Tellabs publishes report on PON and the SDN transition

Tellabs and Cornerstone Communications, LTD released a research report that described how Passive Optical Networking reduced complexity, lowered cost, and enabled vendor neutral software defined networks at scale.

The report said enterprise, government, and defense networks faced unprecedented levels of complexity as connected devices, cloud applications, distributed users, and emerging digital services increased demands, and that cost, space, and future planning were pressing concerns.

It explained that Passive Optical Networking aligned with Software Defined Networking (SDN) principles by separating control and data planes, centralizing management, and reducing the number of active network elements; when implemented as a Passive Optical Local Area Network (LAN), the architecture became an inherently software-defined, open, and vendor neutral alternative to traditional switched LANs and could be managed using information from a single Optical Line Terminal (OLT).

The research examined proprietary SD-LAN approaches that relied on overlays and specialized hardware, which the report said increased operational complexity and long-term cost, and set out findings that Passive Optical LANs eliminated many switches, reduced data plane complexity, lowered Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) and operating expense by removing traditional switching hardware, and supported open, standards-based orchestration.

“Software-defined Passive Optical Networking gives organizations a smarter, more secure, and more future-ready way to modernize their networks,” said Throughput Optimization Module (TOM) Parisi, VP of Government Sales at Tellabs.

The report noted that organizations exploring advanced SDN orchestration platforms or emerging Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) strategies stand to gain a particular advantage from software defined Passive Optical LANs.