Manage your converged IP and optical network with scale and efficiency.
Overview
The transition to packet transport networks from time division multiplexing (TDM) networks introduces various operational challenges for service providers as they continue to adapt to changing market requirements. To help ensure profitability, business agility, and the quality of service (QoS) delivered, service providers need a management system equipped to efficiently handle converged technologies as well as diverse equipment and applications that make up this complex, ever-evolving optical network.
Cisco Prime™ Optical is a simplified management solution that meets this requirement. It is a single software solution that manages the converged IP and optical network from access to core, supporting both legacy TDM and dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) technologies for efficient delivery of high-quality next-generation services. Through automated and advanced mechanisms for configuration, provisioning, and troubleshooting, Cisco Prime Optical helps operators to efficiently execute end-to-end circuit creation and manage every point within the converged network with unprecedented accuracy and scale. (Refer to Figure 1).
Figure 1. Cisco Prime Optical Functions
Cisco Prime Optical is available as a standalone product or as a preintegrated component of the Cisco Prime Carrier Management suite, which provides end-to-end network management and service lifecycle capabilities including design, fulfillment, assurance, and analysis.
Features and Benefits
Benefits
• Business agility: Accelerates time to market of services through operational scale and efficiency in network discovery, configuration, provisioning, troubleshooting, and change management
• Enhanced customer satisfaction: Helps enable rapid resolution to network issues through advanced diagnostics and real-time service-level agreement (SLA) monitoring
• Lower integration costs: Reduces both capital expenditures (CapEx) and operating expenses (OpEx) through preintegration with the Cisco Prime for IP Next Generation Networks (NGN) suite of management applications as well as standards-based interfaces to third-party applications
Features
• GUI-based user interface with automated configuration and provisioning
• Support for TDM, Wavelength Switched Optical Networks (WSON), DWDM, and Synchronous Optical Networks Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SONET/SDH)
• Detailed topology maps with navigation to details, displaying both optical and packet network devices
• Support for up to 5000 optical network elements
• Redundant software and hardware support for high availability (HA), supporting Linux
• Standards-compliant (CORBA TMF 814 v.3) information model and northbound interface (NBI) for integration
• Support for Linux and Cisco Unified Computing System™ (Cisco UCS™), with embedded Oracle options
Detailed Features and Benefits
Table 1 provides details on some of the key features and benefits of Cisco Prime Optical. For further details and information on the latest enhancements to this product, please refer to the Cisco Prime Optical release notes.
Table 1. Cisco Prime Optical Features and Benefits
Features
Details
Benefits
Architecture and Management Scope
Highly scalable
Cisco Prime Optical offers support for up to 5000 optical network elements (NEs).
Single view of optical network.
Oracle embedded database
The database where all the network information is stored is embedded in the application and installs seamlessly with Cisco Prime Optical.
Lower CapEx and reduced OpEx.
Fast system startup
Optimized for Linux file system caching, Cisco Prime Optical cuts the initial network discovery time in half, which allows faster system startup.
Significantly reduces the length of the network maintenance window resulting in shorter downtime of the network and reduced OpEx.
Platform/device/technology support
Cisco® Transport Controller-based NE releases:
• ONS 15216 R9.6
• ONS 15216 Passive DCU R9.6
• ONS 15454-M6 R9.6
• ONS 15454-M2 R9.6
10x10G_LC, 100G_LC_C, and CFP_LC cards on ONS 15454 M2 and ONS 15454 M6 platforms
AR_XPE card (enhanced version of the AR_XP card):
• ODU0 multiplexing for 1GE and 1GFC payloads
• ODU0 payload mapping during OCHCC circuit creation
• RMON thresholds for 10GE and 4GFC payloads
• Bandwidth utilization panel to show ODU0 slices
• ODUK port mapping
100G_LC_C, 10x10G_LC, and CFP_LC cards:
• GCC communication channel support
• Payload support for 10x10G_LC
• OTU4 payload support for 100G_LC_C
• Physical PM support on 100G_LC_C
• FAN-OUT and LOW-LATENCY operating mode for 10x10G_LC
• The following protection mechanism for the cards:
• Y-Cable protection for 1x100G and 2x40G clients for CFP_LC
• Y-Cable protection for all supported payloads in 10x10G Muxponder and TXP_10G Transponder mode for 10x10G_LC
• Proactive Protection Regen tab for 100G_LC_C card
Operations and Administration
Central Authentication Service (CAS)
With a single sign-on (SSO) CAS solution, different applications can authenticate to one authoritative source of trust.
Ease of operations
Network maps
Capabilities include:
• Dockable topology, properties, and overview panels
• Notification bar for users when changes are made to NE attributes and the map must be refreshed
• Image export
• Ability to set a background for a specific map or user
• Ability to configure the appearance of nodes, groups, and links in a network map
Photonic Path Trace
Display of Photonic Path Trace (PPT) details for Layer 1 services of OCHNC and OCHTrail circuits.
