A distributed topology information system for optical networks based on the semantic web

The research networking community has embraced novel network architectures to provide e-Science applications with dedicated connections instead of shared links. IP and optical services converge in these new infrastructures to form hybrid networks. Lightpaths are the services offered to clients in the optical portion of the network. They are chosen because they guarantee the appropriate QoS in terms of bandwidth and latency. NDL-the Network Description Language-is a data model offering users and providers of lightpaths with a common ontology to describe topology information of hybrid optical networks. The strength of NDL is that it supports a wide range of applications, including pathfinding, visualisation and asset management, via the definition of a common data model to exchange network descriptions. Since NDL is based on the Semantic Web techniques, it is straightforward to relate NDL with application-specific ontologies. In this paper we present the current status of the NDL schemas and its use in several applications

Using the Network Description Language in Optical Networks

Current research networks allow end users to build their own application-specific connections (lightpaths) and Optical Private Networks (OPNs). This requires a clear communication between the requesting application and the network. The Network Description Language (NDL) is a vocabulary designed to describe optical networks based on the Resource Description Framework (RDF). These descriptions aid applications in querying the capabilities of the network and allow them to clearly express requests to the network. This article introduces NDL and shows its current applications in optical research networks