30 June 2016, Nice, France – Today at the Next Generation Optical Networking (NGON) conference in Nice, ZTE released the Software-Defined Optical Network (SDON) White Paper. The white paper comprehensively analyzes existing SDON technology from four aspects: development trends, solutions, application scenarios and technical challenges. ZTE finds that SDON requires up to 50% less operational manpower than that of traditional networks. Additionally, SDON service provisioning time can be reduced from days to a matter of hours. 

SDON architecture transforms the tight coupling of control and transport functions into the tight coupling of control and operation functions. SDON also shifts connection-centered closed control into a networking-centered open control model. This new model, which forwards the progress of more intelligent, virtualized and cloud-based networks, represents the future path of development for optical network technologies and applications. 

The white paper describes the characteristics of ZTE's SDON solution, which involves four top to bottom layers: the app layer, orchestrator layer, single-domain controller layer and optical network device layer. This architecture can provide Bandwidth on Demand (BoD), Optical Virtual Private Network (OVPN), IP/optical coordination and other applications. This solution allows operators to provision services quickly, adjust bandwidth as required, establish large cross-domain networks, simplify O&M and reduce network construction costs.

The white paper also analyzes the typical application scenarios of the SDON solution: the IP/optical coordination scenario and Internet Data Center (IDC) interconnection scenario. Many operators in the industry have reached a consensus that IP/optical coordination is the direction of future network development. The backbone router IP bearer network (IP layer) and backbone optical transport network (optical layer) are developing independently. With the rapid growth of services, the routers on the IP layer are facing enormous pressure to expand capacity and improve processing capability. 

The reduction of network costs and power consumption are also urgently needed in existing networks. Therefore, the transport network of the future shall have a more open and flexible architecture, and use the SDON solution to meet the needs of large-granularity burst services. Today, operators are using MANs or backbone networks to establish an interconnection architecture between IDCs to provide fast data information interconnection between cities or within a city.
 
Yet due to the high costs and inadequate use of these connections, bandwidth is not flexibly scheduled to meet the bandwidth requirements of users with different granularities or to support time slot allocation. Therefore, software definition is required to dynamically adjust and flexibly schedule bandwidth between IDCs. In software-defined interconnection architecture between IDCs, operators implement unified management of IDC resources as well as unified allocation of IDC resources and network bandwidth in accordance with the network resource status and service granularity. In this way, operators can implement real-time scheduling and programmable control.

ZTE remains committed to applying SDN/NFV technology on the network layer. The SDON solution is one of the representative achievements. To date, ZTE has completed commercial deployment in China and effectively reduced the operator O&M costs. The SDON solution has successfully reduced operational manpower by 50 percent and service provisioning time from days to hours. ZTE will continue in-depth cooperation with operators, internet companies, and SDN standardization organizations to continue to gather information and analyze user needs, improve product features and promote SDN innovation research and commercial deployment.

Download ZTE’s “SDON White Paper”