Architecture, design, and modeling of the OPSnet asynchronous optical packet switching node

An all-optical packet-switched network supporting multiple services represents a long-term goal for network operators and service providers alike. The EPSRC-funded OPSnet project partnership addresses this issue from device through to network architecture perspectives with the key objective of the design, development, and demonstration of a fully operational asynchronous optical packet switch (OPS) suitable for 100 Gb/s dense-wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM) operation. The OPS is built around a novel buffer and control architecture that has been shown to be highly flexible and to offer the promise of fair and consistent packet delivery at high load conditions with full support for quality of service (QoS) based on differentiated services over generalized multiprotocol label switching

Multiclass scheduling algorithms for the DAVID metro network

Abstract—The data and voice integration over dense wavelength-division-multiplexing (DAVID) project proposes a metro network architecture based on several wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM) rings interconnected via a bufferless optical switch called Hub. The Hub provides a programmable interconnection among rings on the basis of the outcome of a scheduling algorithm. Nodes connected to rings groom traffic from Internet protocol routers and Ethernet switches and share ring resources. In this paper, we address the problem of designing efficient centralized scheduling algorithms for supporting multiclass traffic services in the DAVID metro network. Two traffic classes are considered: a best-effort class, and a high-priority class with bandwidth guarantees. We define the multiclass scheduling problem at the Hub considering two different node architectures: a simpler one that relies on a complete separation between transmission and reception resources (i.e., WDM channels) and a more complex one in which nodes fully share transmission and reception channels using an erasure stage to drop received packets, thereby allowing wavelength reuse. We propose both optimum and heuristic solutions, and evaluate their performance by simulation, showing that heuristic solutions exhibit a behavior very close to the optimum solution. Index Terms—Data and voice integration over dense wavelength-division multiplexing (DAVID), metropolitan area network, multiclass scheduling, optical ring, wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM). I

Self-Similarity in a multi-stage queueing ATM switch fabric

Recent studies of digital network traffic have shown that arrival processes in such an environment are more accurately modeled as a statistically self-similar process, rather than as a Poisson-based one. We present a simulation of a combination sharedoutput queueing ATM switch fabric, sourced by two models of self-similar input. The effect of self-similarity on the average queue length and cell loss probability for this multi-stage queue is examined for varying load, buffer size, and internal speedup. The results using two self-similar input models, Pareto-distributed interarrival times and a Poisson-Zeta ON-OFF model, are compared with each other and with results using Poisson interarrival times and an ON-OFF bursty traffic source with Ge ometrically distributed burst lengths. The results show that at a high utilization and at a high degree of self-similarity, switch performance improves slowly with increasing buffer size and speedup, as compared to the improvement using Poisson-based traffic

Design of Routers for Optical Burst Switched Networks

Optical Burst Switching (OBS) is an experimental network technology that enables the construction of very high capacity routers using optical data paths and electronic control. In this dissertation, we study the design of network components that are needed to build an OBS network. Specifically, we study the design of the switches that form the optical data path through the network. An OBS network that switches data across wavelength channels requires wave-length converting switches to construct an OBS router. We study one particular design of wavelength converting switches that uses tunable lasers and wavelength grating routers. This design is interesting because wavelength grating routers are passive devices and are much less complex and hence less expensive than optical crossbars. We show how the routing problem for these switches can be formulated as a combinatorial puzzle or game, in which the design of the game board determines key performance characteristics of the switch. In this disertation, we use this formu-lation to facilitate the design of switches and associated routing strategies with good performance. We then introduce time sliced optical burst switching (TSOBS), a variant of OBS that switches data in the time domain rather that the wavelength domain. This eliminates the need for wavelength converters, the largest single cost component of systems that switch in the wavelength domain. We study the performance of TSOBS networks and discuss various design issues. One of the main components that is needed to build a TSOBS router is an optical time slot interchanger (OTSI). We explore various design options for OTSIs. Finally, we discuss the issues involved in the design of network interfaces that transmit the data from hosts that use legacy protocols into a TSOBS network. Ag-gregation and load balancing are the main issues that determine the performance of a TSOBS network and we develop and evaluate methods for both

