Framework for operation and maintenance (OAM) in optical burst switched networks

Abstract

The problem of operation and maintenance (OAM) in optical burst switched (OBS) networks is not addressed by the optical-networking community even though OBS has been gaining research interest in recent years. In this paper, we introduce a functional model of OBS networks and an OAM architecture that is designed to meet the operational requirements based on this model. We present the first framework to realize OAM in OBS networks, including OAM activities, OAM-aware OBS nodes, OAM information and communication models and protocols. A number of practical examples of possible network failures and the corresponding reactions are presented. © 2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.