Characterization, design and re-optimization on multi-layer optical networks

L'augment de volum de tràfic IP provocat per l'increment de serveis multimèdia com HDTV o vídeo conferència planteja nous reptes als operadors de xarxa per tal de proveir transmissió de dades eficient. Tot i que les xarxes mallades amb multiplexació per divisió de longitud d'ona (DWDM) suporten connexions òptiques de gran velocitat, aquestes xarxes manquen de flexibilitat per suportar tràfic d’inferior granularitat, fet que provoca un pobre ús d'ample de banda. Per fer front al transport d'aquest tràfic heterogeni, les xarxes multicapa representen la millor solució. Les xarxes òptiques multicapa permeten optimitzar la capacitat mitjançant l'empaquetament de connexions de baixa velocitat dins de connexions òptiques de gran velocitat. Durant aquesta operació, es crea i modifica constantment una topologia virtual dinàmica gràcies al pla de control responsable d’aquestes operacions. Donada aquesta dinamicitat, un ús sub-òptim de recursos pot existir a la xarxa en un moment donat. En aquest context, una re-optimizació periòdica dels recursos utilitzats pot ser aplicada, millorant així l'ús de recursos. Aquesta tesi està dedicada a la caracterització, planificació, i re-optimització de xarxes òptiques multicapa de nova generació des d’un punt de vista unificat incloent optimització als nivells de capa física, capa òptica, capa virtual i pla de control. Concretament s'han desenvolupat models estadístics i de programació matemàtica i meta-heurístiques. Aquest objectiu principal s'ha assolit mitjançant cinc objectius concrets cobrint diversos temes oberts de recerca. En primer lloc, proposem una metodologia estadística per millorar el càlcul del factor Q en problemes d'assignació de ruta i longitud d'ona considerant interaccions físiques (IA-RWA). Amb aquest objectiu, proposem dos models estadístics per computar l'efecte XPM (el coll d'ampolla en termes de computació i complexitat) per problemes IA-RWA, demostrant la precisió d’ambdós models en el càlcul del factor Q en escenaris reals de tràfic. En segon lloc i fixant-nos a la capa òptica, presentem un nou particionament del conjunt de longituds d'ona que permet maximitzar, respecte el cas habitual, la quantitat de tràfic extra proveït en entorns de protecció compartida. Concretament, definim diversos models estadístics per estimar la quantitat de tràfic donat un grau de servei objectiu, i diferents models de planificació de xarxa amb l'objectiu de maximitzar els ingressos previstos i el valor actual net de la xarxa. Després de resoldre aquests problemes per xarxes reals, concloem que la nostra proposta maximitza ambdós objectius. En tercer lloc, afrontem el disseny de xarxes multicapa robustes davant de fallida simple a la capa IP/MPLS i als enllaços de fibra. Per resoldre aquest problema eficientment, proposem un enfocament basat en sobre-dimensionar l'equipament de la capa IP/MPLS i recuperar la connectivitat i el comparem amb la solució convencional basada en duplicar la capa IP/MPLS. Després de comparar solucions mitjançant models ILP i heurístiques, concloem que la nostra solució permet obtenir un estalvi significatiu en termes de costos de desplegament. Com a quart objectiu, introduïm un mecanisme adaptatiu per reduir l'ús de ports opto-electrònics (O/E) en xarxes multicapa sota escenaris de tràfic dinàmic. Una formulació ILP i diverses heurístiques són desenvolupades per resoldre aquest problema, que permet reduir significativament l’ús de ports O/E en temps molt curts. Finalment, adrecem el problema de disseny resilient del pla de control GMPLS. Després de proposar un nou model analític per quantificar la resiliència en topologies mallades de pla de control, usem aquest model per proposar un problema de disseny de pla de control. Proposem un procediment iteratiu lineal i una heurística i els usem per resoldre instàncies reals, arribant a la conclusió que es pot reduir significativament la quantitat d'enllaços del pla de control sense afectar la qualitat de servei a la xarxa.The explosion of IP traffic due to the increase of IP-based multimedia services such as HDTV or video conferencing poses new challenges to network operators to provide a cost-effective data transmission. Although Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) meshed transport networks support high-speed optical connections, these networks lack the flexibility to support sub-wavelength traffic leading to poor bandwidth usage. To cope with the transport of that huge and heterogeneous amount of traffic, multilayer networks represent the most accepted architectural solution. Multilayer optical networks allow optimizing network capacity by means of packing several low-speed traffic streams into higher-speed optical connections (lightpaths). During this operation, a dynamic virtual topology is created and modified the whole time thanks to a control plane responsible for the establishment, maintenance, and release of connections. Because of this dynamicity, a suboptimal allocation of resources may exist at any time. In this context, a periodically resource reallocation could be deployed in the network, thus improving network resource utilization. This thesis is devoted to the characterization, planning, and re-optimization of next-generation multilayer networks from an integral perspective including physical layer, optical layer, virtual layer, and control plane optimization. To this aim, statistical models, mathematical programming models and meta-heuristics are developed. More specifically, this main objective has been attained by developing five goals covering different open issues. First, we provide a statistical methodology to improve the computation of the Q-factor for impairment-aware routing and wavelength assignment problems (IA-RWA). To this aim we propose two statistical models to compute the Cross-Phase Modulation variance (which represents the bottleneck in terms of computation time and complexity) in off-line and on-line IA-RWA problems, proving the accuracy of both models when computing Q-factor values in real traffic scenarios. Second and moving to the optical layer, we present a new wavelength partitioning scheme that allows maximizing the amount of extra traffic provided in shared path protected environments compared with current solutions. Specifically, we define several statistical models to estimate the traffic intensity given a target grade of service, and different network planning problems for maximizing the expected revenues and net present value. After solving these problems for real networks, we conclude that our proposed scheme maximizes both revenues and NPV. Third, we tackle the design of survivable multilayer networks against single failures at the IP/MPLS layer and WSON links. To efficiently solve this problem, we propose a new approach based on over-dimensioning IP/MPLS devices and lightpath connectivity and recovery and we compare it against the conventional solution based on duplicating backbone IP/MPLS nodes. After evaluating both approaches by means of ILP models and heuristic algorithms, we conclude that our proposed approach leads to significant CAPEX savings. Fourth, we introduce an adaptive mechanism to reduce the usage of opto-electronic (O/E) ports of IP/MPLS-over-WSON multilayer networks in dynamic scenarios. A ILP formulation and several heuristics are developed to solve this problem, which allows significantly reducing the usage of O/E ports in very short running times. Finally, we address the design of resilient control plane topologies in GMPLS-enabled transport networks. After proposing a novel analytical model to quantify the resilience in mesh control plane topologies, we use this model to propose a problem to design the control plane topology. An iterative model and a heuristic are proposed and used to solve real instances, concluding that a significant reduction in the number of control plane links can be performed without affecting the quality of service of the network

