OIF passes three new optical IAs

The Optical Interworking Forum announced the ratification of three new implementation agreements (IAs) today, bringing the total number ratified this year to six.

IAs define common implementations for equipment vendors to ensure interoperability between different vendors’ products.

Two of the new IAs update existing security protections in user-network interfaces and network-network interfaces to network elements. The third updates a multisource agreement for integratable tunable laser assembly.

The two new security IAs--Security Extension for UNI and NNI, and Security for Management Interfaces to Network Elements--are updates of IAs passed in 2003. They both recommend a subset of new Internet Engineering Task Force security mechanisms that the OIF believes apply best to optical networks. The first UNI/NNI security IA concerns signaling and routing in end-to-end optical connections. The second addresses security in interfaces between network elements and network management systems and was updated to include treatment of XML-based Web services. Both IAs aim to prevent threats such as denial of service attacks and spoofing, and both can be used with IPv6 and IPv4.

The tunable laser IA details a communications protocol, electrical interface, power supply and mechanical interface for the integration of laser subassemblies in transponders. In particular, the new IA updates such details for smaller transponders (3 in. by 2.2 in.), which are becoming more prevalent.

“This allows carriers to use a single device to tune over a range of wavelengths instead of having individual devices for individual wavelengths, which creates a nightmare in terms of equipment space for carriers,” said Jim Jones, OIF technical committee chair and senior systems engineer at Alcatel.

All three new IAs were ratified within the past few weeks, the OIF said.