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-board B-ISDN fast packet switching architectures. Phase 2: Development. Proof-of-concept architecture definition report

For the next-generation packet switched communications satellite system with onboard processing and spot-beam operation, a reliable onboard fast packet switch is essential to route packets from different uplink beams to different downlink beams. The rapid emergence of point-to-point services such as video distribution, and the large demand for video conference, distributed data processing, and network management makes the multicast function essential to a fast packet switch (FPS). The satellite's inherent broadcast features gives the satellite network an advantage over the terrestrial network in providing multicast services. This report evaluates alternate multicast FPS architectures for onboard baseband switching applications and selects a candidate for subsequent breadboard development. Architecture evaluation and selection will be based on the study performed in phase 1, 'Onboard B-ISDN Fast Packet Switching Architectures', and other switch architectures which have become commercially available as large scale integration (LSI) devices

Power consumption modeling in optical multilayer networks

The evaluation of and reduction in energy consumption of backbone telecommunication networks has been a popular subject of academic research for the last decade. A critical parameter in these studies is the power consumption of the individual network devices. It appears that across different studies, a wide range of power values for similar equipment is used. This is a result of the scattered and limited availability of power values for optical multilayer network equipment. We propose reference power consumption values for Internet protocol/multiprotocol label switching, Ethernet, optical transport networking and wavelength division multiplexing equipment. In addition we present a simplified analytical power consumption model that can be used for large networks where simulation is computationally expensive or unfeasible. For illustration and evaluation purpose, we apply both calculation approaches to a case study, which includes an optical bypass scenario. Our results show that the analytical model approximates the simulation result to over 90% or higher and that optical bypass potentially can save up to 50% of power over a non-bypass scenario

Multi-ring SDH network design over optical mesh networks

Ankara : The Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering and Sciences of Bilkent University, 2002.Thesis (Master's) -- Bilkent University, 2002.Includes bibliographical references leaves 84-87.The evolution of networks in telecommunications has brought on the importance of design techniques to obtain survivable and cost-effective transportation networks. In this thesis, we study Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) ring design problem with an interconnected multi-ring architecture overlaid over an optical mesh network. We decouple the problem into two sub-problems: the first problem is the SDH ring selection, and the second problem is the mapping of these rings onto the physical mesh topology. In this structure, the logical topology consists of SDH Add/Drop Multiplexers (ADMs) and Digital Cross-Connects (DXCs), and the physical topology consists of Optical Cross-Connects (OXCs). The ring selection problem is to choose the rings that give minimum inter-ring traffic in the network. Since inter-ring traffic increases the network cost and complexity, we aim to minimize the inter-ring traffic. We propose a greedy heuristic algorithm for this problem that finds a solution subject to the constraint that the number of nodes on each ring is limited. Numerical results on the ring design problem are presented for different topologies. Once the logical topology is obtained, resilient mapping of SDH rings onto the mesh physical topology is formulated as a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) problem. In order to guarantee proper operation of SDH ring protection against all single failures, each link on an SDH ring must be mapped onto a lightpath which is link and node disjoint from all other lightpaths comprising the same ring. The objective of this mapping is to minimize the total fiber cost in the network. We also apply a post-processing algorithm to eliminate redundant rings. The postprocessing algorithm is very useful to reduce the cost. We evaluate the performance of our design algorithm for different networks.Tan, Tuba AkıncılarM.S

A survey on OFDM-based elastic core optical networking

Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) is a modulation technology that has been widely adopted in many new and emerging broadband wireless and wireline communication systems. Due to its capability to transmit a high-speed data stream using multiple spectral-overlapped lower-speed subcarriers, OFDM technology offers superior advantages of high spectrum efficiency, robustness against inter-carrier and inter-symbol interference, adaptability to server channel conditions, etc. In recent years, there have been intensive studies on optical OFDM (O-OFDM) transmission technologies, and it is considered a promising technology for future ultra-high-speed optical transmission. Based on O-OFDM technology, a novel elastic optical network architecture with immense flexibility and scalability in spectrum allocation and data rate accommodation could be built to support diverse services and the rapid growth of Internet traffic in the future. In this paper, we present a comprehensive survey on OFDM-based elastic optical network technologies, including basic principles of OFDM, O-OFDM technologies, the architectures of OFDM-based elastic core optical networks, and related key enabling technologies. The main advantages and issues of OFDM-based elastic core optical networks that are under research are also discussed

Measurement Based Reconfigurations in Optical Ring Metro Networks

Single-hop wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) optical ring networks operating in packet mode are one of themost promising architectures for the design of innovative metropolitan network (metro) architectures. They permit a cost-effective design, with a good combination of optical and electronic technologies, while supporting features like restoration and reconfiguration that are essential in any metro scenario. In this article, we address the tunability requirements that lead to an effective resource usage and permit reconfiguration in optical WDM metros.We introduce reconfiguration algorithms that, on the basis of traffic measurements, adapt the network configuration to traffic demands to optimize performance. Using a specific network architecture as a reference case, the paper aims at the broader goal of showing which are the advantages fostered by innovative network designs exploiting the features of optical technologies

On-board B-ISDN fast packet switching architectures. Phase 1: Study

The broadband integrate services digital network (B-ISDN) is an emerging telecommunications technology that will meet most of the telecommunications networking needs in the mid-1990's to early next century. The satellite-based system is well positioned for providing B-ISDN service with its inherent capabilities of point-to-multipoint and broadcast transmission, virtually unlimited connectivity between any two points within a beam coverage, short deployment time of communications facility, flexible and dynamic reallocation of space segment capacity, and distance insensitive cost. On-board processing satellites, particularly in a multiple spot beam environment, will provide enhanced connectivity, better performance, optimized access and transmission link design, and lower user service cost. The following are described: the user and network aspects of broadband services; the current development status in broadband services; various satellite network architectures including system design issues; and various fast packet switch architectures and their detail designs

Overcoming asymmetrical communication delays in line current differential protection circuits

Communications asymmetry leads to current differential protection relay misoperation by causing relays at either end of a power line to sample load current waveforms at different moments in time. The increased use of current differential protection and developments in communication technologies in power systems has led to the increase likelihood of relay misoperation due to communication delay asymmetry. The main cause of communication delay asymmetry is split-path-communications, whereby transmit and receive directions of a communications channel take separate paths with different delays. Split-path-communications are the result of faults in one direction of a communications channel, causing that direction only to switch from main to alternate paths. This project studies AusNet Services’ communications network and those similar to it, to find the typical sources of communication delays. Delays are measured between a variety E1 interfaces in the AusNet Services network, and the results used to calculate the per unit delays through given types of cross-connections. These are used in conjunction with a current differential relay response calculator, to create a model that displays a relay’s response to a communications channel with specified attributes. The chance of split-path-communications can be avoided by using communications equipment with bidirectional switching capabilities. The Avara DB4 family of branching E1 cards have this capability; however, this project reveals that a fault in the DB4 firmware code means that they may still cause protection relays to misoperate due to asymmetry. The DB4 firmware was updated, and further testing proved that it now prevented relay misoperation

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