Aug 26, 2010
Faced with the need to switch and multiplex signals of ever larger bandwidth, as transparently as possible, while preserving visibility of their digital contents for monitoring, the ITU-T recommended OTN as a new format to carry packet and non-packet traffic. This was specified to accommodate the dramatic growth in traffic while minimizing power consumption, equipment size, capex and opex, while adding features to improve network performance and management.
OTN defines network architecture requirements, interfaces and a hierarchy of bit rates. Together, these form a key part of the transformation that is being provided by next-generation networks (NGN). NGNs converge a range of services onto a shared network, itself based on a mixture of technologies, in contrast to the formerly frequent and more costly arrangement of a separate network or "silo" or "stovepipe" per service.
Based on electrical processing, OTN takes over where SDH/SONET runs out of capacity. It is much simpler than packet processing and complements the optical processing done in WDM systems.
OTN used as a complement to MPLS/Ethernet to enhance delivery in next generation networks