Abstract

Core-network provisioning and restoration structures are currently under siege. With the floodgates of broadband access about to open wide, this siege is about to intensify. Despite recent enthusiasm for terabit routers as a means of addressing this need, it has become apparent that in fact a core circuit-switching layer that interconnects WDM systems with data-networking devices is, for economic and scaling reasons, the clear architecture of choice. However, traditional circuit-switching approaches lack the signaling and control features that are essential for delivering real-time network services. We discuss the rich emerging arsenal of techniques by which IP-centric signaling and control mechanisms, together with sophisticated routing algorithms, can be harnessed to supply the critical signaling and control features needed in evolving optical core networks.

© 2001 Optical Society of America