DISTRIBUTED RESTORATION IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS

Self-healing networks, based on distributed restoration protocols operated in synchronous digital hierarchy (SDH) transport networks, have been investigated in recent years to improve network resilience and customer-perceived service availability. They offer several important features including sub-second network restoration based on the exact network configuration at the time of failure, automatic adaptability as the network grows, and operation without the requirement of a centralised operations and maintenance centre. This paper presents a description of the operation of distributed restoration algorithms, results of simulations and strategies for deployment. A heuristic for designing networks to take advantage of these techniques is also described, and the applicability of distributed algorithms to other areas of network management is discussed.