Earlier this year, Facebook led the charge to launch a new open source group - the Telecom Infra Project (TIP) - whose mission is to improve global Internet connections. TIP will employ the same methods Facebook has used to re-design data centers via its Open Compute Project (OCP). Some of TIP’s goals are lofty: such as rethinking network architectures and bringing the Internet to underserved regions of the globe.

At first glance, there didn’t appear to be a software-defined networking (SDN) angle to TIP.

But recently, Juniper Networks joined TIP, and Jonathan Davidson, Juniper’s EVP and GM of development and innovation, mentioned the open source project at the company’s investor conference in May.

He said now that Juniper’s acquisition of BTI Systems was completed, “We’ll take our packet DNA, and bring it into the optical domain.”

Juniper will participate in TIP to advance packet and optical convergence and drive more openness at the optical layer.

“From a packet perspective, Juniper’s packets work with any others’,” Davison said. “But if we pick two optical vendors, more than likely their products will not interoperate with each other. Customers are locked in as soon as they buy vendor A’s optical equipment.”

Juniper is combining the optical assets from BTI Systems with its own NorthStar Controller for SDN in the wide area network (WAN-SDN). In March it said it wants to integrate the IP network and the optical network to target Tier 2s that want to use their networks for data center interconnection in the metro network.

“NorthStar is opening up optical networking, bridging the routing layer with the optical layer,” says Scott Miles, senior director of cloud, enterprise portfolio marketing at Juniper. “We have joined [TIP] to make a strong contribution in the optical conversation."

A blog posting penned by Domenico Di Mola, VP of packet-optical platforms with Juniper’s development and innovation group, says the company has a vision around the next generation open optical line system.

Miles explains that optical transponders within optical line systems have not been as interoperable as they could be. TIP provides the forum to create interoperability. And Juniper’s NorthStar Controller can bridge the layers.

“SDN has been the enabler to these challenges with centralized yet global visibility across layers,” says Miles. “With TIP you have a whole community of interest.”