multi-vendor interoperability of Ethernet, Layer 1 OTN, Layer 0 OTN control using ONF T-API 2.1.3 and OpenConfig device APIs. The 2020 Transport SDN Application Programming Interface (API) interoperability demonstration builds on OIF’s previous transport API requirements and interoperability demonstrations which substantiated T-API as the northbound interface (NBI) of choice, establishing a foundation for open, programmable networks that allow network operators to efficiently deliver dynamic multi-domain connectivity services to the market.

About OIF

OIF is where the optical networking industry’s interoperability work gets done. Building on 20 years of effecting forward change in the industry, OIF represents the dynamic ecosystem of 100+ industry leading network operators, system vendors, component vendors and test equipment vendors collaborating to develop interoperable electrical, optical and control solutions that directly impact the industry’s ecosystem and facilitate global connectivity in the open network world. Connect with OIF at @OIForum, on LinkedIn and at http://www.oiforum.com.

 

PR Contact:

Leah Wilkinson

Wilkinson + Associates for OIF

Email: leah@wilkinson.associates

Office: 703-907-0010

 

 

OIF Launches Flexe 2.1 Project and Elects new Board Positions and Working Group Representatives

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This work continues OIF’s lead in FlexE aggregation architectures by keeping current with industry PHY rates

Fremont, Calif.—December 4, 2018 – OIF, the global industry forum accelerating market adoption of advanced interoperable optical networking solutions, today announced the launch of the FlexE 2.1 project and newly elected board members and working group chairs. The new project initiation and elections took place at the Q418 Technical and MA&E Committee meetings held October 29-November 2, 2018 in Sydney, Australia.

The new FlexE 2.1 project is for FlexE over 50Gbe PHY applications and an extension to the recently released FlexE 2.0 Interoperability Agreement (IA). FlexE 2.1 will specify a 50G FlexE frame and multiplexing format and will address Flex Ethernet (FlexE) applications with lower bandwidth needs and provide an implementation foundation for applications including the access layer of the future 5G mobile network. This new 50GbE support will extend the existing support for 100, 200 and 400GE in the just published FlexE 2.0 IA.

With market demand and possible large volume applications for channelization (5Gb/s granularity for minimum 10G clients) and bonding of 50GE PHYs in the future access layer/metro edge (based on IPRAN/PTN) of the 5G mobile backhaul network, FlexE implementation logic will be critical.

“There is continued demand by data center and network operators for a solution for flexible deployment and provisioning of Ethernet bandwidth,” said Dave Ofelt, Juniper Networks and OIF Physical and Link Layer (PLL) Working Group – Protocol Vice Chair. “Building on OIF’s great work for FlexE and FlexE 2.0, this new FlexE 2.1 project will ultimately result in a single IA that adds n×50Gb/s support to FlexE 2.0, along with other possible feature enhancements.”

Election Results

  • Board of Directors:
    • Nathan Tracy, TE Connectivity, was re-elected to the Board and appointed as President
    • Tad Hofmeister, Google, was appointed as Vice President
    • Martin Bouda, Fujitsu, was re-elected to the Board and appointed as Secretary/Treasurer
    • Mike Li, Intel, was newly elected to the Board
    • Cathy Liu, Broadcom Inc., was re-elected to the Board
    • Gary Nicholl, Cisco, was newly elected to the Board
    • Ian Betty, Ciena, continues to serve on the Board
  • Officers:
    • Klaus-Holger Otto, Nokia, was re-elected as Technical Committee Chair
    • Ed Frlan, Semtech, was re-elected as Technical Committee Vice Chair
    • Tom Issenhuth, Huawei Technologies, was newly elected Market Awareness & Education Committee Co-Chair, Physical and Link Layer (PLL)
    • Lyndon Ong, Ciena, was re-elected as Market Awareness & Education Committee Co-Chair, Networking
    • Dave Brown, Nokia, was appointed as Communications Director, having termed out as a Board member and Board President
  • Technical Committee – Working Groups:
    • Jia He, Huawei Technologies, was newly elected as Network & Operations Working Group Chair
    • Jeff Maki, Juniper Networks, was re-elected as Physical Layer User Group Working Group Chair

“I am thrilled and honored to serve as president of the OIF for the coming year,” said Nathan Tracy, TE Connectivity and new OIF president. “This is an exciting time in the industry and OIF has an important role to play with the interoperability solutions that are both in-process and yet to come. I congratulate all the other members who are newly elected to the board of directors and other leadership positions.”

About OIF
OIF is where the optical networking industry’s interoperability work gets done. Celebrating 20 years of effecting progressive change in the industry, OIF represents the dynamic ecosystem of 100+ industry leading network operators, system vendors, component vendors and test equipment vendors, all collaborating to develop interoperable electrical, optical and control solutions that directly impact the industry’s ecosystem and facilitate global connectivity in the open network world. Connect with OIF at @OIForum, on LinkedIn and at http://www.oiforum.com.

PR Contact:
Leah Wilkinson
Wilkinson + Associates for OIF
Email: leah@wilkinson.associates
Office: 703-907-0010

OIF Delivers on Enabling Next Generation Network Flexibility through Three New Interoperability Agreements

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OIF efforts provide the growing networking industry with advanced network connectivity, provisioning and flexibility combined with improved data rates

Fremont, Calif.—October 23, 2018 – Continuing its efforts to drive network connectivity and flexibility worldwide, OIF announced three Interoperability Agreements (IAs) aimed at expanded interoperability of Flex Ethernet and increased data rates. The completed IAs—FlexE 2.0, FlexE Neighbor Discovery and Common ACO Electrical I/O—reinforce OIF’s work to provide the industry with solutions for flexible deployment and provisioning of network bandwidth.

“The completion of these projects reinforces OIF’s commitment to provide the industry with the flexibility and increased bandwidth solutions combined with increased data speeds it requires to keep up with market demands and drive solutions that enable the next generation of networks,” explained Dave Stauffer of Kandou Bus and OIF’s Physical and Link Layer (PLL) Working Group Chair.

FlexE 2.0

Initiated in 2016, the FlexE 2.0 project enables equipment to support new Ethernet connection types and FlexE allows network providers and operators to utilize optical transport network bandwidth in more flexible ways. FlexE can deterministically utilize the entire aggregated link, creating a more efficient alternative to the traditional IEEE 802.3ad or IEEE 802.1-based Link Aggregation (LAG) solutions which often can only utilize 70-80% of the available bandwidth. Key features of the FlexE 2.0 project include adding support for FlexE groups composed of 200GBASE-R and 400GBASE-R PHYs, in addition to groups composed of 100GBASE-R PHYs, and adding an option for the support of time and frequency synchronization at the FlexE group level.

FlexE Neighbor Discovery

The FlexE Neighbor Discovery project recognizes that FlexE capability discovery is still required to facilitate the setup of FlexE groups and clients. The project introduced some extensions to the Link Layer Discovery Protocol (LLDP) for FlexE capability discovery. It enables remote FlexE PHY and deskew capability discovery, PHY connectivity discovery and verifications, and FlexE Group subgroup integrity verification.

Common ACO Electrical I/O Project

The implementation agreement for Common Analog Coherent Optics (ACO) Electrical I/O follows the success of the CFP2-ACO optical transceiver implementation agreement but is form factor agnostic, so it also benefits analog coherent modules based on such form factors as CFP4, CFP8, QSFP, microQSFP, QSFP-DD and OSFP. The project defines the ACO electrical I/O independent of the choice of form factor and optical carrier count for 45 Gbaud and 64 Gbaud per-carrier applications.

“We recognize that the data center and communications industries require solutions for flexible deployment and provisioning of network bandwidth combined with component level interoperable infrastructure that can enable system capacity demands,” Stauffer continued.

OIF Day at CenturyLink

OIF Day at CenturyLink was held on October 16, 2018 in Littleton, CO. The interactive and educational workshop featured OIF and CenturyLink subject matter experts covering: OIF projects and directions including Networking Transport SDN work and an overview of Physical & Link Layer work.

 

About the OIF
The OIF facilitates the development and deployment of interoperable networking solutions and services. Members collaborate to drive Implementation Agreements (IAs) and interoperability demonstrations to accelerate and maximize market adoption of advanced internetworking technologies. OIF work applies to optical and electrical interconnects, optical component and network processing technologies, and to network control and operations including software defined networks and network function virtualization. The OIF actively supports and extends the work of national and international standards bodies. Launched in 1998, the OIF is the only industry group uniting representatives from across the spectrum of networking, including many of the world’s leading service providers, system vendors, component manufacturers, software and testing vendors. Information on the OIF can be found at http://www.oiforum.com

T-API taps into the transport layer

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This article originally appeared on Gazettabyte by editor Roy Rubenstein: http://www.gazettabyte.com/home/2018/8/20/t-api-taps-into-the-transport-layer.html

The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) in collaboration with the Open Networking Foundation (ONF) and the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) have tested the second-generation transport application programming interface (T-API 2.0).

SK Telecom’s Park Jin-hyo

T-API 2.0 is a standardised interface, released in late 2017 by the ONF, that enables the dynamic allocation of transport resources using software-defined networking (SDN) technology.

The interface has been created so that when a service provider, or one of its customers, requests a service, the required resources including the underlying transport are configured promptly.

