Year

2007

Degree Name

Masters of Information and Communication Technology by Research

Department

School of Information Technology and Computer Science - Faculty of Informatics

Abstract

Optical Transport Networks (OTNs) play a foundational role in current and future telecommunication infrastructure. However, the development and implementation of OTNs have been restrained since the bursting of the dot-com bubble. Many service providers and large companies are confused in the development directions of future OTN infrastructure, as there are several standards organisations with differing positions. On the other hand, there is a lack of large scale testing, as well as practical implementation cases due to the emerging nature of the OTN. Therefore, this thesis develops a framework demonstrating a landscape of current and future development steps of OTN infrastructure from both theoretical and commercial standpoints. The key concept of the framework is the integration of the IP-oriented data transmission layer and the WDM-based optical transport layer. Traditional telecommunication infrastructure focuses on long-haul, point-to-point optical transmission with ultra broadband carrier capacity. Nevertheless, the next generation OTN systems will emphasis the delivery of IP-oriented multifunctional data services, instead of legacy simplex TDM-based services across a metropolitan span with sufficient reliability and efficiency. Thus, this thesis gives a systematic validation of the proposed framework from two angles. Firstly, it provides in-depth research on the evolution of protection technologies in metro core optical networks, along with a MPLS-based network fast recovery field test to validate the framework from the network reliability aspect. The field test was conducted using a large Chinese ISP test bed and demonstrated the practical performance of the advanced OTN protection technology from the perspective of a service provider. Secondly, this research presents a comprehensive case study based on a large commercial metro OTN upgrade project of Shanghai Municipal Electric Power Company (SMEPC). The outcome of the case study is an evolutional roadmap, which illustrates the infrastructural development trends of this ongoing project. The roadmap can be considered as another evaluation of the framework in terms of network efficiency from an industrial-based dimension. The outcome of this research is to clarify future development trends in OTN infrastructure for the purpose of informing the design and implementation of commercial OTN applications.

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Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Wollongong.