First Demonstration of a Cross-Layer Enabled Network Node

Abstract—Exploding traffic demands and increasing energy consumptions facing today’s networks are driving the designs of next-generation networking technologies. Cross-layer enabled ap-proaches will allow for the packet-level control of the optical layer, to enable dynamic resource allocation and traffic engineering at the physical layer. We demonstrate an intelligent cross-layer en-abled network node that can support high-bandwidth, all-optically routed packets, using emerging photonic technologies including optical packet switched fabrics and packet-scale performance monitoring. Using a cross-layer control and management plane, the node can dynamically optimize optical switching based on higher-layer constraints such as quality-of-service and energy consumption, as well as quality-of-transmission metrics such as link integrity and bit-error rates. We demonstrate a first-generation prototype of the cross-laye