The OIF-led interoperability demonstration tested T-API 2.0 in dynamic use cases involving equipment from several systems vendors. Four service providers – CenturyLink, Telefonica, China Telecom and SK Telecom – provided their networking labs, located in three continents, for the testing.

Packets and transport 

SDN technology is generally associated with the packet layer but there is also a need for transport links, from fibre and wavelength-division multiplexing technology at Layer 0 through to Layer 2 Ethernet.

Transport SDN differs from packet-based SDN in several ways. Transport SDN sets up dedicated pipes whereas a path is only established when packets flow for packet SDN. “When you order a 100-gigabit connection in the transport network, you get 100 gigabits,” says Jonathan Sadler, the OIF’s vice president and Networking Interoperability Working Group chair. “You are not sharing it with anyone else.”

Another difference is that at the packet layer with its manipulation of packet headers is a digital domain whereas the photonic layer is analogue. “A lot of the details of how a signal interacts with a fibre, with the wavelength-selective switches, and with the different componentry that is used at Layer 0, are important in order to characterise whether the signal makes it through the network,” says Sadler.

T-API 1.0 is a configure and step-away deployment, T-API 2.0 is where the dynamic reactions to things happening in the network become possible

Prior to SDN, control functions resided on a platform as part of a network’s distributed control plane. Each vendor had their own interface between the control and the optical domain embedded within their platforms. T-API has been created to expose and standardise that interface such that applications can request transport resources independent of the underlying vendor equipment.

NBI refers to a northbound interface while SBI stands for a southbound interface. Source: OIF.

To fulfil a connection across an operator’s network involves a hierarchy of SDN controllers. An application’s request is first handled by a multi-domain SDN controller that decomposes the request for the various domain controllers associated with the vendor-specific platforms. T-API 2.0’s role is to link the multi-domain controller to the application layer’s orchestrator and also connect the individual domain controllers to the multi-domain SDN controller (see diagram above). T-API is an example of a northbound interface.

The same T-API 2.0 interface is used at both SDN controller levels, what differs is the information each handles. Sadler compares the upper T-API 2.0 interface to a high-level map whereas the individual TAPI 2.0 domain interfaces can be seen as maps with detailed ‘local’ data.  “Both [interfaces] work on topology information and both direct the setting-up of connections,” says Sadler. “But the way they are doing it is with different abstractions of the information.”

T-API 2.0

The ONF developed the first T-API interface as part of its Common Information Model (CIM) work. The interface was tested in 2016 as part of a previous interoperability demonstration involving the OIF and the ONF.

One important shortfall revealed during the 2016 demonstrations, and which has slowed its deployment, is that the T-API 1.0 interface didn’t fully define how to notify an upper controller of events in the lower domains. For example, if a link is congested, or worst, lost, it couldn’t inform the upper controller to re-route traffic. This has been put right with T-API 2.0.

“T-API 1.0 is a configure and step-away deployment, T-API 2.0 is where the dynamic reactions to things happening in the network become possible,” says Sadler.

When it comes to the orchestrator tying into the transport network, we do believe T-API will be one of the main approaches for these APIs

Interoperability demonstration

In addition to the four service providers, six systems vendors took part in the recent interoperability demonstration: ADVA Optical Networking, Coriant, Infinera, NEC/ Netcracker, Nokia and SM Optics.

The recent tests focussed on the performance of the TAPI-2.0 interface under dynamic network conditions. Another change since the 2016 tests was the involvement of the MEF. The MEF has adopted and extended T-API as part of its Network Resource Modeling (NRM) and Network Resource Provisioning (NRP) projects, elements of the MEF’s Lifecycle Service Orchestration (LSO) architecture. The LSO allows for service provisioning using T-API extensions that support the MEF’s Carrier Ethernet services.

Three aspects of the T-API 2.0 interface were tested as part of the use cases: connectivity, topology and notification.

Setting up a service requires both connectivity and topology. Topology refers to how a service is represented in terms of the node edge points and the links. Notification refers to the northbound aspect of the interface, pushing information upwards to the orchestrator at the application layer. This allows the orchestrator in a multi-domain network to re-route connectivity services across domains.

The four use cases tested included multi-layer network connections whereby topology information is retrieved from a multi-domain network with services provisioned across domains.

T-API 2.0 was also used to show the successful re-routing of traffic when network situations change such as a fault, congestion, or to accommodate maintenance work. Re-routing can be performed across the same layer such as the IP, Ethernet or optical layer, or, more optimally, across two or more layers. Such a capability promises operators the ability to automate re-routing using SDN technology.

The two other use cases tested during the recent demonstration were the orchestrator performing network restoration across two or more domains, and the linking of data centres’ network functions virtualisation infrastructure (NFVI).  Such NFVI interconnect is a complex use case involving SDN controllers using T-API to create a set of wide area networks connecting the NFV sites. The use case set up is shown in the diagram below.

