The ESLEA Control Plane Software

Circuit-switched networks are emerging as an attractive alternative to conventional packetswitched ones for some types of application, particularly ones involving transferring a large volume of data. The ESLEA Project will use the UKLight circuit-switched network, and its analogues overseas, to demonstrate the usefulness of circuit-switched networks in several applications disciplines. A circuit-switched network must be configured to establish a circuit before it can be used, and the Control Plane Software (CPS) is ESLEA’s software for this purpose. The requirements, design and implementation of the CPS are described. One notable feature of the CPS is that it will allow users to specify reservations for circuits in advance. It will then automatically create the required circuit at the specified time. The current status of the CPS is reviewed and future plans are discussed.