Power consumption evaluation of circuit-switched versus packet-switched optical backbone networks

While telecommunication networks have historically been dominated by a circuit-switched paradigm, the last decades have seen a clear trend towards packet-switched networks. In this paper we evaluate how both paradigms perform in optical backbone networks from a power consumption point of view, and whether the general agreement of circuit switching being more power-efficient holds. We consider artificially generated topologies of various sizes, mesh degrees and not yet previously explored in this context transport linerates. We cross-validate our findings with a number of realistic topologies. Our results show that, as a generalization, packet switching can become preferable when the traffic demands are lower than half the transport linerate. We find that an increase in the network node count does not consistently increase the energy savings of circuit switching over packet switching, but is heavily influenced by the mesh degree and (to a minor extent) by the average link length

Performance study of packet-optical transport network protocols

This research is carried out in the field of Optical Transport Network (OTN), in particular, to investigate the performance of a new protocol called Packet Optical Network that was introduced as a successor to the legacy Synchronous Digital Hierarchy/Synchronous optical networking (SDH/SONET). The migration to IP/Ethernet application globally is forcing enterprises to address two major (Wide Area Network) WAN issues: converging Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) and packet networks to reduce expenses, and improving network and service management to support delay-sensitive, bandwidth-intensive applications. Optical Transport Network - ITU G.709 is a global standard to address these challenges by eliminating unnecessary layer, IP straight over optic without being encapsulated in ATM/SDH frames, and eventually reduce Optical-Electronic-Optical (OEO) conversion. The International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector ITU-T defines an OTN as a set of Optical Network Elements (ONE) connected by optical fiber links, able to provide functionality of transport, multiplexing, switching, management, supervision, and survivability of optical channels carrying client signals. Packet Optical Network or often called Optical Channel Digital Wrapper added more functionalities to the legacy SONET/SDH such as the inclusion of stronger FEC, switching scalability, Transparency, and different frame rates. The Optical Channel Payload Envelope (OCh PE) can carry any type of data: SONET/SDH, GbE, 10GbE, ATM, IP, and so on. The objective of this research is to model an Optical Transport Network in the OMNeT++ simulation environment and OptiSystem Software, where the performance of Packet Optical Network protocols is compared with the legacy system in terms of delay and error correction capability. Simulation conducted in the metro/core optical network environment shows that the optical network performances in delay and error performance are improved when using the Packet optical network protocol, up to 30% decrease in delay can be achieved and longer distances can be reached by employing the new more powerful Forward Error Correction of the Digital Wrapper G.709

Power consumption evaluation of circuit-switched versus packet-switched optical backbone networks

While telecommunication networks have historically been dominated by a circuit-switched paradigm, the last decades have seen a clear trend towards packet-switched networks. In this paper we evaluate how both paradigms perform in optical backbone networks from a power consumption point of view, and whether the general agreement of circuit switching being more power-efficient holds. We consider artificially generated topologies of various sizes, mesh degrees and not yet previously explored in this context transport linerates. We cross-validate our findings with a number of realistic topologies. Our results show that, as a generalization, packet switching can become preferable when the traffic demands are lower than half the transport linerate. We find that an increase in the network node count does not consistently increase the energy savings of circuit switching over packet switching, but is heavily influenced by the mesh degree and (to a minor extent) by the average link length

CapEx/OpEx evaluation of circuit vs packet switched optical networks

Future telecommunication networks will be designed to guarantee energy-efficiency and sustainability. Optical networks, given their capability to switch and transport large traffic amounts for a relatively-limited energy consumption, are expected to play an increasingly important role in the evolution towards energy efficiency. While traditional optical network design strategies are aimed at minimizing Capital Expenditures (CapEx), i.e., the cost associated to network equipment, several research studies have recently proposed novel strategies targeting the reduction of Operational Expenditures (OpEx) mainly identified with the network energy consumption. We compare two possible switching paradigms in optical networks, i.e., circuit switching (at the optical layer) and packet switching (at the electronic/IP layer). For each of them, we first provide novel network design strategies that minimize CapEx or OpEx and then we quantitatively identify and discuss under which conditions (network size, load, etc.) one paradigm is more convenient than the other from a cost and/or power consumption perspectiv

CapEx/OpEx Evaluation of Circuit vs Packet Switched Optical Networks

Future telecommunication networks will be designed to guarantee energy-efficiency and sustainability. Optical networks, given their capability to switch and transport large traffic amounts for a relatively-limited energy consumption, are expected to play an increasingly important role in the evolution towards energy efficiency. While traditional optical network design strategies are aimed at minimizing Capital Expenditures (CapEx), i.e., the cost associated to network equipment, several research studies have recently proposed novel strategies targeting the reduction of Operational Expenditures (OpEx) mainly identified with the network energy consumption. We compare two possible switching paradigms in optical networks, i.e., circuit switching (at the optical layer) and packet switching (at the electronic/IP layer). For each of them, we first provide novel network design strategies that minimize CapEx or OpEx and then we quantitatively identify and discuss under which conditions (network size, load, etc.) one paradigm is more convenient than the other from a cost and/or power consumption perspective