Architectural Considerations for Photonic Switching Networks

Photonic technologies are reviewed that could become important components of future telecommunication systems. Photonic devices and systems are divided into two classes according to the function they perform. The first class, relational, refers to devices, that map the input channels to the output channels under external control. The second class, logic, perform some type or combination of Boolean logic functions. Some of the strengths and weaknesses of operating in the photonic domain are presented. Relational devices and their applications are discussed. Optical logic devices and their potential applications are reviewed

An occam Style Communications System for UNIX Networks

This document describes the design of a communications system which provides occam style communications primitives under a Unix environment, using TCP/IP protocols, and any number of other protocols deemed suitable as underlying transport layers. The system will integrate with a low overhead scheduler/kernel without incurring significant costs to the execution of processes within the run time environment. A survey of relevant occam and occam3 features and related research is followed by a look at the Unix and TCP/IP facilities which determine our working constraints, and a description of the T9000 transputer's Virtual Channel Processor, which was instrumental in our formulation. Drawing from the information presented here, a design for the communications system is subsequently proposed. Finally, a preliminary investigation of methods for lightweight access control to shared resources in an environment which does not provide support for critical sections, semaphores, or busy waiting, is made. This is presented with relevance to mutual exclusion problems which arise within the proposed design. Future directions for the evolution of this project are discussed in conclusion

High capacity photonic integrated switching circuits

As the demand for high-capacity data transfer keeps increasing in high performance computing and in a broader range of system area networking environments; reconfiguring the strained networks at ever faster speeds with larger volumes of traffic has become a huge challenge. Formidable bottlenecks appear at the physical layer of these switched interconnects due to its energy consumption and footprint. The energy consumption of the highly sophisticated but increasingly unwieldy electronic switching systems is growing rapidly with line rate, and their designs are already being constrained by heat and power management issues. The routing of multi-Terabit/second data using optical techniques has been targeted by leading international industrial and academic research labs. So far the work has relied largely on discrete components which are bulky and incurconsiderable networking complexity. The integration of the most promising architectures is required in a way which fully leverages the advantages of photonic technologies. Photonic integration technologies offer the promise of low power consumption and reduced footprint. In particular, photonic integrated semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) gate-based circuits have received much attention as a potential solution. SOA gates exhibit multi-terahertz bandwidths and can be switched from a high-gain state to a high-loss state within a nanosecond using low-voltage electronics. In addition, in contrast to the electronic switching systems, their energy consumption does not rise with line rate. This dissertation will discuss, through the use of different kind of materials and integration technologies, that photonic integrated SOA-based optoelectronic switches can be scalable in either connectivity or data capacity and are poised to become a key technology for very high-speed applications. In Chapter 2, the optical switching background with the drawbacks of optical switches using electronic cores is discussed. The current optical technologies for switching are reviewed with special attention given to the SOA-based switches. Chapter 3 discusses the first demonstrations using quantum dot (QD) material to develop scalable and compact switching matrices operating in the 1.55µm telecommunication window. In Chapter 4, the capacity limitations of scalable quantum well (QW) SOA-based multistage switches is assessed through experimental studies for the first time. In Chapter 5 theoretical analysis on the dependence of data integrity as ultrahigh line-rate and number of monolithically integrated SOA-stages increases is discussed. Chapter 6 presents some designs for the next generation of large scale photonic integrated interconnects. A 16x16 switch architecture is described from its blocking properties to the new miniaturized elements proposed. Finally, Chapter 7 presents several recommendations for future work, along with some concluding remark

