Towards Linux-based Open Telecom Platforms

In this paper, I will present on the trend towards open and standardized telecom platform solutions as proposed by key consotia. I will then examine the benefits Linux provides as opposed to proprietary operating systems and present the feature areas that Linux lacks before its adoption in the telecom industry. Next, I will present on the Carrier Grade Linux (CGL) activity within OSDL, show their focus areas within the Linux kernel, and explain on their CGL specifications. Most importantly, I will discuss the different areas that need enhancements in Linux so it can be competative in the telecom area. These enhacements fall in the areas of clustering (better support for clustering, cluster communication mechanism, cluster security), low-level kernel mechanisms for improved reliability and soft-realtime performance (support for Asynchnounous Events), and in the area of networking (distributed routing IP stack and support for multi-FIB with overlapping interface's IP address and appropriate interfaces for addressing FIB(VR)).