The OIF has launched a new project to develop implementation agreements (IAs) for the application programming interfaces (APIs) used between application and network controller.
The new initiative will build on the Service Request and Topology APIs prototyped in the recent Transport SDN demonstration held with the Open Networking Foundation (ONF) last month.
The new initiative will also create IAs for Service Request, Path Computation, Topology and Link Resource Manager interfaces that have been
identified as part of the OIF’s upcoming SDN Framework document. The APIs to be delivered by the new project are based on REST and JSON principles enabling rapid and flexible application development.
“The prototype Transport SDN demonstration revealed a lack of definition for how user applications interact with transport network applications and resource functions,” said Jonathan Sadler, of Coriant and the OIF technical committee vice chair. “The programmability of Transport SDN requires some of the internal interfaces used by ASON to become open.”
- In October, nine vendors and several global conducted an interoperability test and demonstration of Transport SDN. The demo, which was organized by the Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) and the Open Networking Foundation (ONF), included participation of ADVA Optical Networking, Alcatel-Lucent, Ciena, Coriant, Fiberhome, Fujitsu, Huawei, NEC Corporation of America and ZTE. China Mobile, China Telecom, TELUS and Verizon are hosting the testing in their labs.OpenFlow extensions developed in the ONF Optical Transport Working Group were tested in the demo in both CDPI and CVNI forms. Vendors are also testing prototypes of Controller Northbound interfaces for Service Request and Topology functions developed as an OIF activity. The framework of the demo is cloud-bursting or application-based bandwidth-on-demand between data center sites. Testing based on this real-world use case illustrates potential deployment of Transport SDN technology, common interfaces required, needs for interoperability and any operational challenges.
