Phosphorus grid-enabled GMPLS control plane (G²MPLS): Architectures services and interfaces

G(2)MPLS is a network control plane architecture that implements the concept of grid network services. In the framework of the IST Phosphorus project, GNS allows the provisioning of network and grid resources in a single step through a set of seamlessly integrated procedures. The implementation of GNS imposes a number of requirements in the control planes of the underlying network infrastructure. This article describes services such as GNS set up and restoration, GNS resource and service discovery, and advance reservation services, which are the main trigger factors of the G(2)MPLS control plane architectures. The article provides an overview of overlay architecture prior to turning to the main focus of the article, which is the integrated architecture through service procedures and the grid-enabled network interfaces provided by the Phosphorus project.