The Everything Feed - All Packet Pushers Pods TNO045: IP and Optical Integration: Automation Across Layers
Oct 10, 2025
Jim Brinksma, Senior VP at LightRiver with 25 years in telecom, leads a team including Tim Massey, a seasoned optical expert, Shevan Patel, an AI/ML engineer, and Dan Rose, backend AI lead. They explore the integration of IP and optical layers, discussing the historical silos and the promise of API-driven automation. Excitingly, they dive into using AI for network operations, creating tailored user experiences, and enhancing onboarding for engineers. The conversation also touches on AI's potential impact on jobs and the importance of securing AI deployments.
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Silos Between IP And Optical Are Breaking Down
- Network layers historically ran in silos with separate leadership, tooling, and standards bodies, causing integration friction.
- LightRiver sees automation and APIs collapsing those silos by aggregating, normalizing, and making multi-layer data actionable.
Consume APIs Then Expose Focused Workflows
- Use vendor APIs and native device protocols to aggregate and normalize multi-vendor, multi-generation data.
- Then expose focused workflows (provisioning, maintenance, planning) so users get only the screens and controls they need.
Prism + Netflix Orchestrate Router-To-Transport
- LightRiver's Prism can speak TAPI to open line systems and Netflix talks directly to routers to provision optics and wavelengths.
- Together they orchestrate router-to-transport provisioning in customer deployments today.