Despite challenges mentioned in phase 1a chapter, adoption of optical SDN controllers is considered essential for future IP/optical integration and should not be postponed. To make SDN adoption in optical domain smoother, the following options are suggested:
- Avoid wasting resources on learning and doing same mistakes twice. Either of the following two options should be considered:
- integrate IP/MPLS and optical teams
- OR adopt SDN in optical domain after getting some experience in applying similar technology in IP/MPLS domain. However, the adoption should not be postponed for too long to minimize technology gaps and related integration challenges.
- Give special attention to multi-vendor aspects of controllers’ northbound interfaces
Consider innovative vendors’ solutions which have much less legacy constraints and usually more innovative and flexible solutions