OA&M tools for Ethernet over Optics?
Posted by Geoff on October 26, 2005
What about the lack of OA&M tools for Ethernet over Optics? (OAM&P stuff, the equivalent to AIS SDH that let routers to start rerouting over a link failure) Has this issue has been solved?
This is a relatively simple answer for Ciena because we come from the perspective of transport where OAM&P are absolutely critical. Leveraging this experience, we offer Optical Ethernet solutions that are fully managed with the ability to carry any type of data across a wavelength with full transparency. That is to say the integrity of the optical network is standards based with OAM&P tools that the industry is familiar with.
Higher layer services carried across this network are carried transparently and are left to utilize their own restoration techniques, such as using internal and external routing protocols, MPLS fast reroute, link aggregation, etc. techniques to restore traffic.
This way, optical networks always work just like we expect them to, and the higher layer devices work just like we expect them to. For Ciena Ethernet transport devices, such as the CN 4350 we are essentially are offering the benefits of an Ethernet interface with the familiar OAM&P of optical transport.
