NTT Electronics Contributes Goldstone - Open Source Network OS for Disaggregated Coherent Transponders to the Telecom Infra Project

NTT Electronics, a leading provider of advanced components for optical communications systems including coherent optics and digital signal processors (DSPs), contributes the Goldstone Network Operating Software (NOS *1) for disaggregated coherent transponders to the Telecom Infra Project’s NOS Software Project hosted by the Open Optical and Packet Transport project group. Launched in February 2016, TIP was started with the goal of accelerating the pace of innovation in the telecom industry.

Goldstone utilizes many existing open source components which have been developed in Open Compute Project (OCP *2) and Telecom Infra Project (TIP *3) including Open Network Linux (ONL *4), SONiC *5, Switch Abstraction Interface (SAI *6) and Transponder Abstraction Interface (TAI *7) to provide a full-fledged open source solution. ONL is used as the base operating system and provides a wide range of open network device support. On top of ONL, Kubernetes *8 is employed to enable containerized application management, which realizes flexible and modular software composition. SONiC/SAI is deployed as a fleet of containers when the target hardware comprises Ethernet switch ASIC, whereas TAI is used when the target hardware has coherent transponder components. Because of its modular architecture, Goldstone can be extended to support networking devices, which don’t have Ethernet ASIC, but may include conventional transponders, ROADMs or amplifiers in the future.

Goldstone was originally started as a prototype NOS for Edgecore’s Cassini Platform by the proposal from NTT Electronics. This has led to a production deployment by mixi in Japan.
More than five industry partners are using Goldstone for evaluation on the Cassini platform.
It is also being incorporated in Wistron’s Galileo platform.

The NOS is planned to be contributed to TIP Open Optical Packet Transport (OOPT *9) group as an open source project. Goldstone is planned to be part of a live running demonstration at the TIP Summit 2019.

Quote from mixi, Inc.

“As the first operator who deployed Goldstone in production, mixi welcomes the contribution of Goldstone by NTT Electronics to foster more collaboration among the open networking industry. Goldstone brought us huge flexibility and control over our DCI connectivity which is critical for our services” Tatsuma Murase, CTO, mixi, Inc.

Quote from Edgecore

“Edgecore is pleased to be working with NTT Electronics and the broader industry community to enable disaggregated solutions with open packet transponders that will provide broader optical technology choices for network operators.” George Tchaparian, President and CEO, Edgecore Networks

Quote from Wistron

“Wistron is excited to have Goldstone in the open networking industry. Goldstone will accelerate the adaptation of the open disaggregated networking model and we believe it will become a viable solution together with our latest Galileo platform.” Arthur Chang, Sr. Technical Director, Wistron

*1 Network Operating System (NOS) : Operating system for a network device such as a router, switch or firewall.

*2 Open Compute Project (OCP) : The Open Compute Project (OCP) is a collaborative community focused on redesigning hardware technology to efficiently support the growing demands on compute infrastructure. In 2011, Facebook shared its designs with the public and launched the Open Compute Project and incorporated the Open Compute Project Foundation along with Intel, Rackspace, Goldman Sachs and Andy Bechtolsheim. (Reference: OCP web site: https://www.opencompute.org/)

*3 Telecom Infra Project (TIP) : The Telecom Infra Project (TIP) is a collaborative telecom community founded by Facebook and partners. Launched in February 2016, TIP was started with the goal of accelerating the pace of innovation in the telecom industry. TIP members include operators, suppliers, developers, integrators, startups, and other entities that have joined TIP to build new technologies and develop innovative approaches for deploying telecom network infrastructure. (Reference: TIP web site: https://telecominfraproject.com/)

*4 Open Network Linux (ONL) : Open Network Linux(ONL) is an open-source, foundational platform software layer for next-generation, modular NOS architecture on open networking hardware. ONL is a part of the Open Compute Project and is a component in a growing number of commercial NOS stacks and open source projects like CoRD & Stratum. (Reference: ONL web site : http://opennetlinux.org/)

*5 Software for Open Networking in the Cloud (SONiC) : Open source software developed by Microsoft, etc.. It dramatically enhances operations and management of network switches. (Reference: SONiC repository: http://azure.github.io/SONiC/)

*6 Switch Abstraction Interface (SAI) : The Switch Abstraction Interface (SAI) defines the API to provide a vendor-independent way of controlling forwarding elements, such as a switching ASIC, an NPU or a software switch in a uniform manner. (Reference: SAI repository: https://github.com/opencomputeproject/SAI)

*7 Transponder Abstraction Interface (TAI) : The Transponder Abstraction Interface (TAI) is the open API to provide a vendor-independent way of controlling coherent optical components. TAI has been developed under TIP OOPT group and NTT is leading the development. https://www.ntt.co.jp/news2018/1810e/181016c.html

*8 Kubernetes : Kubernetes is a portable, extensible, open-source platform for managing containerized workloads and services. Google open-sourced the Kubernetes in 2014. (Reference: Kubernetes web site : https://kubernetes.io/)

*9 Open Optical Packet Transport (OOPT) : The Open Optical & Packet Transport project group will define Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) open packet transport architecture that triggers new innovation and avoids implementation lock-ins. Open DWDM systems include open line system & control, transponder & network management and packet-switch and router technologies. (Reference: TIP web site: https://telecominfraproject.com/oopt/)

About NTT Electronics

NTT Electronics (NEL) has been developing and commercializing optical communications devices since 1995. It has complete portfolio of optical and electronics products to cover the industry needs for 100G-and-beyond link systems, ROADM components and FTTH networks. For more information about NEL, visit https://www.ntt-electronics.com/en/.

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Contact information

Media Contacts:
Atul Srivastava, Chief Technical Officer
NTT Electronics America, Inc.
Email : pr@nel-america.com