Fine protection of data-paths in multi-layer networks based on the GMPLS paradigm

The telecommunications world is expecting the take off of broadband services, beyond typical telephone, both mobile and fixed, and IPTV. The expectations on huge growth of data traffic will lead the evolution of the network towards the next generation multi-service network. The cornerstone of future network infrastructure will be the possibility of provide carrier grade performance, for those services that require such features. This means to guarantee the QoS performance and the resilience of a circuit-switched network even in a packet-based scenario. Beyond that, key requirements are the capacity of tailoring the QoS to different services, and flexibility, that is the effective utilization of network resources, as well as the ability to react to changes in the traffic demands. This paper addresses the issue of providing adequate levels of protection to data flows in multi-layer networks composed of MPLS and optical layers and based on the GMPLS paradigm. A new approach is proposed allowing for an efficient use of network resources and providing adequate levels of protection, starting from the high standard required for real-time traffic.