Survivability through pre-configured protection in optical mesh networks

Network survivability is a very important issue, especially in optical networks that carry huge amount of traffic. Network failures which may be caused by human errors, malfunctional systems and natural disaster (eg. Earthquakes and lightening storms), have occurred quite frequently and sometimes with unpredictable consequences. Survivability is defined as the ability of the network to maintain the continuity of service against failures of network components. Pre-configuration and dynamic restoration are two schemes for network survivability. For each scheme, survivability algorithms can be applied at either Optical Channel sublayer (Och) known as link-based. Or, Optical Multiplex Section sublayer (OMS) known as path-based. The efficiency of survivability algorithms can be assessed through such criteria as capacity efficiency, restoration time and quality service. Dynamic restoration is more efficient than pre-configuration in terms of capacity resource utilization, but restoration time is longer and 100% service recovery cannot be guaranteed because sufficient spare capacity may not be available at the time of failures. Similarly, path-based survivability offers a high performance scheme for utilizing capacity resource, but restoration time is longer than link based survivability

Graph Theory for Survivability Design in Communication Networks

Design of survivable communication networks has been a complex task. Without establishing network survivability, there can be severe consequences when a physical link fails. Network failures which may be caused by dig-ups, vehicle crashes, human errors, system malfunctions, fire, rodents, sabotage, natural disasters (e.g. floods, earthquakes, lightning storms), and some other factors, have occurred quite frequently and sometimes with unpredictable consequences. To tackle these, survivability measures in a communication network can be implemented at the service layer, the logical layer, the system layer, and the physical layer

Optimization in Telecommunication Networks

Network design and network synthesis have been the classical optimization problems intelecommunication for a long time. In the recent past, there have been many technologicaldevelopments such as digitization of information, optical networks, internet, and wirelessnetworks. These developments have led to a series of new optimization problems. Thismanuscript gives an overview of the developments in solving both classical and moderntelecom optimization problems.We start with a short historical overview of the technological developments. Then,the classical (still actual) network design and synthesis problems are described with anemphasis on the latest developments on modelling and solving them. Classical results suchas Menger’s disjoint paths theorem, and Ford-Fulkerson’s max-flow-min-cut theorem, butalso Gomory-Hu trees and the Okamura-Seymour cut-condition, will be related to themodels described. Finally, we describe recent optimization problems such as routing andwavelength assignment, and grooming in optical networks.operations research and management science;

Optimizing Flow Thinning Protection in Multicommodity Networks with Variable Link Capacity

International audienceFlow thinning (FT) is a concept of a traffic routing and protection strategy applicable to communication networks withvariable capacity of links. In such networks, the links do not attain their nominal (maximum) capacity simultaneously, so in atypical network state only some links are fully available whereas on each of the remaining links only a fraction of itsmaximum capacity is usable. Every end-to-end traffic demand is assigned a set of logical tunnels whose total capacity isdedicated to carry the demand’s traffic. The nominal (i.e., maximum) capacity of the tunnels, supported by the nominal(maximum) link capacity, is subject to state-dependent thinning to account for variable capacity of the links fluctuating belowthe maximum. Accordingly, the capacity available on the tunnels is also fluctuating below their nominal levels and hence theinstantaneous traffic sent between the demand’s end nodes must accommodate to the current total capacity available onits dedicated tunnels. The related multi-commodity flow optimization problem is NP-hard and its noncompact linearprogramming formulation requires path generation. For that, we formulate an integer programming pricing problem, atthe same time showing the cases when the pricing is polynomial. We also consider an important variant of FT, affinethinning, that may lead to practical FT implementations. We present a numerical study illustrating traffic efficiency of FT andcomputational efficiency of its optimization models. Our considerations are relevant, among others, for wireless meshnetworks utilizing multiprotocol label switching tunnels

Survivable mesh-network design & optimization to support multiple QoP service classes

Every second, vast amounts of data are transferred over communication systems around the world, and as a result, the demands on optical infrastructures are extending beyond the traditional, ring-based architecture. The range of content and services available from the Internet is increasing, and network operations are constantly under pressure to expand their optical networks in order to keep pace with the ever increasing demand for higher speed and more reliable links

QoS multicast tree construction in IP/DWDM optical internet by bio-inspired algorithms

Copyright @ Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.In this paper, two bio-inspired Quality of Service (QoS) multicast algorithms are proposed in IP over dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) optical Internet. Given a QoS multicast request and the delay interval required by the application, both algorithms are able to find a flexible QoS-based cost suboptimal routing tree. They first construct the multicast trees based on ant colony optimization and artificial immune algorithm, respectively. Then a dedicated wavelength assignment algorithm is proposed to assign wavelengths to the trees aiming to minimize the delay of the wavelength conversion. In both algorithms, multicast routing and wavelength assignment are integrated into a single process. Therefore, they can find the multicast trees on which the least wavelength conversion delay is achieved. Load balance is also considered in both algorithms. Simulation results show that these two bio-inspired algorithms can construct high performance QoS routing trees for multicast applications in IP/DWDM optical Internet.This work was supported in part ny the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University, the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of UK under Grant EP/E060722/1, the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant no. 60673159 and 70671020, the National High-Tech Reasearch and Development Plan of China under Grant no. 2007AA041201, and the Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education under Grant no. 20070145017

