Policy-Based Resource Management and Service Provisioning in GMPLS Networks

Emerging network applications tend to be built over heterogeneous network resources spanning multiple management domains. Many such applications have dynamic demands for dedicated, deterministic, high-bandwidth connections. The generalized multi-protocol label switching (GMPLS) networks under development can address these kinds of demands by using policy-based resource management and service provisioning technologies. In this paper, we present the architecture and implementation for policy-based resource management and service provisioning as part of the work on the NSF funded dynamic resource allocation via GMPLS optical networks (DRAGON) Project. This work captures several critical features of service-oriented GMPLS networks, including a) collaborative interdomain resource management; b) interdomain end-to-end path computation; c) advance scheduled provisioning; and d) authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA). These features rely on the capability of exchanging and coordinating resource and policy information among multiple participating domains. In pursuit of this capability, we propose a three-dimensional (3D) resource computation model (RCM). The three broad dimensions of this model are traffic engineering (TE) constraints, time schedule constraints, and AAA policy constraints. The 3D RCM facilitates policy based resource allocation based on many specific constraints within these three broad categories. Based on this model we describe our approach to GMPLS interdomain end-to-end path computation, advance scheduled provisioning, and AAA policy based provisioning, respectively. Our current DRAGON implementation status is also reported in this paper.