Layer 1 circuit reports
This feature applies to all Layer 1 circuits that can be shown in the circuit table of previous Cisco Prime Optical releases.
Management of unsuccessful installations
Ability to run Cisco Prime Optical even when the previous installation was unsuccessful or incomplete. The uninstaller will remove all changes made to the system.
Fault Management
Optical impairment-aware WSON control plane for Cisco ONS 15454 MSTP simplified creation of optical paths
In networks with an Automatic Switched Optical Network (ASON) and a Generalized Multiprotocol Label Switching (GMPLS) control plane, establishing a connection considers only bandwidth and link up or down status. Optical layer impairments are not considered, and the optical channel is assumed to work by design. In this case, only preplanned channels are guaranteed to work. GMPLS alone is not sufficient to decide whether a proposed path is feasible in the photonic domain.
The Cisco WSON control plane architecture enhances GMPLS capabilities with awareness of wavelength properties and optical impairments, offering dynamic service provisioning on a flexible DWDM network.
The solution introduces extensions to GMPLS that supply path computation with analysis of optical feasibility while providing protocol interoperability with the GMPLS suite. Optical feasibility analysis needs the implementation to be aware of physical optical impairments. Cisco's DWDM-aware GMPLS is aware of optical network topology, node model, node configuration, and optical impairments of node and fiber, which are all fundamental in optical channel path calculation.
• Network availability is improved, as the network is tolerant to multiple failures, with the ability to reroute wavelengths without complex replanning exercises and service calls.
• Network optimization is enhanced. Network topology is modified over a period of time, as service requirements change. The optical-aware WSON control plane helps to reoptimize and to reduce or eliminate network fragmentation.
• Time to market is significantly improved with rapid service setup. Without the need for complicated network planning, a simplified GUI as well as script-oriented Transaction Language 1 (TL1) User-Network Interface (UNI) allows users to dynamically demand wavelength services across DWDM networks.
• Service providers can efficiently use the benefits of reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexers (ROADMs) and reduce the number of wavelengths and transponders needed in the network. Affecting the lowest layer in the network, this directly translates to savings not just in DWDM equipment, but also in ports at higher-layer equipment (cross-connects and routers), resulting in tremendous CapEx savings for operators.
• The WSON control plane provides optical rerouting capabilities, allowing service providers to offer services with new SLA levels in addition to their present modes of operations.
Circuit table
Ability to launch circuit table from the Alarm Browser window and view the circuits affected by an alarm.
• Ease of operations
TCA management from the control panel
Ability to enable or disable TCA management by selecting the check box in the control panel.
• Ease of operations
High Availability
High availability with disaster recovery configuration extended to the Linux platform
With a disaster recovery configuration, based on Red Hat Cluster Suite and Oracle Active Data Guard (ADG), the Cisco Transport Manager High-Availability Solution gives customers the flexibility to create an element management system (EMS) capable of withstanding any type of disaster with minimal downtime.
The HA configuration on Linux now supports local redundancy and automatic failover. Availability of local redundancy and automatic failover for HA installations on Linux.
Keeps network downtime to a minimum, provides carrier-class reliability.
• No need for costly third-party software components to implement the disaster recovery configuration as Oracle ADG is already embedded in the application and the Red Hat Cluster Suite subscription is available through Cisco.
Support for protection operations
Supports the new Link Maintenance Report, including the following new functionality on the OCHCC, OCHNC, and OCH trail circuits:
Table 2. Supported Platforms and Operating Systems
Platform
Operating System
Sun UltraSPARC-based server
Sun Solaris 10, release 10/09 or later
Sun UltraSPARC T Series
Cisco UCS B series
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 5.5, server 64-bit or RHEL 5.6, 5.7, or 6.2, server 64-bit (with or without VMware ESXi version 4.1 or 5.0)
Cisco UCS C series
About Cisco Prime
The Cisco Prime portfolio of IT and service provider management offerings empowers organizations to more effectively manage their networks and the services they deliver. Built on a service-centered foundation, the Cisco Prime supports integrated lifecycle management through an intuitive workflow-oriented user experience - providing A-to-Z management for IP NGNs, mobility, video, cloud and managed services.
Service and Support
Cisco offers a wide range of services programs to accelerate customer success. These innovative services programs are delivered through a unique combination of people, processes, tools, and partners, resulting in high levels of customer satisfaction. Cisco services help you to protect your network investment, optimize network operations, and prepare the network for new applications to extend network intelligence and the power of your business. For more information please visit the Cisco Services page on Cisco.com.
Ordering Information
Cisco Prime Optical is available for purchase through regular Cisco sales and distribution channels worldwide. To place an order, visit the Cisco Ordering Homepage.
For More Information
For more information about Cisco Prime Optical including a complete list of features and product specifications and the latest release notes please visit http://www.cisco.com/go/transport or contact your local account representative.
