Category Archives: Past projects

FIERRO – Future Internet: Eficiencia en las redes de altas prestaciones
(TEC2010-12250-E)
May 2011 – September 2012
Role: Technical Coordinator for Optical Communications group of UPC

The mismatches in the design objectives between the original and the future Internet avoid its widespread deployment at the expected scales. The challenges with regard to the high-performance IP (metro and core) network infrastructure involve all the layers: physical layer and switching technologies, traffic engineering, control and management, etc. The goal of this Thematic Network aims at building a platform to create synergies and close collaboration among the different Spanish groups with expertise in the Internet topic.

STRONGEST – Scalable, Tunable and Resilient Optical Networks Guaranteeing Extremely-high Speed Transport
(FP7-247674)
January 2010 – December 2012
Role: Technical Contributor

STRONGEST’s main goal is to design and demonstrate an evolutionary ultra-high capacity multilayer transport network, based on optimized integration of optical and packet nodes, and equipped with a multi-domain, multi-technology control plane, overcoming the problems of current networks that still provide limited scalability, are not cost-effective and do not properly guarantee end-to-end quality of service. STRONGEST is an industry led project; the consortium brings together major European industrial players, leading Telecom operators, Universities and Research Centres and as such, it enables the necessary synergies and creates an ideal environment for innovation and development. The European scale of the project is made necessary by the development of a new reality in which countries and federations are immensely and inextricably linked. To have a common view at European level is essential to apply the project’s outcomes. A major impact from STRONGEST will be to strengthen the position of European industry in the field of Future Internet and to reinforce European leadership in optical networks technologies. The design of a more efficient transport network with reduced cost per bit and the particular attention to energy efficiency will turn into benefit to the entire Community. Network Operators have a tough target to reduce CO2 emissions, whilst at the same time supporting significantly higher information bandwidth. They will use the results of STRONGEST, which will provide the optimum transport network architecture to achieve these targets. STRONGEST results will be exploited by Vendors to develop traffic engineering solutions running in multi-technologies and multi-domain context, and the related control plane in both legacy nodes and new optical/packet nodes. Academic Partners plan to use the STRONGEST results for further enhancement of knowledge transfer, and training and skills creation in the field of telecommunication networks, particularly in the field of optical networks.

ENGINE – Engineering Next Generation Optical Transport NEtworks
(TEC2008-02634)
January 2009 – December 2011
Role: Technical Coordinator

One of the objectives of the ENGINE (Engineering Next Generation optIcal traNsport nEtworks) project will be the upgrade of the ROADM nodes we developed in the framework of the “Red INteligente GMPLS/ASON con Integración de Nodos reconfiGurables (RINGING)” project (TEC-2005-08051-C03-02) to enable transmissions at 10 Gb/s and beyond (40-100 Gb/s). Nevertheless, the leap from 10 Gb/s to higher bit rates poses some technical problems which have to be properly investigated. Typically, when transmission speed is increased, marginal impairments such as polarization mode dispersion (PMD) become pronounced, limiting the transmission distance without signal regeneration. Therefore, another objective of the ENGINE project is also to develop and integrate in the ROADM node, modules for optical signal regeneration, chromatic (CD) and polarization-mode dispersion (PMD) compensation, in combination with wavelenght conversion (WC) techniques. On the other hand, most operators are seeing the control plane as the key factor to migrate from ring-based to meshed-based optical transport network. To migrate, thus, our experimental platform to a mesh topology, another objective of the ENGINE project will be the implementation, starting from the ROADMs, of Optical Cross Connect (OXC) nodes.In such high-capacity reconfigurable optical transport networks, the control plane must manage efficiently available wavelenghts as well as to react in case of degradation of the optical signals due to the physical impariments arisen from the propagation through the optical fibers. In the latter case, the control plane dynamically drops the degraded channels in order to regenerate the signal or to compensate the dispersion. To accomplish to this functionality, therefore, it is of critical value to efficiently monitor the accumulated physical impairments. In this context, another objective of the ENGINE project is to design and demonstrate monitoring techniques for CD and PMD. Moreover, if a 40 Gb/s (and beyond) signal has to travel through DWDM 50 GHz spaced channels, a lot of inter-symbol interference will raise. Multilevel modulation formats reduce the symbol rate and therefore alleviate the influence of impairments while advanced modulation formats together with digital signal processing-enhanced optics will make 40 Gb/s systems possible. In ENGINE, we will investigate on electronic digital signal processing as well as all-optical PMD compensation.The ENGINE project will also design and evaluate routing and wavelenght assignment algorithms which take into account the physical impairments to decide how to accomodate the connection requests triggered from the client networks (IP, SDH, Ethernet, etc.). Such algorithms will be tested over the experimental platform (arising from the RINGING project and completed accomplishing the previous objectives of ENGINE). Assuming that a network must be seen in its overall structure, which means to consider not just the transport layer but also the client networks. The ENGINE project will carry out interwoking studies aimed, firslty, to design efficient dynamic traffic grooming strategies to optimize the bandwidth utilization of the wavelenghts; and secondly, to design coordinated protection strategies between transport and client layers in order to cover a wide set of failures which can occur. In both cases, an MPLS over optical transport layer will be assumed and the designed startegies will be experimentally evaluated. Finally, the potentiality of GMPLS-based control plane to efficiently manage the network resources for hybrid Optical Circuit Switching (OCS) and Optical Burst Switching (OBS) network nodes will be investigated, since OBS networks, capable of switching smaller granularities than wavelenghts in the optical layer, are seen as the long-term solution for optical networks.