Source: OIF

SK Telecom, one of the operators that participated in the interoperability demonstration, welcomes the advent of T-API 2.0 and says how such APIs will allow operators to enable services more promptly.

“It has been difficult to provide services such as bandwidth-on-demand and networking services for enterprise customers enabled using a portal,” says Park Jin-hyo, executive vice president of the ICT R&D Centre at SK Telecom. “These services will be provided within minutes, according to the needs, using the graphical user interface of SK Telecom’s network-as-service platform.”

SK Telecom stresses the importance of open APIs in general as part of its network transformation plans. As well as implementing a 5G Standalone (SA) Core, SK Telecom aims to provide NFV and SDN-based services across its network infrastructure including optical transport, IP, data centres, wired access as well as networks for enterprise customers.

“Our final goal is to open the network itself to enterprise customers via an open API,” says Park. “Our mission is to create 5G-enabled network-slicing-based business models and services for vertical markets.”

Takeways

The OIF says the use cases have shown that T-API 2.0 enables real-time orchestration and that the main shortcomings identified with the first T-API interface have been addressed with T-API 2.0.

The OIF recognises that while T-API may not be the sole approach available for the industry – the IETF has a separate activity – the successful tests and the broad involvement of organisations such as the ONF and MEF make a strong case for T-API 2.0 as the approach for operators as they seek to automate their networks.

“When it comes to the orchestrator tying into the transport network, we do believe T-API will be one of the main approaches for these APIs,“ says Sadler.

SK Telecom said participating in the interop demonstrations enabled it to test and verify, at a global level, APIs that the operators and equipment manufacturers have been working on. And from a business perspective, the demonstration work confirmed to SK Telecom the potential of the ‘global network-as-a-service’ concept.

Editor note: Added input from SK Telecom on September 1st. 

OIF CONCLUDES SUCCESSFUL SDN TRANSPORT API INTEROPERABILITY TESTING – RESULTS TO BE REVEALED TODAY AT NGON

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Multi-vendor demo showcases new dynamic behavior uses cases and deployment scenarios

Nice, France—June 26, 2018 – Following a six week testing period, the OIF (Optical Internetworking Forum) today announced the conclusion of its 2018 Software-Defined Networking (SDN) Transport Application Programming Interface (T-API) multi-vendor interoperability demonstration. The much-anticipated demo results will be revealed during a public read-out event being held today from 10:00am-12:00pm at NGON & DCI Europe 2018 in Nice, France. ClicktoTweet

Additionally, Juan Pedro Fernández Palacios, Head of Unit, Telefónica will discuss Telefonica’s view of the demo results and use cases during his NGON keynote presentation tomorrow, June 27th.

“In bringing together service providers and optical networking vendors to demonstrate new SDN deployment scenarios including dynamic-behavior use cases, the OIF in collaboration with MEF has taken another important step towards providing the foundation for service providers to efficiently deliver dynamic multi-domain connectivity services to market,” stated Heidi Adams, Senior Research Director, IP & Optical Networks, IHS Markit. “With the 2018 demo event, the T-API 2.0 interface from the Open Networking Foundation (ONF) is on its way to becoming a standard northbound interface (NBI) to SDN transport network controllers.”

OIF, in collaboration with MEF, is leading the industry toward the validation and widespread commercialization of T-API 2.0 from the Open Networking Foundation (ONF) as a standard northbound interface (NBI) to transport network controllers.

The multi-vendor demo led by four network operator labs included lab deployed and cloud deployed systems testing new dynamic behavior use cases and deployment scenarios. The demo also incorporated service provisioning scenarios at the LSO Presto reference point in the MEF LSO architecture, using the MEF NRP Interface Profile Specification (MEF 60), which defines extensions to T-API in support of Carrier Ethernet services.

“The OIF SDN Interoperability demonstration has successfully brought together carriers, vendors and integrators with a common goal of moving to an open API (TAPI),” said Jack Pugaczewski, Distinguished Architect, CenturyLink. “T-API is a key enabler for providing automated service fulfillment and assurance. We have tested the Connectivity, Topology and Notification software patterns that T-API provides. Common APIs reduce design, development and deployment cycles for all involved, thus getting to market faster and realizing the financial benefits of automation.”

Participating network operators were CenturyLink, China Telecom, SK Telecom and Telefónica and vendors included ADVA, Coriant, Infinera, NEC/Netcracker, Nokia and SM Optics. Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya (CTTC) was a participating academic institution and TELUS Communications participated as a consulting network operator.

