Failure Localization Aware Protection in All-Optical Networks

The recent development of optical signal processing and switching makes the all-optical networks a potential candidate for the underlying transmission system in the near future. However, despite its higher transmission data rate and efficiency, the lack of optical-electro-optical (OEO) conversions makes fault management a challenge. A single fiber cut can interrupt several connections, disrupting many services which results in a massive loss of data. With the ever-growing demand for time-sensitive applications, the ability to maintain service continuity in communication networks has only been growing in importance. In order to guarantee network survivability, fast fault localization and fault recovery are essential. Conventional monitoring-trail (m-trail) based schemes can unambiguously localize link failures. However, the deployment of m-trail requires extra transceivers and wavelengths dedicated to monitoring the link state. Non-negligible overhead makes m-trail schemes neither scalable nor practicable. In this thesis, we propose two Failure Localization Aware (FLA) routing schemes to aid failure localization. When a link fails, all traversing lightpaths become dark, and the transceiver at the end node of each interrupted ligthpath issues an alarm signal to report the path failure. By correlating the information of all affected and unaffected paths, it is possible to narrow down the number of possible fault locations to just a few possible locations. However, without the assistance of dedicated supervisory lightpaths, and based solely on the alarm generated by the interrupted lightpaths, ambiguity in failure localization may be unavoidable. Hence, we design a Failure Localization Aware Routing and Wavelength Assignment (FLA-RWA) scheme, the Least Ambiguous Path (LAP) routing scheme, to dynamically allocate connection requests with minimum ambiguity in the localization of a link failure. The performance of the proposed heuristic is evaluated and compared with traditional RWA algorithms via network simulations. The results show that the proposed LAP algorithm achieves the lowest ambiguity among all examined schemes, at the cost of slightly higher wavelength consumption than the alternate shortest path scheme. We also propose a Failure Localization Aware Protection (FLA-P) scheme that is based on the idea of also monitoring the protection paths in a system with path protection for failure localization. The Least Ambiguous Protection Path (LAPP) routing algorithm arranges the protection path routes with the objective of minimizing the ambiguity in failure localization. We evaluate and compare the ambiguity in fault localization when monitoring only the working paths and when monitoring both working and protection paths. We also compare the performance of protection paths with different schemes in regards to fault localization

Architectures and protocols for sub-wavelength optical networks: contributions to connectionless and connection-oriented data transport