BONE – Building the Future Optical Network in Europe
(FP7-216863)
January 2008 – December 2010
Role: Technical Contributor and WP22 coordinator

The BONE-proposal builds on the foundations laid out by the e-Photon/ONe projects in the previous Framework Programme. This Network of Excellence has successfully brought together over several years the research activities within Europe in the field of Optical Networks. The BONE-project intends to validate this effort by stimulating a more intensified collaboration, exchange of researchers and building on Virtual Centres of Excellence that can serve to European industry with education & training, research tools & testlabs and pave the way to new technologies & architectures.

DICONET – Dynamic Impairment Constraint Networking for Transparent Mesh Optical Networks
(FP7-216338)
January 2008 – June 2010
Role: Technical Contributor

The DICONET project is targeting a novel approach to optical networking providing a disruptive solution for the development of the core network of the future. It is the vision and goal of our consortium to provide ultra high speed end-to-end connectivity with quality of service and high reliability through the use of optimised protocols and routing algorithms that will complement a flexible control and management plane offering flexibility for the future network infrastructure. We plan to investigate, design, implement and test new routing and wavelength assignment algorithms considering as constraints physical impairments that arise in transparent core networks. These algorithms will be incorporated into a novel dynamic network planning tool that would consider dynamic traffic characteristics, varying physical impairment and component characteristics and a reconfigurable optical layer. The use of this novel planning tool in conjunction with proper extensions to the control plane of core optical networks that will be designed, implemented and tested by our consortium will make possible to realize the vision of transparency, while offering efficient resource utilization and strict quality of service guarantees based on certain service level agreements. The combinations of the tools, algorithms and protocols that will developed by the uniquely qualified DICONET consortium together with new technologies and architectures that will be considered as enablers for the network of the future will assist in overcoming the expected long term limitations of current core network capabilities. The DICONET scope and objectives, address dynamic cross-layer network planning and optimization while considering the development of a future transport network infrastructure which ensures fail-safe network configuration and operation. Our approach will greatly contribute as a basic element in achieving resilience and transparency of the Future Internet.

e-Photon/ONe+ – Optical Networks: Towards Bandwidth Manageability and Cost Efficiency – phase 2
(FP6-027497)
March 2006 – February 2008
Role: Technical Contributor

The Network of Excellence e-Photon/ONe+ aims at integrating and focusing the rich know-how available in Europe on optical communication and networks, both in universities and in research centres of major telecom manufacturers and operators. This project built upon the experience gained within the previous NoE e-Photon/ONe, funded within the 1st IST call of FP6. The set of expertises available in the NoE ranges from optical technologies to networking devices, network architectures and protocols, new services fostered by photonic technologies. The NoE contributes to the Strategic Objective ‘Broadband for All’, with specific focus on low cost access and edge network equipment, for a range of technologies, including optical fiber, on new concepts for network management, control and protocols, and on increased bandwidth capacity, in the access network as well in the underlying optical core/metro network, including in particular optical burst and packet switching.

NOBEL II – Next generation Optical networks for Broadband European Leadership (NOBEL) – phase 2
(FP6-027305)
March 2006 – February 2008
Role: Technical Contributor

To achieve the strategic goal of broadband for all, an appropriate core/metro network is required to provide cost-effective transport of end-user traffic with the required level of QoS.Based on the results of the NOBEL project, the main goal of the Integrated Project NOBEL phase 2 is to carry out analysis, feasibility studies and experimental validations of innovative network solutions and technologies for flexible, scalable and reliable optical networks, thus enabling broadband services for all. Specifically, the main objectives are:- to define network architectures for core and metro networks, providing both packet and circuit switched connections in an integrated network scenario and supporting both fixed and mobile services- to assess and demonstrate these architectures in term of scalability and end-to-end interoperability through network emulations and experiments- to study and evaluate multi-layer traffic engineering and resilience schemes in different service and business scenarios- to perform techno- and socio-economic analysis of network solutions to demonstrate their cost-effectiveness and impact on improving the penetration of broadband services- to identify and develop enhanced solutions for the Control and Management Planes and their collaboration for provisioning of end-to-end broadband services, with focus on GMPLS networks- to investigate advanced architectures for burst/packet based optical networks;- to evaluate robust transport technologies and node architectures through theoretical studies, technology assessments, and experiments- to define an end-to-end vision of the future network providing innovative broadband services through joint activities with projects focusing on complementary aspects such as the access network segment and the interaction with applications (e.g. MUSE and MUPBED).Specific contributions will be submitted to ITU-T, TMF, OIF and IETF thus reinforcing European position in standardization bodies and fora.