Additionally, two private events detailing the test results will be held with participating network operators: CenturyLink on July 10 in Denver, Colorado and China Telecom on July 19 in Beijing. Members of the media and analyst community interested in attending, please contact leah@wilkinson.associates.

“The OIF’s goal for interop events is to improve the quality and clarity of specifications being tested,” explained Jonathan Sadler, OIF VP and Networking & Operations Interoperability Working Group Chair. “As the tests were performed, we noted possible points for misunderstanding and places where the specifications may be enhanced. These results will be liaised to ONF and MEF for review at future meetings.”

A technical white paper and an executive summary of the demo result will be available in August.

An infographic of the demo is

Additional information can be found at 2018 OIF SDN T-API INTEROP DEMO

2018 OIF SDN Transport API Interoperability Demonstration

Committed to accelerating the commercialization of transport SDN worldwide, the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF), in collaboration with MEF, will bring new dynamic behavior use cases and deployment scenarios into network operator labs around the world to test multi-vendor interoperability of the industry leading T-API 2.0 northbound interface (NBI) from the Open Networking Foundation (ONF). The 2018 Software-Defined Networking (SDN) Transport Application Programming Interface (T-API) interoperability demonstration builds on the OIF’s 2016 interoperability test and demonstration which addressed multi-layer and multi-domain environments as well as on the 2014 demo which prototyped the use of Northbound APIs and helped advance transport SDN standardization. For an infographic of the demo, click here.

About the OIF

The OIF facilitates the development and deployment of interoperable networking solutions and services. Members collaborate to drive Implementation Agreements (IAs) and interoperability demonstrations to accelerate and maximize market adoption of advanced internetworking technologies. OIF work applies to optical and electrical interconnects, optical component and network processing technologies, and to network control and operations including software defined networks and network function virtualization. The OIF actively supports and extends the work of national and international standards bodies. Launched in 1998, the OIF is the only industry group uniting representatives from across the spectrum of networking, including many of the world’s leading service providers, system vendors, component manufacturers, software and testing vendors. Information on the OIF can be found at http://www.oiforum.com

 

PR Contact:

 

Leah Wilkinson

Wilkinson + Associates for the OIF

Email: leah@wilkinson.associates

Office: +1-703-907-0010

OIF Initiates New CEI-112G-XSR Project for D2D/D2OE Common Electrical Interface, Addresses Multiple Chip Integration

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Forum continues efforts to support new and evolving architectures by defining a range of electrical interfaces which enable optimized system design for power, cost and packaging

Fremont, Calif.—June 12, 2018 – The OIF (Optical Internetworking Forum) today announced the launch of the CEI-112G-XSR project for Die-to-Die (D2D) and Die-to-Optical Engine (D2OE) Common Electrical Interface at the Q218 Technical and MA&E Committees meeting held April 24-26, 2018 in Nuremberg, Germany. The project aims at enabling intra-package interconnects to optical engines or between dies with high throughput density and low normalized power operating in the data rate range of 72-116 Gbps with a reach up to 50 mm.

In addition to the already existing CEI-112G-MCM OIF project, which is dedicated to wide, high bandwidth CMOS-to-CMOS interconnects, the new CEI-112G-XSR project proposes to support technology mix, in particular CMOS-to-SiGe (Silicon Germanium), which is frequently used to build optical engines. System-in-package (SIP) leads to a requirement of supporting up to 50 mm trace length between the multiple chips on a common (organic) package substrate.

“We jointly designed this project to address the problem of integrating multiple dies, including driver devices for optical engines on non-CMOS technologies, onto a common substrate within a large multi-chip-package design. Supporting this mix of technology allows combining the high logic density of CMOS devices with the high drive strength of analog components,” explained Klaus-Holger Otto of Nokia and OIF Technical Committee Chair.

The working group for the CEI-112G-XSR project has identified the following benefits for OIF members:

  • Allow lower normalized power, double shoreline throughput density and provide a multi-source 72-116 Gbps D2D and D2OE electrical I/O interface. This will enhance the integration, normalized power reduction, and cost reduction for integrated OE, multiple-die SIPs.
  • Enable 1 to N lanes of 72-116 Gbps electrical I/Os (e.g. on ASIC/FPGA/OE).

OIF Day at Nokia

Following the quarterly meeting, a sizeable group of OIF members participated in an OIF Day event at the Nokia Nuremberg facility on April 27, 2018. The OIF Day Program is a live educational workshop program to expand awareness of, and educate member company employees on the work of the OIF. The OIF Day event is conducted at network operator and/or vendor sites to reach and obtain inputs from a range of support functions, e.g. operations, network planning, network management, marketing, etc. It is custom-tailored to the needs of each hosting company and comprised of general sessions and tracks focused on Networking and/or Physical and Link Layer topics.

