2.3. OPEX Minimization

2.3. OPEX Minimization

Operating large-scale infrastructure can be expensive as a larger amount of elements will statistically fail more often. Having a simpler design and operating using a limited software feature set minimizes software issue-related failures.

An important aspect of Operational Expenditure (OPEX) minimization is reducing the size of failure domains in the network. Ethernet networks are known to be susceptible to broadcast or unicast traffic storms that can have a dramatic impact on network performance and availability. The use of a fully routed design significantly reduces the size of the data-plane failure domains, i.e., limits them to the lowest level in the network hierarchy. However, such designs introduce the problem of distributed control-plane failures. This observation calls for simpler and less control-plane protocols to reduce protocol interaction issues, reducing the chance of a network meltdown. Minimizing software feature requirements as described in the CAPEX section above also reduces testing and training requirements.