CHICAG0 -- Big Telecom Event -- Google network architect Bikash Koley said in a BTE keynote presentation that Google is open sourcing some of its own optical topology configuration models in an attempt to help spur adoption of SDN throughout the transport layer.

Koley said Google has open sourced its own internally developed multi-vendor optical terminal configuration model to fellow network operator members of the OpenConfig industry group. Google also plans to do the same with its Open Line System configuration model in the next month or so. Koley, principal architect and manager of network architecture at Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), made the comments during a presentation that marked his second straight year with a Day 1 speaking engagement at BTE, and while he noted the networking sector has made progress embracing SDN over the last year, he said it's still not very far along at the optical layer.

OpenConfig is out to change that. OpenConfig members, in addition to Google industry giants Facebook , Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL), AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), 858|BT Group plc}, Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK), Cox Communications Inc. , Level 3 Communications Inc. (NYSE: LVLT) and Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO), are developing a model for configuration and operational states to promote adoption of SDN throughout optical network topologies. (See Google: OpenConfig Grows, Goes Commercial and Google, AT&T, BT Unite on Network Data Models.)

Figure 1: Google's Bikash Koley returns to the BTE stage for the second straight year.

"We're in the middle of transforming our transport network to SDN principles," Koley said. "To do that we need a vendor-neutral topology and configuration model and a centralized declarative configuration that can be consumed by existing vendor element management systems for native support and translation to network elements. Most importantly, we need network-state visibility."

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Koley added that it's important to have configuration and network state models developed and deployed in tandem because changing configuration means making a global-level change on the network. "You need to be able to see that change in real-time. If you can't see that change you can have problems with your network. That's why it doesn't make sense anymore for configuration and network state models to be developed separately."

Meanwhile, Koley said OpenConfig is also looking for broader industry participation, and doesn't want to only represent the voice of the huge firms that are already part of it. It's not a standards group, and it's open to any size network operator. The open source models Google is making available in OpenConfig are for use by group members only, but the aim is to feed all work into the standards process.

— Dan O'Shea, Managing Editor, Light Reading