The document, "OIF Carrier Working Group Requirements on Transport Networks (TN) in SDN Architectures," has been in progress since March 2013. It supports the evolution of transport networks toward SDN architectures, summarizing what is already available and highlighting new features designed to support the deployment of SDN applications, services, and technologies.
Using the comprehensive supporting requirements document as a foundation, OIF members have begun developing an SDN framework document that will provide future SDN-related specifications and implementation agreements, as well as structure future OIF interoperability demonstrations.
The OIF's approach to SDN transport involves the network's management, control, and data flat layers, as well as the new "Coordinator"—coordinating actions between data centers and transport networks. Among carriers, there is a strong desire for a coherent set of SDN-related standards and specifications to enable a smooth migration to SDN architectures. With a support requirements document in hand, equipment vendors can work to specify the interfaces between different types of SDN components, such as network elements, controllers, and coordination instances.
"The key to a thriving SDN ecosystem is the separation of management, control, and transport planes through well-defined interfaces and standardized protocols," says Jonathan Sadler of Tellabs and Chair of the OIF Technical Committee. "To achieve the desired level of interoperability between network components, vendor implementations, carrier network domains, and data center functions, it is important to understand transport needs."
This document works to identify the following:
• The functions that must be provided by a TN-enabled control plane to an SDN controller or coordinator to realize SDN use cases, applications, and services.
• Functional requirements of the coordinator to ensure the desired coordination between functions and services spanning multiple layers in a TN and across various SDN domains to achieve end-to-end service coordination.
• The combination of the SDN architecture components and relevant TN - Data Plane, Control and Management Plane, and Coordinator - and the relationship between them are known as "SDN Transport".
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