Metro Ethernet

Signaling Models

Signaling is a critical element in the control plane. It is responsible for establishing paths along packet-switched capable (PSC) and non-PSC networking devices such as routers, TDM cross-connects, and OXCs. PSC networks have no separation between the data and signaling paths; both data traffic and control traffic are carried over the same channels. In optical networks, control traffic needs to be separated from data traffic. One of the reasons is that OXCs are transparent to the data, because they perform light or lambda switching, whereas control traffic needs to be terminated at each intermediary OXC, because it carries the information to manage the data flows and information exchange between OXCs.

Multiple proposals exist ...