OIF Transport-API for Transport SDN Survey

OIF also recently conducted a survey of OIF members and non-members, including network operators and vendors, on the OIF’s proposed certification project for Transport-API (T-API) for Transport SDN. Nearly 30 responses to the survey were received – 20+ from network operators and 9 from vendors.  The OIF will consider the feedback in any proposal to expand the current program to include T-API certification.

About the OIF
The OIF facilitates the development and deployment of interoperable networking solutions and services. Members collaborate to drive Implementation Agreements (IAs) and interoperability demonstrations to accelerate and maximize market adoption of advanced internetworking technologies. OIF work applies to optical and electrical interconnects, optical component and network processing technologies, and to network control and operations including software defined networks and network function virtualization. The OIF actively supports and extends the work of national and international standards bodies. Launched in 1998, the OIF is the only industry group uniting representatives from across the spectrum of networking, including many of the world’s leading service providers, system vendors, component manufacturers, software and testing vendors. Information on the OIF can be found at http://www.oiforum.com

 

PR Contact:
Leah Wilkinson
Wilkinson + Associates for the OIF
Email: leah@wilkinson.associates
Office: 703-907-0010

OIF CONFIRMS PARTICIPANTS FOR 2018 JOINT-NETWORK OPERATOR, MULTI-VENDOR SDN TRANSPORT API INTEROPERABILITY DEMONSTRATION

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April 10, 2018  Liz Smeds

Focused on accelerating the commercialization of transport SDN, leading global network operators and vendors will test new, more dynamic use cases

Fremont, Calif. —April 10, 2018 – Committed to accelerating the commercialization of transport SDN worldwide, the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) today announced plans for its 2018 Software-Defined Networking (SDN) Transport Application Programming Interface (T-API) interoperability demonstration. In collaboration with MEF, this year’s demonstration will bring new dynamic behavior use cases and deployment scenarios into network operator labs around the world to test and validate the industry leading T-API 2.0 northbound interface (NBI) from the Open Networking Foundation (ONF).

The 2018 event builds on the OIF’s previous 2016 interoperability test and demonstration which addressed multi-layer and multi-domain environments as well as on the 2014 demo which prototyped the use of Northbound APIs and helped advance transport SDN standardization. The event will also incorporate service provisioning scenarios at the LSO (Lifecycle Service Orchestration) Presto reference point in the MEF LSO architecture, using the MEF NRP Interface Profile Specification (MEF 60), which defines T-API extensions in support of MEF Carrier Ethernet services.

Network operators are rapidly moving toward giving customers and their applications the ability to dynamically control services, and do it in real-time. The days of waiting for service changes will soon be a thing of the past. To achieve this, they need the ability to dynamically move capacity quickly in open networks to avoid network congestion and provide better services to customers.

“With network operators leading the charge for more dynamic and open networks, there has to be widespread adoption of transport SDN. Through working through the specifications, rigorous interoperability testing and validation, this year’s demo is intended to substantiate T-API as the NBI of choice,” said Dave Brown, Nokia and OIF President. “We also look forward to our collaboration with MEF and the depth of expertise the organization brings to this demonstration.”

“MEF is pleased to contribute our LSO Presto NRP API work in support of the OIF SDN Transport API Interop Demo as we advance toward a common goal of orchestrating dynamic services over automated networks powered by SDN and LSO,” said Pascal Menezes, CTO, MEF. “This is exactly the type of collaboration that we need to accelerate industry innovation and deliver lasting value for service providers and their end customers.”

“The work done by OIF is critically important to network operators around the world as we work to provide our customers with better services and higher efficiency, which will definitely help the monetization of our network capacity,” said Dr. Junjie Li, China Telecom and OIF Network Operator Working Group Chair.

The international joint-network operator, multi-vendor optical networking interoperability demonstration includes network operator hosts CenturyLink, China Telecom, SK Telecom and Telefonica and participating vendors include ADVA Optical Networking SE, Coriant, NEC/Netcracker, Nokia, SM Optics and ZTE Corporation. Centre Tecnològic Telecomunicacions Catalunya is the participating academic and/or research institution and TELUS Communications is participating as a consulting network operator.

Regional demonstration read-out events will take place in mid-2018 (June/July) and a whitepaper describing the event will be available to the public following the announcement of the results. Additional information can be found at http://www.oiforum.com/meetings-and-events/2018-oif-sdn-t-api-demo/

2018 OIF SDN Transport API Interoperability Demonstration

Committed to accelerating the commercialization of transport SDN worldwide, the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF), in collaboration with MEF, will bring new dynamic behavior use cases and deployment scenarios into network operator labs around the world to test multi-vendor interoperability of the industry leading T-API 2.0 northbound interface (NBI) from the Open Networking Foundation (ONF). The 2018 Software-Defined Networking (SDN) Transport Application Programming Interface (T-API) interoperability demonstration builds on the OIF’s 2016 interoperability test and demonstration which addressed multi-layer and multi-domain environments as well as on the 2014 demo which prototyped the use of Northbound APIs and helped advance transport SDN standardization.

