Objectif
The main objectives of PANEL are:
to identify efficient overall network protection strategies for multi-layered networks taking into account the TMN and the protection and restoration mechanisms of the individual network layers (optical, SDH and ATM layer);
to simulate and validate these strategies;
to provide an appropriate evaluation and planning environment
The Panel Project will identify efficient overall network protection and restoration strategies for multi-layered networks (including optical, SDH and ATM layers). The impact of TMN and the protection and restoration in individual layers will be taken into account. An appropriate evaluation and planning environment will be provided and will be used to validate the overall strategies.
Expected Impact
Optical, SDH and ATM networks lead to an increasing deployment of high capacity fibre transmission systems and advanced high-speed switching systems. This results in a continuously higher functional integration and in a concentration of more and more traffic on fewer network elements. If such broadband network elements or fibre routes fail, many customers are affected and will suffer from degraded service. Furthermore, strategic corporate functions show an increasing dependence on communications networks. For business customers and network operators, huge losses of revenue may occur in case of network failure. Therefore, a very high level of service availability is becoming imperative, for both the service user and service provider. This means that network infrastructures must be provided that are robust to malfunctions of nodes and links and that are inherently self-healing in order to allow a quick restoration after failures.
Furthermore, optimisation of the network spare capacity is very attractive for network operators and indirectly for customers, leading to a containment of network costs and consequently allowing a containment of the connection tariffs.
Providing integrated protection and restoration techniques and strategies for the future multi-layered networks in a cost effective way is therefore a key challenge.
As the protection techniques today implemented and under analysis are mainly addressing a single network layer/communication technology, the study of new solutions taking into consideration an overall system (ATM, SDH and optical) is the preliminary step to any further development.
PANEL will carry out this study considering all the aspects, from network management to impact on network planning, deriving from the introduction of new protection and restoration techniques; therefore the PANEL results, circulated to the relevant actors in the telecommunication framework, are expected to pave the way to future standards for implemented systems which will improve the overall reliability of broadband networks.
Main contributions to the programme objectives:
Main deliverables
A framework for survivability in multilayer networks
Contribution to the programme
Contributions to standards, development of planning strategies, many results at conference and in journals.
Technical Approach
Within the project, efficient overall network protection strategies will be defined which take into account the interaction of protection mechanisms in each layer and the role of TMN. The protocols and policies for network protection developed in PANEL will be compared with today's existent and available protection mechanisms and procedures, in order to prove the efficiency of the former. For this purpose, an appropriate software environment will be employed to simulate and subsequently evaluate the economic and technical merit of co-ordinated protection strategies for a representative set of business cases. These cases will be chosen to realistically reflect the varied requirements and constraints encountered in integrated networks composed of multiple layers and subnetworks.
A suitable planning environment supporting overall network protection strategies will be also set up.
Instead of a network trial which is economically unfeasible at this development stage or too limited in its applicability, the project will provide a software demonstration to illustrate the complete protection strategy design and implementation process.
Summary of Trial
The strategies for network protection across all the network layers developed within PANEL, will be demonstrated using a software trial testbed. This will demonstrate the feasibility of the strategies in the context of the selected business cases and fault scenarios.
Key Issues
In order to ensure increased network survivability with shortened restoration times and improved utilisation of resources, distributed overall network protection strategies are needed and their interaction with the TMN should be analysed and specified.
Champ scientifique
Thème(s)
Appel à propositions
Data not availableRégime de financement
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinateur
9000 Gent
Belgique