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University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory Completes Pioneering Optical Signaling, Routing and Management Tests

Posted on: Tuesday, 10 February 2004, 06:00 CST

¶ Multi-vendor GMPLS test event proves IP-based optical networking technology is advanced and stable

¶ The UNH InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) has concluded a series of generalized multi-protocol label switching (GMPLS) tests, including several rarely attempted, the laboratory has announced. The testing, held Jan. 12-16, included Japanese service provider Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT) and optical equipment and IP routing companies Alcatel, Agilent Technologies, Juniper Networks, Navtel Communications, Movaz Networks and Sycamore Networks. ¶ The event tested several aspects that had never been assayed in a realistic multi-vendor network. Successful first-time testing included certain aspects of failure recovery and dynamic provisioning with Constrained Shortest Path First (CSPF) computation using the information advertised by GMPLS OSPF-TE. The original test items were prepared among participants to reflect the most up-to-date requirements of today's network and service scenarios. These included stability testing, control channel fault handling and data channel failure recovery. The OSRM test event showed that IP-based optical network technology is maturing for commercial use. ¶"The goal of our testing was to build a detailed interoperable solution driven by service providers' demands, but we pushed GMPLS testing into altogether new territory," said Ben Schultz, manager of the UNH-IOL's OSRM test event. "Beyond interoperability and basic network behavior, the event indicated that the technology is further along and more stable than is generally believed."¶ The testing was intended to improve interoperability of products supporting the optical signaling, routing and management (OSRM) functions specified by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) with future expansion of scope for Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) and International Telecommunication Union Standardization Sector (ITU-T). It was tailored to give participants the opportunity to test their OSRM functionality in a neutral setting and receive valuable feedback that could help refine their products and solutions. ¶"Interoperability testing of the OSRM-related technology is extremely valuable as the new OSRM-related standards become more carrier-level grade, reflecting carrier's real-world requirements," said Ichiro Inoue, a Senior Research Engineer of NTT Network Service Systems Laboratories.

¶ About the UNH-IOL's Optical Signaling, Routing, and Management (OSRM)

¶ The Optical Signaling, Routing, and Management Test event provides reliable and accurate interoperability and standards-based testing in a vendor-neutral environment. OSRM is expecting a series of coming test events based on the emerging technical and standard situation and is aiming at making another testing event among other 16 existing ones at the UNH-IOL, located in Durham, New Hampshire. More than 200 companies worldwide are members of the UNH-IOL. For more information, visit the OSRM Test event's Web page at: http://www.iol.unh.edu/consortiums/osrm.

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