Regional demonstration read-out events will take place in Summer 2018 and a whitepaper will be available to the public. Additional information can be found at http://www.oiforum.com/meetings-and-events/2018-oif-sdn-t-api-demo/

About the OIF

The OIF facilitates the development and deployment of interoperable networking solutions and services. Members collaborate to drive Implementation Agreements (IAs) and interoperability demonstrations to accelerate and maximize market adoption of advanced internetworking technologies. OIF work applies to optical and electrical interconnects, optical component and network processing technologies, and to network control and operations including software defined networks and network function virtualization. The OIF actively supports and extends the work of national and international standards bodies. Launched in 1998, the OIF is the only industry group uniting representatives from across the spectrum of networking, including many of the world’s leading service providers, system vendors, component manufacturers, software and testing vendors. Information on the OIF can be found at http://www.oiforum.com

 

PR Contact: 

Leah Wilkinson

Wilkinson + Associates for the OIF

Email: leah@wilkinson.associates

Office: +1-703-907-0010

OIF Announces SDN Transport API Demo Read-Out Events

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The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) is winding down a six-week long interoperability demo on the Transport Application Programming Interface (T-API) standard from the Open Networking Foundation (ONF).   The demo started in mid-October and will conclude in early December.  Participants executed a multi-domain path selection and recovery test plan with intra-lab and inter-lab testing across multiple global carrier labs. The results of the demo will be shared in three invitation-only read-out events at China Telecom, Telefonica and Verizon for participating companies. A public readout event will take place at the OFC Conference in Los Angeles, March 21, 2017.

“China Telecom is pleased to once again host the Global Transport SDN demo in our lab in Beijing.  Transport API for SDN is an important technology to simplify the maintenance and increase the efficiency of networks, which matches China Telecom’s CTNet2025 network re-architecting target.” said Mr. Chengliang Zhang, Vice President, China Telecom Beijing Research Institute. “This demo provided interesting and important results and key findings and was worthwhile for China Telecom to participate.”

“Telefonica is happy to have participated in the OIF SDN demo and to have hosted vendors in our labs,” said Mr. Juan Pedro Fernández-Palacios, Head of Transport Telefónica GCTO.  “The work to demonstrate interoperability for transport API among multiple vendors is important for the industry as a means to unlock and reap the expected benefits of SDN.”

“Shaping next-generation technology through discussion and collaboration is key to commercial SDN deployment. Verizon’s role as a host carrier for OIF’s interoperability testing of the global SDN T-API underscores our commitment to solving problems that will help evolve the efficiencies needed in the next-generation network,” said Glenn Wellbrock, director, transport network architecture, design and planning, Verizon.

Public Event at OFC 2017

Tuesday, March 21, 2017 – 3:00-4:00pm

Theater III, Los Angeles Convention Center

Moderator: Dave Brown, OIF President, Nokia.

Panelists: Jonathan Sadler, OIF Board Member, Coriant; Lyndon Ong, OIF MA&E Committee co-chair Networking, Ciena; Victor Lopez, Telefonica.

http://www.ofcconference.org/en-us/home/exhibit-hall/show-floor-programming/oif-interop-%E2%80%93-the-key-to-unlocking-the-benefits-of/

A technical white paper and an executive summary of the demo will be available in early February.

2016 OIF SDN Transport API Interoperability Demonstration

The OIF and the ONF are partnering to lead the industry toward the wide scale deployment of commercial SDN by testing key Transport Application Programming Interfaces (T-API). The interoperability test and demonstration, managed by the OIF, will address multi-layer and multi-domain environments in global carrier labs. The testing builds on the 2014 demo which was based on prototype T-APIs and helped advance transport SDN standardization. Additional use cases based upon the API standards will be clarified during the testing and defined through OIF implementation agreements to provide a common set of requirements. Global Carrier participants hosting the interoperability testing include China Telecom, China Unicom, SK Telecom, Telefonica and Verizon.

Participating vendors include ADVA Optical Networking, Ciena, Coriant, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., Infinera, Juniper Networks, NEC Corporation, Sedona Systems, and SM Optics. Consulting carriers include Orange and TELUS.  Academic and/or research institution participants include China Academy of Telecommunication Research (CATR) and Centre Tecnològic de Telecomunicacions de Catalunya (CTTC).

