The Optical Internetworking Forum (OIF) is a non-profit, member-driven organization founded in 1998. It promotes the development and deployment of interoperable networking solutions and services through the creation of Implementation Agreements (IAs) for optical networking products, network processing elements, and component technologies. Implementation agreements are based on requirements developed cooperatively by end-users, service providers, equipment vendors and technology providers, and aligned with worldwide standards, augmented if necessary. This is accomplished through industry member participation working together to develop specifications (IAs) for:

• External network element interfaces

• Software interfaces internal to network elements

• Hardware component interfaces internal to network elements


The OIF creates benchmarks, performs worldwide interoperability testing, builds market awareness and promotes education for technologies, services and solutions. The OIF provides feedback to worldwide standards organizations to help achieve a set of implementable, interoperable solutions.

The OIF strives to accelerate the deployment of interoperable optical networks by developing market-driven solutions to real-world problems in a timely manner thereby reducing market-entry risks. It develops contribution-driven IAs in a virtual/open collaboration model by members who represent the entire industry ecosystem.

Organizational form

Launched in 1998, the OIF is the first industry group to unite representatives from data and optical networking disciplines, including many of the world's leading carriers, component manufacturers, and system vendors. With 100+ member companies, the OIF unites representatives from data and optical networking disciplines, including many of the world’s leading carriers, component manufacturers and system vendors.

Technical Committee and Working Groups

The OIF structure includes a Technical Committee and a Market Awareness and Education Committee (MA&E). The MA&E Committee is responsible for the educational and marketing activities of the OIF. The Technical Committee essentially produces IAs out of the following working groups:

• The OIF Architecture and Signaling Working Group solicits and analyzes requirements from service providers. Based on these requirements, it develops implementation agreements related to architectures and signaling for Optical Internetworks and optical network elements.

• The OIF Carrier Working Group develops requirements and guidelines for the services and functions to be supported by the future optical networking products to be installed in the service providers networks, thus providing a common direction to the equipment vendors community as well as the other OIF working groups. Specifically

• The Interoperability Working Group defines testing methodologies for implementation agreements, carries out proofs of concept, evaluates multi-vendor interoperability and contributes technical leadership for interoperability trials. Interoperability test criteria are extracted from implementation agreements, and methods are defined with support of the source technical working group.

• The Operations, Administration, Maintenance, & Provisioning (OAM&P) working group develops architectures, requirements, guidelines, and implementation agreements critical to widespread deployment of interoperable optical networks by carriers. The scope includes but is not limited to a) planning, engineering and provisioning of network resources; b) operations, maintenance or administration use cases and processes; and c) management functionality and interfaces for operations support systems and interoperable network equipment. Within its scope are Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance and Security Management (FCAPS) and Security.

• The OIF Physical and Link Layer (PLL) Working Group develops Implementation Agreements related to physical and data link layer interfaces between Optical Internetworking elements and between their internal components, reusing existing standards when applicable.

• The OIF Physical Layer User Working Group develops requirements and guidelines for components, modules, subsystems and communication links used in networking equipment thus providing common direction to the PLL vendor community as well as the other OIF working groups.

100G Implementation Agreements

• 100G Ultra Long Haul DWDM Framework Document
• Implementation Agreement for Integrated Polarization Multiplexed Quadrature Modulated Transmitters
• Implementation Agreement for Integrated Dual Polarization Intradyne Coherent Receivers
• Multisource Agreement for 100G Long-Haul DWDM Transmission Module - Electromechanical
• 100G Forward Error Correction White Paper

Electrical Interfaces Implementation Agreements

• Common Electrical I/O (CEI)- Electrical and Jitter Interoperability Agreements for 6G+bps and 11G+bps I/O
• Implementation Guide for the Common Electrical Interface 2.0 (CEI 2.0)
• Common Electrical I/O - Protocol (CEI-P) Implementation Agreement
• Proposal for a Common Electrical Interface Between SONET Framer and Serializer/deserializer Parts for OC-192 Interfaces
• SERDES Framer Interface Level 4 (SFI-4.2) Phase 2: Implementation Agreement for 10Gbit/s Interface for Physical Layer Devices
• Serdes Framer Interface Level 5 (SFI-5): 40Gbit/s Interface for Physical Layer Devices
• Serdes Framer Interface Level 5 Phase 2 (SFI-5.2): Implementation Agreement for 40Gbit/s Interface for Physical Layer Devices
• Scalable Serdes Framer Interface (SFI-S): Implementation Agreement for Interfaces Beyond 40G for Physical Layer Devices
• Serial Look Aside Interface Implementation Agreement
• SPI-3 Packet Interface for Physical and Link Layers for OC-48
• System Physical Interface Level 4 (SPI-4) Phase 1: A System Interface for Interconnection Between Physical and Link Layer, or Peer-to-Peer Entities Operating at an OC-192 Rate (10 Gbit/s)
• System Packet Interface Level 4 (SPI-4) Phase 2: OC-192 System Interface for Physical and Link Layer Devices
• System Packet Interface Level 5 (SPI-5) : OC-768 System Interface for Physical and Link Layer Devices
• Scalable System Packet Interface Implementation Agreement: System Packet Interface Capable of Operating as an Adaptation Layer for Serial Data Links
• System Interface Level 5 (SxI-5): Common Electrical Characteristics for 2.488 - 3.125Gbit/s Parallel Interfaces
• TDM System Interface Protocol
• TDM Fabric to Framer Interface (TFI5)

Optical Transponder Interoperability Agreement

• Interoperability for Long Reach and Extended Reach 10 Gbit/s Transponders and Transceivers

Tunable Laser Implementation Agreements

• Implementation Agreement for Common Software Protocol,Control Syntax, and Physical (Electrical and Mechanical) Interfaces for Tunable Laser Modules
• Multi-Source Agreement for CW Tunable Lasers
• Integrable Tunable Laser Assembly Multi Source Agreement
• Integrable Tunable Transmitter Assembly Multi Source Agreement

UNI – NNI Implementation Agreements

• User Network Interface (UNI) 1.0 Signaling Specification
• Common - User Network Interface (UNI) 1.0 Signaling Specification, Release 2: Common Part
• RSVP Extensions for User Network Interface (UNI) 1.0 Signaling, Release 2
• Common - User Network Interface (UNI) 2.0 Signaling Specification: Common Part
• User Network Interface (UNI) 2.0 Signaling Specification: RSVP Extensions for User Network Interface (UNI) 2.0
• Call Detail Records for OIF UNI 1.0 Billing
• Security Extension for UNI and E-NNI 2.0
• Security Extension for UNI and NNI
• Addendum to the Security Extension for UNI and NNI
• OIF Control Plane Logging and Auditing with Syslog
• Security for Management Interfaces to Network Elements
• Addendum to the Security for Management Interfaces to Network Elements
• Intra-Carrier E-NNI Signaling Specification
• E-NNI Signaling Specification
• External Network-Network Interface (E-NNI) OSPF-based Routing - 1.0 (Intra-Carrier)
• OIF Guideline Document: Signaling Protocol Interworking of ASON/GMPLS Network Domains
• OIF Carrier Working Group Guideline Document: Control Plane Requirements for Multi-Domain Optical Transport Networks

Very Short Reach Interface Implementation Agreements

• Very Short Reach (VSR) OC-192 Interface for Parallel Optics
• Very Short Reach (VSR) OC-192 Four Fiber Interface Based on Parallel Optics
• Serial Shortwave Very Short Reach (VSR) OC-192 Interface for Multimode Fiber
• Very Short Reach (VSR) OC-192 Interface Using 1310 Wavelength and 4 and 11 dB Link Budgets
• Very Short Reach Interface Level 5 (VSR-5): SONET/SDH OC-768 Interface for Very Short Reach (VSR) Applications

Liaison relationships

The OIF actively supports and extends the work of standards bodies and industry forums with the goal of promoting worldwide compatibility of optical internetworking products.

External links

• OIF Home Page
• OIF Interoperability Agreements
• OIF Events Calendar