Benchmarking and viability assessment of optical packet switching for metro networks

Optical packet switching (OPS) has been proposed as a strong candidate for future metro networks. This paper assesses the viability of an OPS-based ring architecture as proposed within the research project DAVID (Data And Voice Integration on DWDM), funded by the European Commission through the Information Society Technologies (IST) framework. Its feasibility is discussed from a physical-layer point of view, and its limitations in size are explored. Through dimensioning studies, we show that the proposed OPS architecture is competitive with respect to alternative metropolitan area network (MAN) approaches, including synchronous digital hierarchy, resilient packet rings (RPR), and star-based Ethernet. Finally, the proposed OPS architectures are discussed from a logical performance point of view, and a high-quality scheduling algorithm to control the packet-switching operations in the rings is explained

On IP over WDM burst-switched long haul and metropolitan area networks

The IP over Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) network is a natural evolution ushered in by the phenomenal advances in networking technologies and technical breakthroughs in optical communications, fueled by the increasing demand in the reduction of operation costs and the network management complexity. The unprecedented bandwidth provisioning capability and the multi-service supportability of the WDM technology, in synergy with the data-oriented internetworking mechanisms, facilitates a common shared infrastructure for the Next Generation Internet (NGJ). While NGI targets to perform packet processing directly on the optical transport layer, a smooth evolution is critical to success. Intense research has been conducted to design the new generation optical networks that retain the advantages of packet-oriented transport prototypes while rendering elastic network resource utilization and graded levels of service. This dissertation is focused on the control architecture, enabling technologies, and performance analysis of the WDM burst-switched long haul and Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs). Theoretical analysis and simulation results are reported to demonstrate the system performance and efficiency of proposed algorithms. A novel transmission mechanism, namely, the Forward Resource Reservation (ERR) mechanism, is proposed to reduce the end-to-end delay for an Optical Burst Switching (OBS)-based IP over WDM system. The ERR scheme adopts a Linear Predictive Filter and an aggressive reservation strategy for data burst length prediction and resource reservation, respectively, and is extended to facilitate Quality of Service (QoS) differentiation at network edges. The ERR scheme improves the real-time communication services for applications with time constraints without deleterious system costs. The aggressive strategy for channel holding time reservations is proposed. Specifically, two algorithms, the success probability-driven (SPD) and the bandwidth usage-driven (BUD) ones, are proposed for resource reservations in the FRRenabled scheme. These algorithms render explicit control on the latency reduction improvement and bandwidth usage efficiency, respectively, both of which are important figures of performance metrics. The optimization issue for the FRR-enabled system is studied based on two disciplines - addressing the static and dynamic models targeting different desired objectives (in terms of algorithm efficiency and system performance), and developing a \u27\u27crank back\u27\u27 based signaling mechanism to provide bandwidth usage efficiency. The proposed mechanisms enable the network nodes to make intelligent usage of the bandwidth resources. In addition, a new control architecture with enhanced address resolution protocol (E-ARP), burst-based transmission, and hop-based wavelength allocation is proposed for Ethernet-supported IP over WDM MANs. It is verified, via theoretical analysis and simulation results, that the E-ARP significantly reduces the call setup latency and the transmission requirements associated with the address probing procedures; the burst-based transport mechanism improves the network throughput and resource utilization; and the hop-based wavelength allocation algorithm provides bandwidth multiplexing with fairness and high scalability. The enhancement of the Ethernet services, in tandem with the innovative mechanisms in the WDM domain, facilitates a flexible and efficient integration, thus making the new generation optical MAN optimized for the scalable, survivable, and IP-dominated network at gigabit speed possible

Future benefits and applications of intelligent on-board processing to VSAT services

The trends and roles of VSAT services in the year 2010 time frame are examined based on an overall network and service model for that period. An estimate of the VSAT traffic is then made and the service and general network requirements are identified. In order to accommodate these traffic needs, four satellite VSAT architectures based on the use of fixed or scanning multibeam antennas in conjunction with IF switching or onboard regeneration and baseband processing are suggested. The performance of each of these architectures is assessed and the key enabling technologies are identified

