Convergence of IP and Optical Networking

Rapidly increasing network demand based on unpredictable services has driven research into methods to provide intelligent provisioning, efficient restoration and recovery from failures, and effective management schemes that reduce the amount of "hands-on" activity to plan and run the network. Integrating the service-oriented IP layer together with the efficient transport capabilities of the optical layer is a cornerstone of this research. Converged IP-optical networks are being demonstrated in large multi-carrier and multi-vendor venues. Research is continuing on making this convergence more efficient, flexible, and scalable. In this chapter, we review the current key technologies that contribute to the convergence of IP and optical networks, describing control and management plane technologies, techniques and standards in some detail. We also illustrate current research challenges, and discuss future directions for research.