The OIF: A Beacon for Industry Progress and Convergence

The Trends Users demanding lower cost, converged and personalized services Added complexity in networks, services, vendors and markets Increasing network diversity in: ― Industry standards ― Carrier models ― Product architectures

The Challenge Allow network providers to manage the underlying technical complexity of their networks Support vendor innovation while: ― Preserving interoperability ― Maximizing performance ― Minimizing costs

Pre-competitive collaboration leading to: The Goal Accelerated innovation, faster time-to-market Enhanced intelligence in networks and devices Reliable interoperation Reduced risk Global access

The Solution The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) ― A nonprofit, member-driven collaborative organization that develops public-domain interoperability agreements for telecommunications and data networks Members include: ― Carriers ― Equipment vendors ― Component manufacturers ― Enterprise customers ― Academics ― Government agencies

Benefiting the Industry and its Customers Broad industry participation ― All technology tiers ― All market segments Accessible memberships ― Principal ― Small business ― Auditing ― Academic 100+ member companies Contribution-driven, pre-competitive cooperation to accelerate progress

Roadblocks to Progress Proprietary solutions Lacking or lagging standards Lack of opportunities for collaboration OIF Removes those Roadblocks Contributing to formal standard bodies Building industry consensus Accelerating progress through collaboration

OIF Offers a Formal Process for: Presenting new ideas Selecting the best ideas for formal projects Managing and monitoring projects Proving concepts through interoperability demos Drafting and signing Implementation Agreements Presenting proposals to formal standards bodies

Guiding-Light Groups Carrier ― Members: representatives from carriers ― Creates: consensus on requirements for new services and functions ― Asks: “Does the industry need this capability?” Physical Layer Users Group ― Members: representatives from system vendors ― Creates: consensus on requirements for new interconnects ― Asks: “What interconnects will our future systems need?” Working Groups that evaluate potential projects:

Technical Groups Physical and Link Layer Architecture and Signaling Operations Administration, Maintenance & Provisioning Software Working Groups that forge details of Implementation Agreements:

Solution Validation Working Groups Benchmarking Interoperability Working Groups that demonstrate project success:

The OIF Working Groups in Action

The Output: Implementation Agreements Formal agreements between OIF members to adopt a particular technology Detailed technical specifications that ensure interoperability of compliant systems ― Free for public download and unlicensed use ― Complementary to the work of formal standards bodies

The Output: Interoperability Demonstrations Proof of concept based on working prototypes Presented at major industry trade shows around the world An opportunity to clarify and enhance the details of Implementation Agreements Measures of success: ― Requests for more information or quotes for the demonstrated technology ― De facto market adoption ― Incorporation in the work of formal standards bodies

Success Story: Industry-Standard Chip-to-Chip Interfaces SerDes to Framer Interface Level 4 Phase 2 ― Interface for 10 Gbps applications ― Specifies the interconnection between the SerDes component, FEC process and framer ― Enables parallel electrical bus operating significantly slower than the optical data rate Has been highly successful in the market ― Every 300-pin transponder that transports 10 Gbps data optically uses this electrical interface SFI-4.2

Success Story: Paving the Way for ASON/GMPLS ASON/GMPLS defines a distributed control plane that automates switching across carrier domains The OIF was an important enabling force for the ITU’s ASON and IETF’s GMPLS standards: Many essential aspects of ASON/GMPLS originated in the OIF’s Architecture and Signaling Working Group ― Carrier requirements of the OIF’s Carrier Working Group have set the reference for standardization work ― Many essential aspects of ASON/GMPLS originated in the OIF’s Architecture and Signaling Working Group ― The OIF User Network Interface (UNI) and Network to Network Interface (NNI) specifications paved the way ― These signaling and routing protocols speed service provisioning and transport across heterogeneous networks.

Collaboration for Innovation Mission: To foster the development and deployment of interoperable products and services for data switching and routing using optical networking technologies The OIF is the only industry group that brings together professionals from the data and optical worlds Its 100+ member companies represent the entire industry ecosystem: ― Carriers and network users ― Component and systems vendors ― Testing and software companies

The OIF: Lighting the Way For More Information: ― Kimberly Chiu, Project Manager Optical Internetworking Forum Fremont Blvd., Suite 117 Fremont, CA USA Phone: Fax: Web: Press Contact: ― Deborah Porchivina Porchivina & Associates Public Relations 448 Ignacio Blvd., Suite 350 Novato, CA USA Phone: Fax: