Affiliation:
1. Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Italy
2. CNIT, Italy
Abstract
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) has promoted the Path Computation Element (PCE) architecture to provide effective network resource utilization while guaranteeing advanced Internet applications with adequate quality of service (QoS). The PCE is a dedicated network entity devoted to path computation. This chapter presents the state-of-the-art of the PCE architecture for different networking scenarios including single-domain networks, optical networks, and multi-domain/layer networks. Relevant architectural and implementation aspects are analyzed and discussed, highlighting related benefits, limitations and open issues. Recent progresses and future directions are also addressed, including the PCE evolution to operate in the context of software defined networking.