NTT Communications touts SDN-based OAM

ICT and communications services provider NTT Communications Corp. (NTT Com), part of NTT (NYSE: NTT), says it has created basic operations, administration and maintenance (OAM) functionality for multiple wide area networks (WANs) based on software-defined networking (SDN) principles. NTT Comm says the new SDN functions will enable the operator to keep track of OAM status on multiple WANs via link trace and loopback tests, thus improving efficiency.

NTT Com hopes to commercialize the technology for SDN-enhanced data processing, broadcast networks, enterprise global intranets, and other service and market niches.

The new technology presents a picture of network topology by automatically collecting physical network connection information. SDN operation and maintenance personnel can use the technology to remotely monitor and test circuits and isolate problems. This includes verifying network connection quality and the status of link trace end-to-end in WANs.

The building blocks of the OAM capabilities include:

• Visualization of physical network topology
• SDN connectivity test
• SDN link trace test
• SDN loopback test.
  

It appears NTT Com's work is part of its participant in the Open Innovation over Network Platforms (O3 Project) research and development effort, which aims to make all WAN elements compatible with SDN, including mobile networks and Internet access. NTT Com is collaborating with NEC Corp., Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., Fujitsu Ltd., and Hitachi, Ltd. Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications consigned the project under its Research and Development of Network Virtualization Technology program.

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