The Challenge
SK Telecom (SKT) wanted a live Proof of Concept rather than a paper study, because the question was a hard one: can open, multi-vendor networking deliver the functionality, efficiency, and performance its network requires while integrating and interoperating with the traditional equipment already installed? The operator was chasing two results at once, cost reduction and technical innovation, and it needed evidence that IP over DWDM (IPoDWDM) optics bought from more than one supplier would hold up across a long-distance point-to-point span.
The Solution
SKT ran the trial alongside IP Infusion and Edgecore Networks on the Innovative Optical and Wireless Network (IOWN) All-Photonics Network. OcNOS-SP-PLUS SKUs ran on Edgecore whitebox platforms carrying 400G OpenZR+ QSFP-DD transceivers from several industry vendors, and SKT's own SDN Orchestrator supplied centralized, automated management with real-time monitoring of the optical modules.
- OcNOS SP running on Edgecore whitebox hardware
- 400G OpenZR+ QSFP-DD optics from multiple vendors
- Long-distance P2P IPoDWDM topology over the IOWN APN
- SDN Orchestrator control of Tx Power, Line Rate, and Wavelength, with telemetry-based status monitoring
Risultati
The POC established technical feasibility in a live network. Optics, switch hardware, and network operating system came from different companies and still behaved as one system end to end, which is the finding that matters to a carrier weighing an open stack against a single-vendor line system.
- The IPoDWDM trial completed over the IOWN All-Photonics Network, with OcNOS, Edgecore hardware, and SKT's SDN Orchestrator integrating seamlessly.
- Engineers set Tx Power, Line Rate, and Wavelength centrally, so optical provisioning stops being a manual step taken at each site.
- Telemetry reports module status in real time, keeping the optical layer under the same automated management as the packet layer.
- Open, heterogeneous optics held up over the long-distance point-to-point path, which is the prerequisite for taking open networking from trials into commercial deployments.
Why OcNOS
OcNOS gave SKT a flexible IPoDWDM platform that runs on open whitebox hardware and works with OpenZR+ optics from multiple suppliers. As Takki Yu, Vice President, Head of Infra Tech at SKT, put it: "This live trial with IP Infusion and Edgecore validates the viability of disaggregated solutions for our network. Leveraging SKT's advanced SDN Orchestrator, this successful POC marks a significant step toward achieving cost efficiency and technical excellence in our IPoDWDM use case."