The extension of elastic optical network (EON) technologies to multi-band transmission (MB-EON) promises enhanced spectral efficiency, greater throughput, and long-term cost benefits for telecom operators. However, designing such networks presents challenges, particularly in optimizing physical parameters like optical power and quality of transmission (QoT) across different frequency bands. This paper introduces a methodology for optimal span-by-span power allocation using two hyper-accelerated power optimization (HPO) modes: flat launch power (FLP) and flat received power (FRP). This methodology significantly accelerate network power optimization while ensuring service stability in scenarios such as changes in network parameters, QoT degradation due to aging, and network re-optimization or upgrading. Through a comprehensive comparison, we find that FRP notably improves signal flatness and GSNR/OSNR, particularly in the S-band, contributing to a network-wide throughput increase in the order of 12% to 75%. Additionally, we demonstrate that HPO applied to global power optimization is simpler and more cost-effective than when applied to local methods for large-scale networks.

Current approaches to automate the design and configuration of transport services face several challenges. Firstly, there is a lack of open interfaces between the Operational Support Systems (OSS) and the network layer. The commercially available interfaces to Network Management Systems (NMSs) or directly to the devices are typically proprietary and with limited programmability. Secondly, for the case of IP/MPLS networks, the definition of how a service is built is particular to each operator. To solve this situation, this work presents an approach based on a hybrid SDN in which the definition of a VPN service is made with a modeling language and is not limited to a particular operator design nor a particular set of vendor devices. The IP/MPLS network topology and the VPN services are programmable via standard APIs with RESTCONF/YANG from an SDN Controller. This facilitates the operator on the one hand designing a new VPN service and its full automation. This work demonstrates, for the first time, that such automation is possible with proposed draft standards from IETF and validates its implementation, comparing the time consumed in the controller to process to different workflows from the same model.

Recently, machine learning (ML) has attracted the attention of both researchers and practitioners to address several issues in the optical networking field. This trend has been mainly driven by the huge amount of available data (i.e., signal quality indicators, network alarms, etc.) and to the large number of optimization parameters which feature current optical networks (such as, modulation format, lightpath routes, transport wavelength, etc.). In this paper, we leverage the techniques from the ML discipline to efficiently accomplish the routing and wavelength assignment (RWA) for an input traffic matrix in an optical WDM network. Numerical results show that near-optimal RWA can be obtained with our approach, while reducing computational time up to 93% in comparison to a traditional optimization approach based on integer linear programming. Moreover, to further demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach, we deployed the ML classifier into an ONOS-based software defined optical network laboratory testbed, where we evaluate the performance of the overall RWA process in terms of computational time.

Current datacenters are based on server machines, whose mainboard and hardware components form the baseline, monolithic building block that the rest of the system software, middleware and application stack are built upon. This leads to the following limitations: (a) resource proportionality of a multi-tray system is bounded by the basic building block (mainboard), (b) resource allocation to processes or virtual machines (VMs) is bounded by the available resources within the boundary of the mainboard, leading to spare resource fragmentation and inefficiencies, and (c) upgrades must be applied to each and every server even when only a specific component needs to be upgraded. The dRedBox project (Disaggregated Recursive Datacentre-in-a-Box) addresses the above limitations, and proposes the next generation, low-power, across form-factor datacenters, departing from the paradigm of the mainboard-as-a-unit and enabling the creation of function-block-as-a-unit. Hardware-level disaggregation and software-defined wiring of resources is supported by a full-fledged Type-1 hypervisor that can execute commodity virtual machines, which communicate over a low-latency and high-throughput software-defined optical network. To evaluate its novel approach, dRedBox will demonstrate application execution in the domains of network functions virtualization, infrastructure analytics, and real-time video surveillance.

The Path Computation Element (PCE) is positioned nowadays as one of the solutions that almost every carrier will eventually deploy. The PCE architecture as well as a number of components, including the PCE Communication Protocol (PCEP), have been standardized by the IETF. However, a number of challenges remain to be solved on its way from standards to deployment. In particular, the existing proposals for multilayer path computation within the PCE framework need to be further developed and tested, before considering their possible integration into operational networks. This is especially true for the interoperability of the various PCE implementations and the extensions such as the Virtual Network Topology Manager (VNTM) which cannot be taken for granted. This paper presents a functional implementation of coordinated computation of multilayer paths supported through inter-layer PCE communication, where one PCE is developed by industry and the other as an open-source effort. To this end, we consider an IP/MPLS network deployed over a Wavelength Switched Optical Network (WSON), each of which deploying its own PCE, in an attempt to create an inter-operable multilayer solution. We discuss the key challenges that the research community will face in this area, which in turn will drive a considerable part of the upcoming efforts in terms of standardization.

In optical burst switching networks, bursts arrive out-of-sequence due to contention resolution schemes as well as contention avoidance schemes. Out-of-sequence bursts may imply out-of-sequence packets, which affect the packet layer performance. Consequently, it is necessary to classify and investig

Synchronization of multiple TCP flows in optical burst switched networks is considered in this paper. TCP flow synchronization happens when concurrent flows accessing the optical network at the same edge node increase/decrease their congestion windows at the same time intervals, thus causing a significant instability of data transmission rate. Different burst assembly algorithms sensibly influence this phenomenon and are here studied to quantitative assess their effect. A simulation tool based on ns-2 is developed and applied to different case studies. A new burst assembly scheme is proposed to reduce flow synchronization and its effectiveness is evaluated.

This papers reports the advances in optical core networks research coordinated in the framework of the e- photon/ONe and e-photon/ONe+ networks of excellence.