Optimised Design and Analysis of All-Optical Networks

This PhD thesis presents a suite of methods for optimising design and for analysing blocking probabilities of all-optical networks. It thus contributes methodical knowledge to the field of computer assisted planning of optical networks. A two-stage greenfield optical network design optimiser is developed, based on shortest-path algorithms and a comparatively new metaheuristic called simulated allocation. It is able to handle design of all-optical mesh networks with optical cross-connects, considers duct as well as fibre and node costs, and can also design protected networks. The method is assessed through various experiments and is shown to produce good results and to be able to scale up to networks of realistic sizes. A novel method, subpath wavelength grouping, for routing connections in a multigranular all-optical network where several wavelengths can be grouped and switched at band and fibre level is presented. The method uses an unorthodox routing strategy focusing on common subpaths rather than individual connections, and strives to minimise switch port count as well as fibre usage. It is shown to produce cheaper network designs than previous methods when fibre costs are comparatively high. A new optical network concept, the synchronous optical hierarchy, is proposed, in which wavelengths are subdivided into timeslots to match the traffic granularity. Various theoretical properties of this concept are investigated and compared in simulation studies. An integer linear programming model for optical ring network design is presented. Manually designed real world ring networks are studied and it is found that the model can lead to cheaper network design. Moreover, ring and mesh network architectures are compared using real world costs, and it is found that optical cros..

