We demonstrate MPLS Traffic Engineering (MPLS-TE) and MPLS-based Virtual Private Networks (MPLS VPNs) using OpenFlow [1] and NOX [6]. The demonstration is the outcome of an engineering experiment to answer the following questions: How hard is it to implement a complex control plane on top of a network controller such as NOX? Does the global vantage point in NOX make the implementation easier than the traditional method of implementing it on every switch, embedded in the data plane? We implemented every major feature of MPLS-TE and MPLS-VPN in just 2,000 lines of code, compared to much larger lines of code in the more traditional approach, such as Quagga-MPLS. Because NOX maintains a consistent, up-to-date topology map, the MPLS control plane features are quite simple to implement. And its simplicity makes it easy to extend: We have easily added several new features; something a network operator could do to customize their network to meet their customers' needs.

Fiber based access networks are recognized as promising technologies for solving broadband bandwidth bottlenecks. TDM-PONs, which are passive and non-reconfigurable, are the most widely deployed type of fiber access networks today. However, due to their passive nature, TDM-PONs encounter several issues such as inflexible coverage, lack of intelligence for control, and inability to counter security attacks. Based on current issues in optical access networks, we propose a novel non-volatile, reconfiguration node. The proposed remote node can reconfigure the network to adapt to varying degrees of deployment conditions and/or network attacks. Moreover, the proposed remote node incorporates a novel quasi-passive device that reconfigures using remotely supplied energy from CO. This quasi-passive device technology does not consume any energy once it reconfigures into a new latching states. Therefore, the proposed remote node has very low energy consumption and does not require local power supply to preserve the passivity of the passive distribution network. In particular, the proposed quasi-passive device technology is implemented using a novel tri-state Micro- Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) actuator structure and the device demonstrates very small energy consumption requirement to enable energy be remotely supplied from CO. Also, the MEMS structure is shown to demonstrate acceptable insertion losses to makes it suitable for flexible energy distribution. Simulation study shows the proposed reconfigurable device would outperform traditional passive splitter in terms of maximum number of supportable users under realistic deployment conditions.

Optical Burst Transport network is a novel WDM ring architecture for Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN). It leverages the advantages of optical burst switching and WDM rings, while using a token-based medium access scheme. In this paper, we investigate protection together with spatial reuse property. Specifically we show how protection in OBT can be different from conventional protection and propose three algorithms for implementing a fast and low implementation cost, unidirectional 1:1 protection scheme. We analyzed the performance of these schemes via simulation and found an optimum algorithm for minimizing data loss and maximizing data delivery during the fault.

In this paper, we introduce a novel passive and wavelength selective remote node specifically designed to enable security countermeasure in PONs. The central office could physically isolate problem makers from the network without disrupting regular links by issuing a wavelength specific control signal to this device. With its wavelength selective nature, the countermeasure-enabled passive device is also a natural candidate to a WDM-PON remote node. To demonstrate its feasibility, a discrete version of the device is implemented. In addition to enable countermeasure capability, a new kind of PON restoration technique that employs a hybrid optical-wireless network is proposed. Finally, cost and performance considerations are discussed in an 8-channel planer lightwave circuit example.