Huawei says it has completed lab tests with Telefónica of a controller for Transport Software-Defined Network (T-SDN) capabilities. The collaborators are investigating the controller as a means of improving the planning, management, monitoring, and troubleshooting of Telefónica España's ROADM-based photonic mesh fiber-optic network.
Telefónica has been very active in the development and testing of T-SDN technology with a variety of partners (see, for example, "Telefonica trials multivendor Transport SDN" and "Telefonica I+D, Infinera demo SDN-based Network-as-a-Service capabilities"). "We were interested in seeing how T-SDN technology can help Telefónica in many different areas," commented María Antonia Crespo, director of IP connectivity and transport at Telefónica España, in the wake of the Huawei lab tests. "Firstly, we'd like to improve the performance of the WDM control plane, helping to reduce restoration times. We also hope that it will enable Telefónica to manage its resources more efficiently and improve its network diagnoses. Finally, it will be very useful for us if we can move towards the automation of the network, as this is one of the key goals in Telefónica's strategy for the coming years."
Huawei says that Telefónica's current photonic mesh network, which connects more than 200 locations in Spain, benefits from the use of ROADM technology and what the systems house describes as "an advanced network control plane." However, network flexibility also brings complexity, which T-SDN technology can help tame, Huawei explains. The use of a centralized T-SDN controller can enable collection and evaluation of real-time network information, alongside online incident simulations. The network therefore will be able to assess potential problems and address them before they occur. The controller also can enable spectrum use optimization, according to Huawei.
Richard Jin, president of transmission at Huawei, says that the company's T-SDN technology has been deployed in more than 10 networks to support a variety of service use cases. The company says that, in addition to the T-SDN technology demonstrated in the lab tests, it also has in development a platform it calls the Network Control Engine (NCE). The NCE would integrate the online WDM planning tool, the control plane, and the network management system.
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