RINGING – Red inteligente GMPLS/ASON con integración de nodos reconfigurables
(TEC2005-08051-C03-02)
January 2006 – December 2008
Role: Technical Contributor

The RINGING subproject concerns the design and building of a reconfigurable optical node with an advanced design, and its further integration into a real network to develop a field trial. The main objective of this subproject is the integration of reconfigurable optical nodes in the GMPL/ASON network, which has been obtained as a result of the CARISMA project. Thanks to the participation in TRIPODE, CARISMA, and FIRM (Field trial with Integrated ROADMs and GMPLS compliance, the CELTIC-EUREKA-2004 project, www.celtic-iniciative.org) projects, the know-how necessary for the implementation of the reconfigurable optical nodes is ready. The subproject is divided in two main blocks. The first one will be dedicated to building reconfigurable optical nodes, while in the other, the aspects of the integration of these nodes in an optical network which was constructed during the CARISMA project, will be treated. Introduction of the traffic engineering (TE) techniques into GMPLS/ASON networks, which will result in a network able to provide optical virtual private networks (OVPN) as well as suitable for working in a GRID environment of great importance in the next future, should be highlighted among the most important general objectives of this subproject. For the development of these last objectives also the participation in PROMISE (Provisioning and monitoring of optical services, CELTIC-EUREKA-2004 project) project will be useful.

COST 291 – Towards Digital Optical Networks
July 2004 – June 2008
Role: Technical Contributor

The COST 291 Action ‘Towards digital optical networks’ belongs to the COST Domain: Telecommunications Information Science and Technology. The primary objective of this action is to focus on novel network concepts and architectures exploiting the features of photonic technologies, to enable future broadband telecommunications networks (access, metro and core). It is aiming to propose a new generation of systems and networks that will accommodate the unpredictable growth of data traffic. The action was initiated by the ‘High-speed networks and optical communications’ group of AIT and Prof. Ioannis Tomkos acts as Action Chairman. More than 28 partners contribute to the activities of the project (including several from new member states).

FIRM – Field trial with Integrated ROADMs and GMPLS compliance
(Celtic Project CP1-028)
July 2004 – June 2006
Role: Technical Contributor

Nowadays optical networks need flexible low cost optical equipment and embedded intelligence to provide lower complexity in the management systems and more flexibility in an all-optical dynamic reliable network deployment. Currently, there are emerging companies that are developing new optical components and subs-systems (Small Form-factor Pluggable (SFP), XFP, transceiver multi-source, tunable lasers, optical amplifiers, external modulators, OADMs (Add and Drop Multiplexer), O/O/O switching, network monitoring among others) with embedded intelligence. Next generation low-cost optical networking equipment will need this new optical components and sub-systems with easily intregrated interfaces for their inter-operability. The FIRM project aims to improve a strong collaboration among optical components manufacturer and optical networking developers, to provide the industry and the research community with a cost effective solution and a field trial. FIRM will turn current static OADM into Reconfigurable-OADM, with widely tunable transceivers up to 2,5Gbps or 10 Gbps. An easy and basic management system will be achieved to provide basic services: QoS, Network Monitoring and set-up or tear-down connections. This management system will be responsible to set-up or tear down channels and perform monitoring. It will give to the GMPLS control plane an IP destination, and the GMPLS will manage to provide the channel. Moreover, the NMS will monitor all the variables described in a MIB, and actuate over them if needed. The ROADMs prototypes will be integrated in a field trial based on an ASON model and dynamically controlled by an IP-based GMPLS control plane already provided by the partners Hence, to easily integrate the ROADMs and the GMPLS control plane, the FIRM project will also develop an open CCI (Connection Controller Interface) to manage optical equipments in compliance with the GSMPv3 standard being under development. Collaborations with ITU-T, IETF or OIF in the definition of new standards will be achieved. In order to evaluate the integrated system solution in a real scenario with real end-users, the i2cat project will provide its contents and services. From the telco operators point of view and taking into account investment needs, a study of an implementation strategy of the business model and an analysis of the techno-economic viability of next generation networks will be also provided.