Additional information can be found at http://www.oiforum.com/meetings-and-events/2016-oif-sdn-t-api-demo/

 

About the OIF
The OIF facilitates the development and deployment of interoperable networking solutions and services. Members collaborate to drive Implementation Agreements (IAs) and interoperability demonstrations to accelerate and maximize market adoption of advanced internetworking technologies. OIF work applies to optical and electrical interconnects, optical component and network processing technologies, and to network control and operations including software defined networks and network function virtualization. The OIF actively supports and extends the work of national and international standards bodies. Launched in 1998, the OIF is the only industry group uniting representatives from across the spectrum of networking, including many of the world’s leading service providers, system vendors, component manufacturers, software and testing vendors. Information on the OIF can be found at http://www.oiforum.com.

OIF Partners With UNH-IOL to Certify Optical Control Plane UNI

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Enables Multi-vendor, Multi-layer Interoperability Using RSVP-TE Signaling

The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) today announced an agreement with the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Lab (UNH-IOL), an independent provider of testing and standards conformance services for the networking industry, to provide certification for Optical Control Plane User Network Interfaces (UNI) based on industry standards.  In line with OIF’s mission to enable global interoperability in optical transport networks, the Forum’s certification program will address the interoperability of optical and packet products, complementing OIF’s work on unlocking the benefits of SDN for carriers.

While an optical control plane is already deployed by a large number of operators around the world, interoperability between vendors is constrained by lack of an interoperable UNI. Multi-vendor interoperability of the optical control plane remains absent from commercial products, although various demonstrations have proven it is feasible.  The optical control plane facilitates operations and enables dynamic provisioning, restoration and optimization across optical networks. The UNI extends these capabilities to client nodes and the OIF’s UNI certification will help enable the availability of control plane interoperability in commercial products.

“The advent of interoperability in optical networks is a paradigm shift, which will dramatically increase flexibility and innovation in our networks,” said Philippe Lucas, SVP Strategy Architecture and Standards of Orange. “The OIF certification is a step to unlock the market by providing a unique reference and a critical market advantage to compliant, interoperable products.”

“The benefits of multi-vendor interoperability combined with certification can help broaden and accelerate the market for optical products, reduce costs, introduce new features and operational agility,” said Timothy Winters, Senior Executive of UNH-IOL.  “Certification can fulfill operator’s and vendor’s requirements with reduced repetitive testing and a higher level of confidence when going to market.”

“Development of the UNI certification test specification is happening at an important time in our industry,” said Tim Doiron, Principal Analyst Intelligent Networking, ACG Research.  “We’ve never gotten the optical domain out of vendor isolation when it comes to the optical control plane. Certification and interoperability will aid service providers in their migration toward a multi-vendor programmable, dynamic optical underlay with increasing automation, service agility and reduced operational costs.”

The Optical Control Plane UNI Certification Program

The new certification program, along with OIF’s well established and successful interop testing process and implementation agreements, helps the industry realize open, programmable and interoperable optical networks in commercial deployments, bringing to reality the promised benefits of transport SDN, with accelerated time-to-revenue coupled with increased operational efficiency. 

  • Certification is based on compliance with relevant industry standards including IETF RFCs on RSVP-TE signaling.
  • Addresses the main use cases enabled by an optical control plane, including simplified provisioning, automated path selection, dynamic restoration and multi-layer optimization.
  • Enables several deployment cases which are of primary importance to operators and require immediate interoperability, including IP/WDM integration, packet-optical interconnect, multilayer optimization and alien wavelength deployments.
  • Contributes to OIF efforts to unlock the benefits of SDN for flexible networks
  • Facilitates multi-vendor deployments.

Development of the UNI certification test specification is starting now. Visit the OIF webpage for more information. Formal testing of participating vendor products will start early 2017 and pre-testing is already open at UNH-IOL. The first OIF certified products are expected to be on the market in approximately 12 months from now.

About the OIF

Launched in 1998, the OIF is the first industry group to unite representatives from data and optical networking disciplines, including many of the world’s leading carriers, component manufacturers and system vendors. The OIF promotes the development and deployment of interoperable networking solutions and services through the creation of Implementation Agreements (IAs) for optical, interconnect, network processing, component and networking systems technologies. The OIF actively supports and extends the work of standards bodies and industry forums with the goal of promoting worldwide compatibility of optical internetworking products.  Information on the OIF can be found at http://www.oiforum.com.

About the UNH-IOL

Founded in 1988, the UNH-IOL provides independent, broad-based interoperability and standards conformance testing for data, telecommunications and storage networking products and technologies. Combining extensive staff experience, standards-bodies participation and a 28,000+ square foot facility, the UNH-IOL helps companies efficiently and cost effectively deliver products to the market. http://www.iol.unh.edu/