Intelligent Optical Networking

FlexSelect OS is comprised of standards-based control plane routing and signaling intelligence, data-aware intelligence and SONET/SDH resiliency and Operations, Administration, and Maintenance (OAM) functions.A carrier network built on CoreDirector intelligence results in savings up to 85% on operational costs and 60% on equipment costs. FlexSelect OS has been widely deployed in service provider networks, delivering proven economic benefits and unmatched scalability and reliability. Networks utilizing FlexSelect OS technology have been proven to operate with less capacity and over 40% fewer operations personnel, while generating an additional 18% of revenue per employee. Eliminating the concern of software reliability and scalability, FlexSelect OS operates in networks throughout the world with field-measured availability greater than 99.999%, and is field proven to scale beyond 100 nodes in an intelligent meshed optical network topology. Each node on the CoreDirector intelligent network maintains a database of the network topology. Network nodes continuously update each other on adds or deletions of nodes, links, etc. This distributed intelligence provides reliability and scalability for carrier-class intelligent optical networks.

CoreDirector provides network end-to-end, automated service activation/deactivation and its distributed intelligence provides reliability and scalability.

Process Automation
FlexSelect OS routing and signaling intelligence incorporates developing standards in the IETF (GMPLS), ITU (G.ASON) and the OIF (O-UNI/E-NNI) and provides real-time resource inventory discovery and database synchronization, intelligent mapping of service requests to network resources, and fully automated activation and deactivation of network resources. This greatly automates back-office processes and significantly reduces errors associated with tracking network resources, assigning resources during service activation, returning resources to network inventory upon service deactivation, and re-grooming of resource capacity during network optimization. FlexSelect OS is complimented by CoreDirector Designer™ software, an off-line tool for capacity planning, network optimization, network validation, maintenance simulation, and node configuration.

Higher service availability
Unique to FlexSelect OS is the proven, intelligent, connection-level FastMesh™ restoration. FastMesh provides the ability to fully utilize any available network capacity to reroute services around a network failure. With the ability to utilize all resources in the network, service availability exceeding that of typical SONET/SDH ring and linear protection mechanisms is achieved. FastMesh is critically important during multiple failure scenarios that exceed the capability of local protection mechanisms to restore service. FastMesh can be combined with SONET/SDH line protection schemes to provide the highest level of service availability.

Class of Service
FlexSelect OS enables the intelligent mapping of service levels to network resources by combining protection and restoration flexibility with routing and signaling intelligence. Services may be individually configured in one of six service classes with FastMesh reroute capability enabled or disabled, providing

12 different service level configurations. Based on the assigned service class, FlexSelect OS restricts the service path to network links with the appropriate level of protection and lowest cost, and provides service restoration priority when FastMesh reroute is enabled. FlexSelect OS also provides the option to configure an entire end-to-end service path with dedicated 1+1 path level protection for an additional service level option. With class of service differentiation for both TDM and data services, service providers can restrict lower revenue traffic to unprotected or protect network links and assign it a low reroute priority, preserving the protection resources for higher revenue, premium services. Utilizing FlexSelect OS class of service differentiation, service providers can better map revenue streams to network costs

Simpler and more efficient architectures
With FlexSelect OS, networks are no longer restricted to standard SONET/SDH physical topologies. Networks can be constructed using a much simpler mesh architecture. Capacity is added to the network on a link basis, rather than a ring basis, so capacity additions are more efficient and simpler to plan, design, and engineer. Mesh networks based exclusively on FastMesh can achieve higher availability with significantly less capacity than typical SONET/SDH physical topologies. If SONET or SDH protection is desired, it can easily be added to the mesh architecture at any time. The user simply configures working and protect assignments to the existing links to create logical linear and ring protection. Unlike typical SONET/SDH implementations, this allows SONET and SDH protection to be configured independently of existing physical topology. This flexibility greatly simplifies the planning process and yields a much more efficient network. The SONET/SDH ring and linear protection associations are based on industry standards and provide standard 50ms switch times.