LAUSR

Optical access networks (OANs) with passive optical network technology have been globally deployed on a massive scale, serving as the fundamental information infrastructure of teleCommunication networks. Some telecom service providers are re-architecting their networks based on cloud central office with software-defined networking and network functions virtualization capabilities to provide service agility, intelligence, and scalability. In this article, we present a synthesized analysis of the inherent value and practical use cases of access network (AN) slicing in the context of software-defined OANs. A novel hierarchical abstraction model and a workflow of end-to-end network slicing are presented to illustrate the support of multi-service and multi-tenancy applications over a converged OAN platform by enabling automatic life cycle management of AN slicing. Two successful trials utilizing the model and the workflow are also demonstrated.