High speed all optical networks

An inherent problem of conventional point-to-point wide area network (WAN) architectures is that they cannot translate optical transmission bandwidth into comparable user available throughput due to the limiting electronic processing speed of the switching nodes. The first solution to wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) based WAN networks that overcomes this limitation is presented. The proposed Lightnet architecture takes into account the idiosyncrasies of WDM switching/transmission leading to an efficient and pragmatic solution. The Lightnet architecture trades the ample WDM bandwidth for a reduction in the number of processing stages and a simplification of each switching stage, leading to drastically increased effective network throughputs. The principle of the Lightnet architecture is the construction and use of virtual topology networks, embedded in the original network in the wavelength domain. For this construction Lightnets utilize the new concept of lightpaths which constitute the links of the virtual topology. Lightpaths are all-optical, multihop, paths in the network that allow data to be switched through intermediate nodes using high throughput passive optical switches. The use of the virtual topologies and the associated switching design introduce a number of new ideas, which are discussed in detail

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

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

Optical network technologies for future digital cinema

Digital technology has transformed the information flow and support infrastructure for numerous application domains, such as cellular communications. Cinematography, traditionally, a film based medium, has embraced digital technology leading to innovative transformations in its work flow. Digital cinema supports transmission of high resolution content enabled by the latest advancements in optical communications and video compression. In this paper we provide a survey of the optical network technologies for supporting this bandwidth intensive traffic class. We also highlight the significance and benefits of the state of the art in optical technologies that support the digital cinema work flow

An Efficient Medium Access Control Strategy for High Speed WDM Multiaccess Networks

A medium access control (MAC) strategy that accounts for the limited tunability of present-day lasers and filters and yet supports a large total number of wavelengths in the network is proposed. Full interconnectivity, contention-free access and a high value of concurrency are achieved by dividing the network into disjunct subnetworks on a wavelength basis and by reconfiguring these subnetworks on a time basis. Each subnetwork allows for simplified access to be implemented with fast tunable transceivers each assessing only a moderate number of wavelengths. A performance analysis shows that this concept is most efficient when applied to a high-level broadband interconnection metropolitan area network (MAN

Circuit-switch architecture for a 30/20-GHz FDMA/TDM geostationary satellite communications network

A circuit switching architecture is described for a 30/20 GHz frequency division, multiple access uplink/time division multiplexed downlink (FDMA/TDM) geostationary satellite communications network. Critical subsystems and problem areas are identified and addressed. Work was concentrated primarily on the space segment; however, the ground segment was considered concurrently to ensure cost efficiency and realistic operational constraints

Multicast traffic aggregation in MPLS-based VPN networks

This article gives an overview of the current practical approaches under study for a scalable implementation of multicast in layer 2 and 3 VPNs over an IP-MPLS multiservice network. These proposals are based on a well-known technique: the aggregation of traffic into shared trees to manage the forwarding state vs. bandwidth saving trade-off. This sort of traffic engineering mechanism requires methods to estimate the resources needed to set up a multicast shared tree for a set of VPNs. The methodology proposed in this article consists of studying the effect of aggregation obtained by random shared tree allocation on a reference model of a representative network scenario.Publicad

Multiservice QoS-Enabled MAC for Optical Burst Switching

The emergence of a broad range of network-driven applications (e.g., multimedia, online gaming) brings in the need for a network environment able to provide multiservice capabilities with diverse quality-of-service (QoS) guarantees. In this paper, a medium access control protocol is proposed to support multiple services and QoS levels in optical burst-switched mesh networks without wavelength conversion. The protocol provides two different access mechanisms, queue-arbitrated and prearbitrated for connectionless and connection-oriented burst transport, respectively. It has been evaluated through extensive simulations and its simplistic form makes it very promising for implementation and deployment. Results indicate that the protocol can clearly provide a relative quality differentiation for connectionless traffic and guarantee null (or negligible, and thus acceptable) burst loss probability for a wide range of network (or offered) load while ensuring low access delay for the higher-priority traffic. Furthermore, in the multiservice scenario mixing connectionless and connection-oriented burst transmissions, three different prearbitrated slot scheduling algorithms are evaluated, each one providing a different performance in terms of connection blocking probability. The overall results demonstrate the suitability of this architecture for future integrated multiservice optical networks