Optical network planning for static applications

Traffic demands on optical transport networks continue to grow, both in numbers and in size, at an incredible rate. Consequently, the efficient use of network resources has never been as important as today. A possible solution to this problem is to plan, develop and implement efficient algorithms for static and/or dynamic applications in order to minimize the probability of blocking and/or minimizing the number of wavelengths. Static Routing and Wavelength Assignment (RWA) algorithms use a given set of optical path requests and are intended to provide a long-term plan for future traffic. Static RWA algorithms are important for current and future WDM (Wavelength-Division Multiplexing) networks, especially when there is no wavelength conversion, the network is highly connected or the traffic load is moderate to high. In this dissertation, we propose to develop an optical network planning tool capable of choosing the best optical path and assigning as few wavelengths as possible. This tool is structured in five phases: in the first phase, the network physical topology is defined by the adjacency matrix or by the cost matrix and the logical topology is defined by the traffic matrix; in a second phase, the Dijkstra algorithm is used to find the shortest path for each connection; in the third phase, the traffic routing is accomplished considering one traffic unit between the source and destination nodes; in the fourth phase, the paths are ordered using various ordering strategies, such as Shortest Path First, Longest Path First and Random Path Order; finally, in the fifth phase, the heuristic algorithms for wavelength assignment, such as Graph Coloring, First-Fit and Most-Used are used. This tool is first tested on small networks (e.g. ring and mesh topologies), and then applied to real networks (e.g. COST 239, NSFNET and UBN topologies). We have concluded that the number of wavelengths calculated for each network is almost independent of the Wavelength Assignment (WA) heuristics, as well as the ordering strategy, when a full mesh logical topology is considered.Os pedidos de tráfego nas redes de transporte ópticas continuam a crescer, tanto em número como em tamanho, a um ritmo incrível. Consequentemente, a utilização eficiente dos recursos das redes nunca foi tão importante como hoje. Uma solução possível para este problema passa por planear, desenvolver e implementar algoritmos eficientes para aplicações estáticas e/ou dinâmicas de modo a minimizar a probabilidade de bloqueio e/ou minimizar o número de comprimentos de onda. Os algoritmos de encaminhamento e de atribuição de comprimentos de onda (RWA) estáticos utilizam um determinado conjunto de pedidos de caminhos ópticos e visam fornecer um plano de longo prazo para tráfego futuro. Os algoritmos RWA estáticos são importantes para as redes em multiplexagem por divisão de comprimento de onda (WDM) atuais e futuras, especialmente quando não há conversão de comprimento de onda, a rede é altamente ligada ou a carga de tráfego é de moderada a alta. Nesta dissertação, propomos desenvolver uma ferramenta de planeamento de redes ópticas capaz de escolher o melhor caminho óptico e atribuir o mínimo de comprimentos ondas possíveis. Esta ferramenta está estruturada em cinco fases: numa primeira fase é definida a topologia física de rede pela matriz das adjacências ou pela matriz de custo e a topologia lógica é definida pela matriz de tráfego; numa segunda fase é utilizado o algoritmo Dijkstra para encontrar o caminho mais curto para cada ligação; na terceira fase o encaminhamento de tráfego é realizado considerando uma unidade de tráfego entre os nós de origem e destino; na quarta fase os caminhos são ordenados tendo em conta as várias estratégias de ordenação, tais como Shortest Path First, Longest Path First e Random Path Order; finalmente, na quinta fase, os algoritmos heurísticos são utilizados para atribuição de comprimentos de onda, como Graph Coloring, First-Fit e Most-Used. Esta ferramenta é primeiramente testada em redes pequenas (por exemplo, topologias em anel e em malha), e depois é aplicada a redes reais (por exemplo, redes COST 239, NSFNET e UBN). Concluímos que o número de comprimentos de onda calculados para cada rede é quase independente da heurística para atribuição dos cumprimentos de onda, bem como da estratégia de ordenação dos caminhos, quando uma topologia lógica em malha completa é considerada

Investigation of the tolerance of wavelength-routed optical networks to traffic load variations.

This thesis focuses on the performance of circuit-switched wavelength-routed optical network with unpredictable traffic pattern variations. This characteristic of optical networks is termed traffic forecast tolerance. First, the increasing volume and heterogeneous nature of data and voice traffic is discussed. The challenges in designing robust optical networks to handle unpredictable traffic statistics are described. Other work relating to the same research issues are discussed. A general methodology to quantify the traffic forecast tolerance of optical networks is presented. A traffic model is proposed to simulate dynamic, non-uniform loads, and used to test wavelength-routed optical networks considering numerous network topologies. The number of wavelengths required and the effect of the routing and wavelength allocation algorithm are investigated. A new method of quantifying the network tolerance is proposed, based on the calculation of the increase in the standard deviation of the blocking probabilities with increasing traffic load non-uniformity. The performance of different networks are calculated and compared. The relationship between physical features of the network topology and traffic forecast tolerance is investigated. A large number of randomly connected networks with different sizes were assessed. It is shown that the average lightpath length and the number of wavelengths required for full interconnection of the nodes in static operation both exhibit a strong correlation with the network tolerance, regardless of the degree of load non-uniformity. Finally, the impact of wavelength conversion on network tolerance is investigated. Wavelength conversion significantly increases the robustness of optical networks to unpredictable traffic variations. In particular, two sparse wavelength conversion schemes are compared and discussed: distributed wavelength conversion and localized wavelength conversion. It is found that the distributed wavelength conversion scheme outperforms localized wavelength conversion scheme, both with uniform loading and in terms of the network tolerance. The results described in this thesis can be used for the analysis and design of reliable WDM optical networks that are robust to future traffic demand variations