Applications of satellite technology to broadband ISDN networks

Two satellite architectures for delivering broadband integrated services digital network (B-ISDN) service are evaluated. The first is assumed integral to an existing terrestrial network, and provides complementary services such as interconnects to remote nodes as well as high-rate multicast and broadcast service. The interconnects are at a 155 Mbs rate and are shown as being met with a nonregenerative multibeam satellite having 10-1.5 degree spots. The second satellite architecture focuses on providing private B-ISDN networks as well as acting as a gateway to the public network. This is conceived as being provided by a regenerative multibeam satellite with on-board ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) processing payload. With up to 800 Mbs offered, higher satellite EIRP is required. This is accomplished with 12-0.4 degree hopping beams, covering a total of 110 dwell positions. It is estimated the space segment capital cost for architecture one would be about $190M whereas the second architecture would be about$250M. The net user cost is given for a variety of scenarios, but the cost for 155 Mbs services is shown to be about $15-22/minute for 25 percent system utilization

An implementation of packet-switched communication for pilot protection at Tennessee Valley Authority

The utility network has long relied on Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) such as T1 and Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) as the main channel to transmit and receive data in a communication system. However, TDM technology is aging and its equipment becoming obsolete as vendors transition to Packet-Switched Networks (PSN) to make way for Ethernet-based network communications. Teleprotection is a critical element for a reliable power system as it provides high-speed tripping for faults on the protected line and is applied in various pilot protection schemes. Protection schemes cannot perform at their best without a fast and reliable communication system. The transition from a circuit-switched technology like SONET to a packet-based technology like Multiprotocol Label Switching-Transport Profile (MPLS-TP) has caused reservations for protection engineers as they express their concerns for lacking guaranteed 100% availability and potential latency. This paper will address this issue and the consistent test results at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)\u27s lab have proven to satisfy the communication requirements in a teleprotection system. Teleprotection traffics make to its destination in order in microseconds, the symmetrical delay is less than 1µs, and especially the recovery from a failure occurs under 50ms (3 cycles). The results reassure the protection engineers that the Ethernet migration is necessary yet provides a better performance compared to the legacy system

Topology overlays for dedicated protection Ethernet LAN services in advanced SONET/SDH networks

The explosion of information technology (IT) services coupled with much-increased personal and scientific computing capabilities has resulted in great demand for more scalable and reliable networking services. Along these lines, carriers have spent large sums to transition their legacy\u27 SONET/SDH voice-based networking infrastructures to better support client-side Ethernet data interfaces, i.e., next-generation SONET/SDH (NGS). In particular, a key addition here has been the new virtual concatenation (VCAT) feature which supports inverse multiplexing to \u27split\u27 larger connection requests in to a series of independently-routed \u27sub-connections\u27. As these improved infrastructures have been deployed, the design of new Ethernet over SONET/SDH (EoS) services has become a key focus area for carriers, i.e., including point-to-point and multi-point services. In light of the above, this thesis focuses on the study of improved multi-point EoS schemes in NGS networks, i.e., to provision robust \u27virtual LAN\u27 capabilities over metro and wide-area domains. Indeed, as services demands grow, survivability considerations are becoming a key concern. Along these lines, the proposed solution develops novel multi-tiered (partial) protection strategies. Specifically, graph-theoretic algorithms are first proposed to interconnect multi-point node groups using bus and minimum spanning tree (MST) overlays. Next, advanced multi-path routing schemes are used to provision and protect these individual overlay connections using the inverse-multiplexing capabilities of NGS. Finally, post-fault restoration features are also added to handle expanded failure conditions, e.g., multiple failures. The performances of the proposed multi-point EoS algorithms developed in this research are gauged using advanced software-based simulation in the OPNET ModelerTM environment. The findings indicate that both the bus and MST overlays give very good performance in terms of request blocking and carried load. However, the MST-based overlays slightly outperform the bus-based overlays as they allow more efficient topology designs. In addition, the incorporation of dynamic load state information in the selection of bus and/or MST overlays is also very beneficial as opposed to just using static hop count state. Furthermore, inverse-multiplexing is highly-effective, yielding notably higher carried loads when coupled with load-balancing sub-connection routing. Finally, results also show that post-fault restoration is also a very effective means of boosting EoS LAN throughputs for partially-protected demands, consistently matching the reliability of full-protection setups.\u2