Signaling for fast restoration in heterogeneous optical mesh networks

With the advent of optical mesh networks, certain new protection schemes have been defined. This encompasses both local span and end-to-end path protection. But the implementations of these protection schemes have so far been based on proprietary mechanisms developed by each vendor. This has made it virtually impractical to construct a heterogeneous network with interoperable mesh protection schemes. Also, while the notion of a standard IP-centric control plane for optical networks based on Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching (GMPLS) has gained wide acceptance, the work in this area has so far focused exclusively on connection provisioning rather than restoration. This paper defines standard, IP-based signaling protocols for restoration in optical mesh networks. These protocols focus on a new local span protection mode and end-to-end shared protection. The main requirements on these protocols are simplicity and speed. The signaling mechanisms described in this paper are complimentary to the GMPLS provisioning mechanisms.