On control plane information modeling for automatically switched transport networks

Networks provided with a control plane (CP), that allow automatically creating and deleting switched connection, are expected to become a reality in the near future. However, network operators will not likely adopt such a solution if the possibility to manage the CP activities is not present. Therefore the definition of an information model (IM) that can support the management of the CP operation is one of the crucial points faced by the principal standardization institutes. In this paper guidelines for a CP IM are given, and a new proposal for a CP IM addressing some missing features of the existing models is presented. The novelties consist in an extended modeling of internal functional blocks of the CP as compared to the existing ITU-T model and in the functional layering of the CP functionalities according to the switching capability of the controlled transport network.