La ràpida evolució d’Internet i l’àmplia gamma de noves aplicacions (per exemple, multimèdia, videoconferència, jocs en línia, etc.) ha fomentat canvis revolucionaris en la manera com ens comuniquem. A més, algunes d’aquestes aplicacions demanden grans quantitats de recursos d’ample de banda amb diversos requeriments de qualitat de servei (QoS). El desenvolupament de la multiplexació per divisió de longitud d’ona (WDM) en els anys noranta va fer molt rendible la disponibilitat d’ample de banda. Avui dia, les tecnologies de commutació òptica de circuits són predominants en el nucli de la xarxa, les quals permeten la configuració de canals (lightpaths) a través de la xarxa. No obstant això, la granularitat d’aquests canals ocupa tota la longitud d’ona, el que fa que siguin ineficients per a proveir canals de menor ample de banda (sub-longitud d’ona). Segons la comunitat científica, és necessari augmentar la transparència dels protocols, així com millorar l’aprovisionament d’ample de banda de forma dinàmica. Per tal de fer això realitat, és necessari desenvolupar noves arquitectures. La commutació òptica de ràfegues i de paquets (OBS/OPS), són dues de les tecnologies proposades. Aquesta tesi contribueix amb tres arquitectures de xarxa destinades a millorar el transport de dades sub-longitud d’ona. En primer lloc, aprofundim en la naturalesa sense connexió en OBS. En aquest cas, la xarxa incrementa el seu dinamisme a causa de les transmissions a ràfega. A més, les col·lisions entre ràfegues degraden el rendiment de la xarxa fins i tot a càrregues molt baixes. Per fer front a aquestes col·lisions, es proposa un esquema de resolució de col·lisions pro actiu basat en un algorisme d’encaminament i assignació de longitud d’ona (RWA) que balanceja de forma automàtica i distribuïda la càrrega en la xarxa. En aquest protocol, el RWA i la transmissió de ràfegues es basen en l’explotació i exploració de regles de commutació que incorporen informació sobre contencions i encaminament. Per donar suport a aquesta arquitectura, s’utilitzen dos tipus de paquets de control per a l’encaminament de les ràfegues i l’actualització de les regles de commutació, respectivament. Per analitzar els beneficis del nou algorisme, s’utilitzen quatre topologies de xarxa diferents. Els resultats indiquen que el mètode proposat millora en diferents marges la resta d’algorismes RWA en funció de la topologia i sense penalitzar altres paràmetres com el retard extrem a extrem. La segona contribució proposa una arquitectura híbrida sense i orientada a connexió sobre la base d’un protocol de control d’accés al medi (MAC) per a xarxes OBS (DAOBS). El MAC ofereix dos mètodes d’accés: arbitratge de cua (QA) per a la transmissió de ràfegues sense connexió, i pre-arbitratge (PA) per serveis TDM orientats a connexió. Aquesta arquitectura permet una àmplia gamma d’aplicacions sensibles al retard i al bloqueig. Els resultats avaluats a través de simulacions mostren que en l’accés QA, les ràfegues de més alta prioritat tenen garantides zero pèrdues i latències d’accés molt baixes. Pel que fa a l’accés PA, es reporta que la duplicació de la càrrega TDM augmenta en més d’un ordre la probabilitat de bloqueig, però sense afectar en la mateixa mesura les ràfegues sense connexió. En aquest capítol també es tracten dos dels problemes relacionats amb l’arquitectura DAOBS i el seu funcionament. En primer lloc, es proposa un model matemàtic per aproximar el retard d’accés inferior i superior com a conseqüència de l’accés QA. En segon lloc, es formula matemàticament la generació i optimització de les topologies virtuals que suporten el protocol per a l’escenari amb tràfic estàtic. Finalment, l’última contribució explora els beneficis d’una arquitectura de xarxa òptica per temps compartit (TSON) basada en elements de càlcul de camins (PCE) centralitzats per tal d’evitar col·lisions en la xarxa. Aquesta arquitectura permet garantir l’aprovisionament orientat a connexió de canals sub-longitud d’ona. En aquest capítol proposem i simulem tres arquitectures GMPLS/PCE/TSON. A causa del enfocament centralitzat, el rendiment de la xarxa depèn en gran mesura de l’assignació i aprovisionament de les connexions. Amb aquesta finalitat, es proposen diferents algorismes d’assignació de ranures temporals i es comparen amb les corresponents formulacions de programació lineal (ILP) per al cas estàtic. Per al cas de tràfic dinàmic, proposem i avaluem mitjançant simulació diferents heurístiques. Els resultats mostren els beneficis de proporcionar flexibilitat en els dominis temporal i freqüencial a l’hora d’assignar les ranures temporals.The rapid evolving Internet and the broad range of new data applications (e.g., multimedia, video-conference, online gaming, etc.) is fostering revolutionary changes in the way we communicate. In addition, some of these applications demand for unprecedented amounts of bandwidth resources with diverse quality of service (QoS). The development of wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) in the 90's made very cost-effective the availability of bandwidth. Nowadays, optical circuit switching technologies are predominant in the core enabling the set up of lightpaths across the network. However, full-wavelength lightpath granularity is too coarse, which results to be inefficient for provisioning sub-wavelength channels. As remarked by the research community, an open issue in optical networking is increasing the protocol transparency as well as provisioning true dynamic bandwidth allocation at the network level. To this end, new architectures are required. Optical burst/packet switching (OBS/OPS) are two such proposed technologies under investigation. This thesis contributes with three network architectures which aim at improving the sub-wavelength data transport from different perspectives. First, we gain insight into the connectionless nature of OBS. Here, the network dynamics are increased due to the short-lived burst transmissions. Moreover, burst contentions degrade the performance even at very low loads. To cope with them, we propose a proactive resolution scheme by means of a distributed auto load-balancing routing and wavelength assignment (RWA) algorithm for wavelength-continuity constraint networks. In this protocol, the RWA and burst forwarding is based on the exploitation and exploration of switching rule concentration values that incorporate contention and forwarding desirability information. To support such architecture, forward and backward control packets are used in the burst forwarding and updating rules, respectively. In order to analyze the benefits of the new algorithm, four different network topologies are used. Results indicate that the proposed method outperforms the rest of tested RWA algorithms at various margins depending on the topology without penalizing other parameters such as end-to-end delay. The second contribution proposes a hybrid connectionless and connection-oriented architecture based on a medium access control (MAC) protocol for OBS networks (DAOBS). The MAC provides two main access mechanisms: queue arbitrated (QA) for connectionless bursts and pre-arbitrated (PA) for TDM connection-oriented services. Such an architecture allows for a broad range of delay-sensitive applications or guaranteed services. Results evaluated through simulations show that in the QA access mode highest priority bursts are guaranteed zero losses and very low access latencies. Regarding the PA mode, we report that doubling the offered TDM traffic load increases in more than one order their connection blocking, slightly affecting the blocking of other connectionless bursts. In this chapter, we also tackle two of the issues related with the DAOBS architecture and its operation. Firstly, we model mathematically the lower and upper approximations of the access delay as a consequence of the connectionless queue arbitrated access. Secondly, we formulate the generation of the virtual light-tree overlay topology for the static traffic case.Postprint (published version

Cross-layer modeling and optimization of next-generation internet networks

Scaling traditional telecommunication networks so that they are able to cope with the volume of future traffic demands and the stringent European Commission (EC) regulations on emissions would entail unaffordable investments. For this very reason, the design of an innovative ultra-high bandwidth power-efficient network architecture is nowadays a bold topic within the research community. So far, the independent evolution of network layers has resulted in isolated, and hence, far-from-optimal contributions, which have eventually led to the issues today's networks are facing such as inefficient energy strategy, limited network scalability and flexibility, reduced network manageability and increased overall network and customer services costs. Consequently, there is currently large consensus among network operators and the research community that cross-layer interaction and coordination is fundamental for the proper architectural design of next-generation Internet networks. This thesis actively contributes to the this goal by addressing the modeling, optimization and performance analysis of a set of potential technologies to be deployed in future cross-layer network architectures. By applying a transversal design approach (i.e., joint consideration of several network layers), we aim for achieving the maximization of the integration of the different network layers involved in each specific problem. To this end, Part I provides a comprehensive evaluation of optical transport networks (OTNs) based on layer 2 (L2) sub-wavelength switching (SWS) technologies, also taking into consideration the impact of physical layer impairments (PLIs) (L0 phenomena). Indeed, the recent and relevant advances in optical technologies have dramatically increased the impact that PLIs have on the optical signal quality, particularly in the context of SWS networks. Then, in Part II of the thesis, we present a set of case studies where it is shown that the application of operations research (OR) methodologies in the desing/planning stage of future cross-layer Internet network architectures leads to the successful joint optimization of key network performance indicators (KPIs) such as cost (i.e., CAPEX/OPEX), resources usage and energy consumption. OR can definitely play an important role by allowing network designers/architects to obtain good near-optimal solutions to real-sized problems within practical running times

Design and protection algorithms for path level aggregation of traffic in WDM metro optical networks

Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) promises to offer a cost effective and scalable solution to meet the emerging demands of the Internet. WDM splits the tremendous bandwidth latent in a fiber into multiple non-overlapping wavelength channels, each of which can be operated at the peak electronic rate. Commercial systems with 128 wavelengths and transmission rates of up to 40 Gbps per wavelength have been made possible using state of the art optical technologies to deal with physical impairments. Systems with higher capacities are likely to evolve in the future. The end user requirements for bandwidth, on the other hand, have been ranging from 155 Mbps to 2.5 Gbps. Dedicating a wavelength for each end user will lead to severe underutilization of WDM channels. This brings to forefront the requirement for sharing of bandwidth in a wavelength among multiple end users.;The concept of wavelength sharing among multiple clients is called grooming. Grooming can be done purely at the optical layer (optical grooming) or it can be done with support from the client layer (electronic grooming). The advantage of all optical grooming is the ease of scalability due to its transparency as opposed to electronic grooming which is constrained by electronic bottlenecks. Efforts towards enhancing optical grooming is pursued through increasing optical switching speeds. However, technologies to make optical switches with high speeds, large port counts and low insertion losses have been elusive and may continue to remain so in the near future.;Recently, there have been some research into designing new architectures and protocols focused on optical grooming without resorting to fast optical switching. Typically, this is achieved in three steps: (1) configure the circuit in the form of a path or a tree; (2) use optical devices like couplers or splitters to allow multiple transmitters and/or receivers to share the same circuit; and (3) provide an arbitration mechanism to avoid contention among end users of the circuit. This transparent sharing of the wavelength channel utilizes the network resources better than the conventional low-speed circuit switched approaches. Consequently, it becomes important to quantify the improvement in achieved performance and evaluate if the reaped benefits justify the cost of the required additional hardware and software.;The contribution of this thesis is two fold: (1) developing a new architecture called light-trails as an IP based solution for next generation WDM optical networks, and (2) designing a unified framework to model Path Level Aggregation of Traffic in metrO Optical Networks (PLATOONs). The algorithms suggested here have three features: (1) accounts for four different path level aggregation strategies---namely, point to point (for example, lightpaths), point to multi-point (for example, source based light-trails), multi-point to point (for example, destination based light-trails) and multi-point to multi-point (for example, light-trails); (2) incorporates heterogenous switching architectures; and (3) accommodates multi-rate traffic. Algorithms for network design and survivability are developed for PLATOONs in the presence of both static and dynamic traffic. Connection level dedicated/shared, segregated/mixed protection schemes are formulated for single link failures in the presence of static and dynamic traffic. A simple medium access control protocol that avoids collisions when the channel is shared by multiple clients is also proposed.;Based on extensive simulations, we conclude that, for the studied scenarios, (1) when client layer has no electronic grooming capabilities, light-trails (employing multi-point to multi-point aggregation strategy) perform several orders of magnitude better than lightpaths and (2) when client layer has full electronic grooming capabilities, source based light-trails (employing point to multi-point aggregation strategy) perform the best in wavelength limited scenarios and lightpaths perform the best in transceiver limited scenarios.;The algorithms that are developed here will be helpful in designing optical networks that deploy path level aggregation strategies. The proposed ideas will impact the design of transparent, high-speed all-optical networks.</p

Fault Localization in All-Optical Mesh Networks

Fault management is a challenging task in all-optical wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) networks. However, fast fault localization for shared risk link groups (SRLGs) with multiple links is essential for building a fully survival and functional transparent all-optical mesh network. Monitoring trail (m-trail) technology is an effective approach to achieve the goal, whereby a set of m-trails are derived for unambiguous fault localization (UFL). However, an m-trail traverses through a link by utilizing a dedicated wavelength channel (WL), causing a significant amount of resource consumption. In addition, existing m-trail methods incur long and variable alarm dissemination delay. We introduce a novel framework of real-time fault localization in all-optical WDM mesh networks, called the monitoring-burst (m-burst), which aims at initiating a balanced trade-off between consumed monitoring resources and fault localization latency. The m-burst framework has a single monitoring node (MN) and requires one WL in each unidirectional link if the link is traversed by any m-trail. The MN launches short duration optical bursts periodically along each m-trail to probe the links of the m-trail. Bursts along different m-trails are kept non-overlapping through each unidirectional link by scheduling burst launching times from the MN and multiplexing multiple bursts, if any, traversing the link. Thus, the MN can unambiguously localize the failed links by identifying the lost bursts without incurring any alarm dissemination delay. We have proposed several novel m-trail allocation, burst launching time scheduling, and node switch fabric configuration schemes. Numerical results show that the schemes, when deployed in the m-burst framework, are able to localize single-link and multi-link SRLG faults unambiguously, with reasonable fault localization latency, by using at most one WL in each unidirectional link. To reduce the fault localization latency further, we also introduce a novel methodology called nested m-trails. At first, mesh networks are decomposed into cycles and trails. Each cycle (trail) is realized as an independent virtual ring (linear) network using a separate pair of WLs (one WL in each direction) in each undirected link traversed by the cycle (trail). Then, sets of m-trails, i.e., nested m-trails, derived in each virtual network are deployed independently in the m-burst framework for ring (linear) networks. As a result, the fault localization latency is reduced significantly. Moreover, the application of nested m-trails in adaptive probing also reduces the number of sequential probes significantly. Therefore, practical deployment of adaptive probing is now possible. However, the WL consumption of the nested m-trail technique is not limited by one WL per unidirectional link. Thus, further investigation is needed to reduce the WL consumption of the technique.1 yea

Algoritmos de optimização para redes ópticas de transporte

Mestrado em Engenharia Eletrónica e TelecomunicaçõesNesta dissertação, é estudado o problema de dimensionamento das redes óticas e é descrito o desenvolvimento de uma ferramenta de planeamento e otimização. A ferramenta desenvolvida é capaz de otimizar redes reais heterogenias, em termos de capacidade e custo, permite o uso de diferentes equipamentos terminais com diferentes taxas de linha e inclui as funcionalidades de colocação de regeneradores, de multi-hop grooming e de multiplexagem inversa. Esta ferramenta de otimização foi desenvolvida de forma a tirar partido da geração atual de computadores com processadores mútiplos na abordagem multi-thread, em particular quando é implementado um mecanismo de partilha de informação entre todas as threads. Por fim, a heurística implementada na ferramenta desenvolvida, bem como as soluções geradas, são também alvo de estudo e de análise nesta disserta ção. A ferramenta desenvolvida poderá servir de base para o estudo do comportamento da rede para diferentes soluções de equipamentos, testar os limites da capacidade da rede, detetar ligações superfluas ou congestionadas, possibilitar a aglomeração ou desaglomeração de tráfego, determinar a importância de ligações distintas e selecionar locais a intervir, determinar custos de implementação de componentes ou economizar recursos.In this dissertation, the problem of dimensioning optical networks is addressed and the development of a tool for planning and optimization is described. The developed tool is able to optimize real heterogeneous networks, in terms of capacity and cost, allowing the use of different terminal equipment with different line rates and including different features such as regenerators placement, multi-hop grooming and inverse-multiplexing. This optimization tool was developed in order to make the most out of the current generation of computers with multiple processors in a multithreaded approach, particularly when a mechanism of information sharing is implemented among all threads. Finally, the heuristic implemented in the tool and the solutions generated for a set of case studies are studied and analysed in this dissertation. The developed tool can be used in the future for the study of the network behaviour for different equipment solutions, for testing the limits of network capacity, detecting redundant or congested links, enabling grooming or inverse multiplexing of traffic, determining the importance of different links, selecting network places for intervention, determining implementation costs of components or saving resources