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CALIENT Advances Key Photonic Switching Standards and Implementation
Company Stakes Prominent Position in Multi-Protocol Lambda Switching

Sunnyvale, Calif., June 6, 2000 – CALIENT Technologies, a new developer of intelligent, all-photonic switching systems, has taken a lead role in developing the emerging IETF Multi-Protocol Lambda Switching (MPLambdaS) standards suite. This set of protocol extensions is deemed by many as essential for enabling streamlined networks, dynamic service layer requests for bandwidth services, and dynamic management of wavelengths in the photonic layer.

In the first quarter of 2000, CALIENT engineers, in concert with prominent network architects from UUNet, Level 3, Cisco Systems, Nortel, and Juniper Networks, authored and presented to the IETF a set of MPLambdaS-related drafts. The MPLambdaS specifications are being refined within the IETF and approval is expected during the second half of 2000.

The significance of MPLambdaS is wide-ranging and substantial, as it will be used to distribute optical transport network topology state information and to set up optical channel trails. MPLambdaS will also support a number of key traffic engineering functions and enable protection and restoration capabilities, while simplifying the integration of photonic switches and label switching routers. Specifically, MPLambdaS offers the following advantages:

• Faster service deployment with end-to-end provisioning utilizing a single set of semantics
• Elimination of unnecessary network layers by enabling two-layer networking
• Cost savings in network operations by using widely available IP management tools
• Cost savings in training by using a common control plane for optical and service management layers
• Service creation enabled by common network knowledge of data and optical elements
• Open foundation protocol promotes innovation at the more important services layer
• Promotes best-of-breed product selection for service providers
• Accepted protocol enables independent innovation curve within each product class
• Eliminates proprietary vendor "islands of deployment".

"The unique combination of photonic switching and Multi-Protocol Lambda Switching effectively removes the ‘glass ceiling' limitations of OEO switches," stated John Drake, Chief Architect at CALIENT Technologies, who co-authored the MPLambdaS drafts. "The extensions we've proposed to the now-proven Multi-Protocol Label Switching core standard will enable photonic switches to provide high-bandwidth, reliable, transparent networking."

John Drake co-authored the original document with Daniel Awduche, distinguished technical member at UUNET, Yakov Rekhter, fellow at Cisco Systems, and Rob Coltun, software development engineer at Redback Networks. The team developed the first MPLambdaS draft a year ago, titled "Multi-Protocol Lambda Switching: Combining MPLS Traffic Engineering Control with Optical Crossconnects", in an effort to take label switching into the photonic realm. Drake said, "The initial goal was to increase the versatility of the optical transport network and seamlessly bridge packet and wavelength communications."

Best-of-breed optical solutions will require the integration of photonic switches into a heterogeneous optical network consisting of next generation equipment (e.g., photonic switches, terabit routers, ultra-long-haul DWDM) as well as legacy equipment (e.g., wideband DCS, OXCs, SONET/SDH ADMs, traditional DWDM). MPLambdaS provides a common standardized control plane, needed to communicate between the various generations of elements.

In summary, the major components of the MPLambdaS standard suite include:

• A new link management protocol, LMP, designed to support link management in optical networks using photonic switches
• Adaptations to OSPF/ IS-IS routing protocol to advertise optical resource availability in the network
• Adaptations to the Resource ReSerVation Protocol (RSVP) to allow Label-Switched Paths to be specified end-to-end across the optical core of the network.

About CALIENT Technologies

CALIENT Technologies is a new developer of intelligent, all-photonic switching systems that help service providers scale their networks for explosive bandwidth demands and deliver a new generation of wavelength services. CALIENT's architecture will provide a seamless ‘opto-electronic to photonic' migration path that is non-disruptive to legacy operations, and near-term opportunity for carriers to offer revenue-generating services from their photonic infrastructure. Founded in March 1999, the company is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For additional information about CALIENT Technologies, visit www.calient.net.