Optimal Algorithms for Near-Hitless Network Restoration via Diversity Coding

Diversity coding is a network restoration technique which offers near-hitless restoration, while other state-of-the art techniques are significantly slower. Furthermore, the extra spare capacity requirement of diversity coding is competitive with the others. Previously, we developed heuristic algorithms to employ diversity coding structures in networks with arbitrary topology. This paper presents two algorithms to solve the network design problems using diversity coding in an optimal manner. The first technique pre-provisions static traffic whereas the second technique carries out the dynamic provisioning of the traffic on-demand. In both cases, diversity coding results in smaller restoration time, simpler synchronization, and much reduced signaling complexity than the existing techniques in the literature. A Mixed Integer Programming (MIP) formulation and an algorithm based on Integer Linear Programming (ILP) are developed for pre-provisioning and dynamic provisioning, respectively. Simulation results indicate that diversity coding has significantly higher restoration speed than Shared Path Protection (SPP) and p-cycle techniques. It requires more extra capacity than the p-cycle technique and SPP. However, the increase in the total capacity is negligible compared to the increase in the restoration speed.Comment: An old version of this paper is submitted to IEEE Globecom 2012 conferenc

Graph coloring techniques for planning dynamic optical networks

Dynamic optical networks will be crucial in global optical communications in the next 5-10 years.On-demand services, fuelled by applications such as cloud computing and grid computing, are the main drivers for the availability of an increasingly dynamic network infrastructure. Efficient network planning tools that deal with Routing and Wavelength Assignment problems are of paramount relevance in this dynamics cenario. In this work, a simulator for planning dynamic optical networks was developed, and several real networks were tested, such as National Science Foundation Network, British Telecom, US Backbone Network, and also bidirectional ring networks. In this simulator, we have implemented a graph coloring wavelength assignment algorithm named Small-Bucket algorithm that allows recoloring to occur. A comparison performance with the First-fit algorithm is performed in terms of the blocking probability, number of recolorings, number of colors used and simulation time. It is concluded that the Small-Bucket algorithm originate slower blocking probabilities than the ones obtained with the First-fit algorithm. However, to reach these low blocking probabilities, the Small-Bucket algorithm makes use of a larger number of wavelengths and recolorings.As redes ópticas dinâmicas serão cruciais nas comunicações ópticas globais nos proximos 5-10 anos. Os principais impulsionadores deste dinamismo são os serviços on-demand, suportados por aplicações como computação em nuvem e computação em grelha, conduzindo à necessidade de uma infraestrutura de rede cada vez mais dinâmica. Ferramentas de planeamento de rede eficientes, que lidam com os problemas de encaminhamento e atribuição de comprimentos de onda serão de extrema relevância neste cenário dinâmico. Neste trabalho foi desenvolvido um simulador para o planeamento de redes ópticas dinâmicas, e várias redes reais foram testadas, como a National Science Foundation Network, a British Telecom, a US Backbone Network e também redes bidirecionais em anel. Neste simulador, implementa-se um algoritmo de coloração de grafos denominado algoritmo Small-Bucket, que permite a ocorrência de recolorações de nós. Este algoritmo é comparado como algoritmo First-fit, em termos de probabilidade de bloqueio, número de recolorações, número de cores usadas e tempo de simulação. Conclui-se que o algoritmo Small-Bucket produz menores probabilidades de bloqueio do que as obtidas com o algoritmo First-fit. No entanto, para atingir essas baixas probabilidades de bloqueio, o algoritmo Small-Bucket faz uso de um maior número de comprimentos de onda e recolorações

Framework For Performance Analysis of Optical Circuit Switched Network Planning Algorithms

Projecte final de carrera realitzat en col.laboració amb Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausann