The Network Operating System (NOS) subgroup within the Open Optical and Packet Transport (OOPT) Project Group of the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) has successfully completed its mission. With this milestone achieved, we are proud to announce the graduation of this subgroup, marking the culmination of its impactful contributions to the optical networking ecosystem.
Led by NTT and PalC networks, the NOS subgroup has delivered key innovations that will have a lasting impact on the industry. Among its most notable accomplishments are the Goldstone open-source project and the Transponder Abstraction Interface (TAI). These initiatives have provided essential frameworks for developing open and disaggregated packet optical transponder solutions, enabling interoperability and simplifying deployments as follows. The Goldstone is first implemented as a reference implementation for open packet transponder of Cassini in 2016. Transponder abstraction interface, TAI, was also proposed by OOPT-NOS subgroup members to control CFP2 transceivers in a unified manner. This cultivated the open market of coherent transceivers. In addition, Cassini and Goldstone NOS were introduced in Mixi as the world’s first commercial backbone networks in 2019 [2]. This was one of the big achievements of the OOPT-NOS subgroup.
From 2021, the OOPT-NOS subgroup has contributed to enhance the Goldstone NOS to support TIP Phoenix, our open optical Muxponder designed by TIP Disaggregated Optical Systems (DOS) subgroup. Specifically,
- a function to support device control using standard control interfaces, such as OpenROADM and OpenConfig,
- a function to support device control using standard communication protocols, such as gNMI as well as NETCONF, and
- a streaming telemetry function to collect various information on a device was developed for TIP’s Phoenix [1].
Through the activities, OOPT-NOS subgroup has contributed to the uptake of Phoenix in collaboration with worldwide operators. In October 2023, NEC Corporation successfully commercialized its NEC NOS by building upon Goldstone NOS in collaboration with Phoenix. This effort paid off in the form of receiving a Silver Badge from TIP, which proves that it has passed verification of more than 100 items by network operators [3, 4]. Additionally, NEC has significantly contributed to the Phoenix ecosystem by allowing its NOS to be compatible with various hardware types through the implementation of TAI.
Furthermore, the NOS subgroup has contributed to implementing functions to support open optical Switchponders of aggregation router AGR400 in collaboration. Following the Phoenix, the Goldstone NOS has successfully supported coherent QSFP-DDs on AGR400 and achieved traffic communications. Based on the artifacts, the TIP-OOPT NOS members will contribute to MANTRA PoC. Also, these artifacts will be utilized in IOWN Global Forum PoC activities [1].
The success of this initiative would not have been possible without the dedication and collaboration of key contributors, including NTT, NEC, Fujitsu, IP Infusion, and PalC Networks, whose efforts have helped create a robust ecosystem for disaggregated networking.
The Goldstone project (GitHub link) has established a foundational open-source NOS platform for optical transport, while TAI (GitHub link) has standardized the transponder abstraction layer, paving the way for vendor-neutral solutions.
With the Subgroup’s objectives now achieved, we are closing the loop on this remarkable journey. The work completed by the NOS subgroup will continue to support open and disaggregated networking for years to come, serving as a catalyst for innovation and collaboration in the industry.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who contributed to this initiative and look forward to witnessing the ongoing impact of this foundational work in the evolving networking landscape.
References:
[1] https://www.ntt-review.jp/archive/ntttechnical.php?contents=ntr202407gls2_s.html
[3] https://jpn.nec.com/nsp/open_optical_transport/pdf/wp_realization-of-open-optical-networks_en.pdf
[4] https://www.nec.com/en/press/202310/global_20231012_02.html