Control Plane Framework Emergence and its Deployment Cost Estimation

Shortcomings of transport network technologies were the main driver behind strong efforts of standardization organizations to develop control plane frameworks since 2001. Despite the findings of previous studies that the control plane framework deployment will lead to a 50 percent decrease in OPEX and despite the fact that transport providers seek new ways to reduce network management complexity, lower operational cost, and to increase network utilization, transport providers mostly remain reluctant to deploy the control plane frameworks introduced by IETF and ITU-T. All studies about identifying the reasons have only investigated technical factors. These studies did not consider economic factors, although economic factors can have a huge impact on the diffusion of new technologies. In order to close this gap, we designed a cost model to calculate the deployment cost of new technologies in production transport networks. Apart from OPEX and CAPEX, which are considered to be the two main components of any cost model, we also included the depreciation cost of network components that are subject to be replaced during their useful lifespan. The cost model provides support for decision makers on when to switch to a new technology. To demonstrate the workings of the cost model, the cost for moving from a traditional network control system to a GMPLS control plane is calculated. Our findings suggest that the low GMPLS control plane deployment is not only rooted in technical factors but also in a lack of understanding of economic factors. Standard OPEX and CAPEX cost models underestimate the real cost that a network provider faces when migrating to a GMPLS-capable network.