A User-Controlled Lightpath Provisioning System for Grid Optical Networks

Abstract

Grid applications require a network to transport data between geographically distributed sites. The key characteristics of Grid networks include adaptability, scalability, heterogeneity, the ability to span different administrative domains, and the support for various QoS levels. Our design objective is to support continuous large traffic flows between a set of known remote sites. We provision dedicated optical connections directly between end user premises. A solution is provided for end users to compose their virtual private networks by using network resources from different suppliers. Our network control mechanism is based on granting end users access to the management interfaces of network elements. End users can reconfigure the route and bandwidth of connections without carrier interventions. In this paper, we propose a layered network management architecture for Grid optical networks. An overview of the design of a user-controlled lightpath provisioning system is presented.