Towards a Virtualized Next Generation Internet

A promising solution to overcome the Internet ossification is network virtualization in which Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are decoupled into two tiers: service providers (SPs), and infrastructure providers (InPs). The former maintain and customize virtual network(s) to meet the service requirement of end-users, which is mapped to the physical network infrastructure that is managed and deployed by the latter via the Virtual Network Embedding (VNE) process. VNE consists of two major components: node assignment, and link mapping, which can be shown to be NP-Complete. In the first part of the dissertation, we present a path-based ILP model for the VNE problem. Our solution employs a branch-and-bound framework to resolve the integrity constraints, while embedding the column generation process to effectively obtain the lower bound for branch pruning. Different from existing approaches, the proposed solution can either obtain an optimal solution or a near-optimal solution with guarantee on the solution quality. A common strategy in VNE algorithm design is to decompose the problem into two sequential sub-problems: node assignment (NA) and link mapping (LM). With this approach, it is inexorable to sacrifice the solution quality since the NA is not holistic and not-reversible. In the second part, we are motivated to answer the question: Is it possible to maintain the simplicity of the Divide-and-Conquer strategy while still achieving optimality? Our answer is based on a decomposition framework supported by the Primal-Dual analysis of the path-based ILP model. This dissertation also attempts to address issues in two frontiers of network virtualization: survivability, and integration of optical substrate. In the third part, we address the survivable network embedding (SNE) problem from a network flow perspective, considering both splittable and non-splittable flows. In addition, the explosive growth of the Internet traffic calls for the support of a bandwidth abundant optical substrate, despite the extra dimensions of complexity caused by the heterogeneities of optical resources, and the physical feature of optical transmission. In this fourth part, we present a holistic view of motivation, architecture, and challenges on the way towards a virtualized optical substrate that supports network virtualization

Regenerator placement in optical networks

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Increase in the number of users and resources consumed by modern applications results in an explosive growth in the traffic on the Internet. Optical networks with higher bandwidths offer faster and more reliable transmission of data and allows transmission of more data. Fiber optical cables have these advantages over the traditional copper wires. So it is expected that optical networks will have a wide application area. However, there are some physical impairments and optical layer constraints in optical networks. One of these is signal degradation which limits the range of optical signals. Signals are degraded during transmission and below a threshold the signals become useless. In order to prevent this, regenerators which are capable of re-amplifying optical signals are used. Since regeneration is a costly process, it is important to decrease the number of regenerators used in an optical network. To increase the reliability of the network, two edge-disjoint paths between each terminal on the network are to be constructed. So the second path could be used in case of a failure in transmitting data on an edge of the first path. Considering these requirements, selecting the nodes on which regenerators are to be placed is an important decision. In this thesis, we discuss the problem of placing signal regenerators on optical networks with restoration. An integer linear program is formulated for this problem. Due to the huge size and other problems of the formulation, it is impractical to use it on large networks. For this reason, a fast heuristic algorithm is proposed to solve this problem. Three methods are proposed to check the feasibility when a fixed set of regenerators are placed on specific nodes. Additionally, a branch and bound algorithm which employs the proposed heuristic is developed to find the optimal solution of our problem. Performance of both the heuristics and the branch and bound method are evaluated in terms of number of regenerators placed and solution times of the algorithms.Özkök, OnurM.S

LOGICAL TOPOLOGY DESIGN FOR SURVIVABILITY IN IP-OVER-WDM NETWORKS

IP-over-WDM networks integrate Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) technology with Internet Protocol (IP) and are widely regarded as the architecture for the next generation high-speed Internet. The problem of designing an IP-over-WDM network can be modeled as an embedding problem in which an IP network is embedded in a WDM network by establishing all optical paths between IP routers in the WDM network. Survivability is considered a vital requirement in such networks, which can be achieved by embedding the IP network in the WDM network in such a way that the IP network stays connected in the presence of failure or failures in the WDM network. Otherwise, some of the IP routers may not be reachable.The problem can be formulated as an Integer Linear Program (ILP), which can be solved optimally but is NP-complete. In this thesis, we have studied and proposed various efficient algorithms that can be used to make IP-over-WDM networks survivable in the presence of a single WDM link (optical fiber cable or cables) failure.First we evaluate an existing approach, named Survivable Mapping Algorithm by Ring Trimming (SMART), which provides survivability for an entire network by successively considering pieces of the network. The evaluation provides much insight into the approach, which allowed us to propose several enhancements. The modified approach with enhancements leads to better performance than the original SMART.We have also proposed a hybrid algorithm that guarantees survivability, if the IP and the WDM networks are at least 2-edge connected. The algorithm uses a combination of proactive (protection) and reactive (restoration) mechanisms to obtain a survivable embedding for any given IP network in any given WDM network.Circuits and cutsets are dual concepts. SMART approach is based on circuits. The question then arises whether there exists a dual methodology based on cutsets. We investigate this question and provide much needed insight. We provide a unified algorithmic framework based on circuits and cutsets. We also provide new methodologies based on cutsets and give a new proof of correctnessof SMART. We also develop a method based on incidence sets that are a special case of cutsets. Noting that for some IP networks a survivable embedding may not exist, the option of adding new IP links is pursued. Comparative evaluations of all the algorithms through extensive simulations are also given in this dissertation