Generalized Label for Super-Channel Assignment on Flexible Grid

To enable scaling of existing transport systems to ultra high data rates of 1 Tbps and beyond, next generation systems providing super- channel switching capability are currently being developed. To allow efficient allocation of optical spectral bandwidth for such high bit rate systems, International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) is extending the G.694.1 grid standard (termed "Fixed-Grid") to include flexible grid (termed "Flex-Grid") support (draft revised ITU-T G.694.1, revision 1.4, Oct 2011). This necessitates definition of new label format for the Flex-Grid. This document defines a super-channel label as a Super-Channel Identifier and an associated list of 12.5 GHz slices representing the optical spectrum of the super-channel. The label information can be encoded using a fixed length or variable length format. This label format can be used in GMPLS signaling and routing protocol to establish super- channel based optical label switched paths (LSPs).