Optical flow switched networks

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2009.Includes bibliographical references (p. 253-279).In the four decades since optical fiber was introduced as a communications medium, optical networking has revolutionized the telecommunications landscape. It has enabled the Internet as we know it today, and is central to the realization of Network-Centric Warfare in the defense world. Sustained exponential growth in communications bandwidth demand, however, is requiring that the nexus of innovation in optical networking continue, in order to ensure cost-effective communications in the future. In this thesis, we present Optical Flow Switching (OFS) as a key enabler of scalable future optical networks. The general idea behind OFS-agile, end-to-end, all-optical connections-is decades old, if not as old as the field of optical networking itself. However, owing to the absence of an application for it, OFS remained an underdeveloped idea-bereft of how it could be implemented, how well it would perform, and how much it would cost relative to other architectures. The contributions of this thesis are in providing partial answers to these three broad questions. With respect to implementation, we address the physical layer design of OFS in the metro-area and access, and develop sensible scheduling algorithms for OFS communication. Our performance study comprises a comparative capacity analysis for the wide-area, as well as an analytical approximation of the throughput-delay tradeoff offered by OFS for inter-MAN communication. Lastly, with regard to the economics of OFS, we employ an approximate capital expenditure model, which enables a throughput-cost comparison of OFS with other prominent candidate architectures. Our conclusions point to the fact that OFS offers significant advantage over other architectures in economic scalability.(cont.) In particular, for sufficiently heavy traffic, OFS handles large transactions at far lower cost than other optical network architectures. In light of the increasing importance of large transactions in both commercial and defense networks, we conclude that OFS may be crucial to the future viability of optical networking.by Guy E. Weichenberg.Ph.D

Architectural study of high-speed networks with optical bypassing

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2002.Includes bibliographical references (p. 155-158).This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.We study the routing and wavelength assignment (RWA) problem in wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) networks with no wavelength conversion. In a high-speed core network, the traffic can be separated into two components. The first is the aggregated traffic from a large number of small-rate users. Each individual session is not necessarily static but the combined traffic streams between each pair of access nodes are approximately static. We support this traffic by static provisioning of routes and wavelengths. In particular, we develop several off-line RWA algorithms which use the minimum number of wavelengths to provide I dedicated wavelength paths between each pair of access nodes for basic all-to-all connectivity. The topologies we consider are arbitrary tree, bidirectional ring, two-dimensional torus, and binary hypercube topologies. We observe that wavelength converters do not decrease the wavelength requirement to support this uniform all-to-all traffic. The second traffic component contains traffic sessions from a small number of large-rate users and cannot be well approximated as static due to insufficient aggregation. To support this traffic component, we perform dynamic provisioning of routes and wavelengths. Adopting a nonblocking formulation, we assume that the basic traffic unit is a wavelength, and the traffic matrix changes from time to time but always belongs to a given traffic set.(cont.) More specifically, let N be the number of access nodes, and k denote an integer vector [k, k2, ..., kN]. We define the set of k-allowable traffic matrices to be such that, in each traffic matrix, node i, </= 1 </= N, can transmit at most ki wavelengths and receive at most ki wavelengths. We develop several on-line RWA algorithms which can support all the k-allowable traffic matrices in a rearrangeably nonblocking fashion while using close to the minimum number of wavelengths and incurring few rearrangements of existing lightpaths, if any, for each new session request. The topologies we consider are the same as for static provisioning. We observe that the number of lightpath rearrangements per new session request is proportional to the maximum number of lightpaths supported on a single wavelength. In addition, we observe that the number of lightpath rearrangements depends on the topological properties, e.g. network size, but not on the traffic volume represented by k as we increase k by some integer factor. Finally, we begin exploring an RWA problem in which traffic is switched in bands of wavelengths rather than individual wavelengths. We present some preliminary results based on the star topology.by Poompat Saengudomlert.Ph.D

Queuing delays in randomized load balanced networks

Valiant’s concept of Randomized Load Balancing (RLB), also promoted under the name ‘two-phase routing’, has previously been shown to provide a cost-effective way of implementing overlay networks that are robust to dynamically changing demand patterns. RLB is accomplished in two steps; in the first step, traffic is randomly distributed across the network, and in the second step traffic is routed to the final destination. One of the benefits of RLB is that packets experience only a single stage of routing, thus reducing queueing delays associated with multi-hop architectures. In this paper, we study the queuing performance of RLB, both through analytical methods and packet-level simulations using ns2 on three representative carrier networks. We show that purely random traffic splitting in the randomization step of RLB leads to higher queuing delays than pseudo-random splitting using, e.g., a round-robin schedule. Furthermore, we show that, for pseudo-random scheduling, queuing delays depend significantly on the degree of uniformity of the offered demand patterns, with uniform demand matrices representing a provably worst-case scenario. These results are independent of whether RLB employs priority mechanisms between traffic from step one over step two. A comparison with multi-hop shortest-path routing reveals that RLB eliminates the occurrence of demand-specific hot spots in the network