A multi-area MPLS/GMPLS interoperability trial over ROADM/OXC network

This article describes the first multi-area multiprotocol label switching and generalized MPLS interoperability trial over a reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer and optical cross-connect network. The interoperability trial demonstrated the routing of label switched paths over a multi-area GMPLS controlled ROADM/OXC network and the control of Ethernet over MPLS transport service on top of the GMPLS network. The trial was conducted using various network elements provided by 14 institutions and was carried out in Tokyo and Virginia. This article introduces the motivation for the trial, technical issues related to controlling multiarea MPLS/GMPLS networks, test network topology, and experimental results. The results show that the interior gateway routing protocol based multi-area routing architecture is a promising solution for the nationwide deployment of GMPLS networks within a carrier domain. In addition, this article discusses the technical issues of routing constraints in ROADM/OXC networks and the limit of multiarea routing without the Path Computation Element Protocol.