Network controller having predictable analytics and failure avoidance in packet-optical networks

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016182146-A1
Application number	US-201414576112-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Dec 18, 2014
Priority date	Dec 18, 2014
Publication date	Jun 23, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

Techniques for providing closed-loop control and predictive analytics in packet-optical networks are described. For example, an integrated, centralized controller provides tightly-integrated, closed-loop control over switching and routing services and the underling optical transport system of a communication network. In one implementation, the controller includes an analytics engine that applies predictable analytics to real-time status information received from a monitoring subsystem distributed throughout the underlying optical transport system. Responsive to the status information, the analytics engine applies rules to adaptively and proactively identify current or predicted topology-changing events and, responsive to those events, maps reroutes packet flows through a routing/switching network and control and, based on any updated bandwidth requirements due to topology changes, dynamically adjusts allocation and utilization of the optical spectrum and wavelengths within the underlying optical transport system.

First claim

1 . A method comprising:
receiving, with an integrated network controller, state information from optical components of an optical transport system having a plurality of interconnected packet-optical transport devices; applying, with an analytics engine, a set of rules to identify a failure of any of the optical components; computing, with a path computation element of the controller and in response to identifying the failure, at least one updated path through a routing and switching network having a plurality of interconnected layer three (L3) routing components and layer two (L2) switching components for communicating packet-based network traffic; communicating, with a software defined network (SDN) control module of the controller, updated routing information to the routing components to control packet flows through the routing and switching network in accordance with the updated path; and responsive to the updated routing information, configuring, with a routing wavelength and spectrum assignment control module of the controller, the packet-optical transport devices to operate at particular wavelengths based upon bandwidth requirements for the network traffic at each of the routing components.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein identifying a failure of any of the optical components comprises applying, with the analytics engine, the set of rules to determine a likelihood of a future failure of any of the optical components.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein identifying the failure comprises identifying the failure in response to determining that the likelihood of failure for an individual one of the optical components exceeds a threshold specified by the set of rules.

4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising identifying the failure in response to determining that a combined likelihood of failure for a plurality of the optical components along a common path through a network exceeds a threshold.

5 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the state information includes one or more of power consumption, current draw, voltage levels or operating temperature for the optical components of the optical transport network.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the packet-optical transport devices comprises any of Re-configurable Optical Add Drop Multiplexers (ROADMs), Photonic Cross Connects (PXCs), optical cross-connects (OXCs), Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing equipment (DWDMs), amplifiers, transponders, and Optical Termination Terminals (OTTs).

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein configuring, with a routing wavelength and spectrum assignment control module of the controller, the packet-optical transport devices to operate at particular wavelengths comprises:
determining, for each of a plurality of packet-optical transport devices interconnected to form an optical transport system, a respective channel group size specifying a number of optical channels to reserve for each of the packet-optical transport devices from a total number of optical channels supported by the optical transport system, wherein the respective channel group size for each of the packet-optical transport devices is determined based on a bandwidth requirement for the respective packet-optical transport device; reserving, in accordance with the determined channel group sizes, a set of optical channels for each of the packet-optical transport devices from an optical spectrum supported by the packet-optical transport devices, each of the reserved optical channels having an unspecified wavelength within the optical spectrum, each of the sets of optical channels associated with a different portion of the optical spectrum and having an spectral range that is based on the channel group size determined for the respective packet-optical transport device; and for each of the packet-optical transport devices, assigning a respective wavelength from the optical spectrum to one or more of the optical channels of the set of optical channels reserved for the packet-optical transport device to balance network traffic level associated with the packet-optical transport device around a center of the portion of the optical spectrum associated with the set of optical channels reserved for the packet-optical transport device.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein assigning a respective wavelength from the optical spectrum to one or more of the optical channels of the set of optical channels reserved for the packet-optical transport device comprises, for each of the packet-optical transport devices:
determining a center of the portion of the optical spectrum reserved for the respective packet-optical transport device; determining the number of optical channels in the respective optical channels reserved for the packet-optical transport device to which to assign a respective wavelength to provide bandwidth that exceeds the bandwidth requirement associated with the respective packet-optical transport device; and assigning, for each of the packet-optical transport devices, respective wavelength to the number of optical channels to balance the traffic flows around the center of the respective portion of the optical spectrum reserved for the packet-optical transport device.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein bandwidth requirement for each of the packet-optical transport devices is based on current bandwidth utilization for the respective packet-optical transport device.

10 . The method of claim 1 , wherein bandwidth requirement for each of the packet-optical transport devices is based on a predicted bandwidth utilization for the respective packet-optical transport device.

11 . An integrated network controller comprising:
a message processor that receives state information from optical components of an optical transport system having a plurality of interconnected packet-optical transport devices; an analytics engine that applies a set of rules to identify a failure of any of the optical components; a path computation element that, responsive to the identified failure, computes at least one updated path for the network traffic through a routing and switching network having a plurality of interconnected layer three (L3) routing components and layer two (L2) switching components for communicating packet-based network traffic; a software defined networking (SDN) control module that communicates updated routing information to the routing components of the routing and switching network to control packet flows through the routing and switching network in accordance with the updated path; and a routing wavelength and spectrum assignment control module that, in response to the updated routing information, configures each of a plurality of packet-optical transport devices to operate at particular wavelengths based on bandwidth requirements for the network traffic for optically transporting the network traffic between the routing and switching components.

12 . The integrated controller of claim 11 , wherein the analytics engine identifies the failure by applying the set of rules to determine a likelihood of a future failure of any of the optical components.

13 . The integrated controller of claim 12 , wherein the analytics engine identifies the failure in response to determining that the likelihood of failure for an individual one of the optical components exceeds a threshold specified by the set of rules.

14 . The integrated controller of claim 11 , the analytics engine identifies the failure in response to determining that a combined likelihood of failure for a plurality of the optical components along a common path through a network exceeds a threshold.

15 . The integ

Assignees

• Juniper Networks Inc

Inventors

• Schmidtke Hans-Juergen W
• Grammel Gert

Classifications

• H04L45/02

  Topology update or discovery · CPC title

• H04B10/038 Primary

  using bypasses · CPC title

• H04J14/0257 Primary

  Wavelength assignment algorithms · CPC title

• H04J14/021

  Reconfigurable arrangements, e.g. reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers [ROADM] or tunable optical add/drop multiplexers [TOADM] · CPC title

• H04Q11/0062

  Network aspects · CPC title