PCE in transmission networks
Path Computation Element – Bringing the WAN to the SDN era

The PCEP protocol, as presented above, was first applied to IP networks.

However, the need for centralized computing also exists in transmission networks (OTN or WDM).

Transmission networks have always been managed centrally by a manager using proprietary programming interfaces to the equipment: path configuration being statically defined via the manager.

The need for dynamism in transmission networks (dynamic rerouting, protection, etc.), accompanied by the SDN (Software Defined Network) movement, is bringing back old technologies such as GMPLS (Generalized MPLS), which were rarely deployed in the past.

GMPLS is an extension of the MPLS architecture,...