Performance Analysis of WDM Optical Networks with Wavelength Usage Constraint

Due to power considerations, it is possible that not all wavelengths available in a fiber can be used at a given time. In this paper, an analytical model is proposed to evaluate the blocking performance of wavelength-routed optical networks with and without wavelength conversion where the usable wavelengths in a fiber is limited to a certain maximum number, referred to as wavelength usage constraint. The effect of the wavelength usage constraint is studied on ring and mesh-torus networks. It is shown that the analytical model closely approximates the simulation results. We also evaluate the performance of the first-fit wavelength assignment algorithm and compare its performance with the random wavelength assignment algorithm through simulation. It is observed that increasing the total number of wavelengths in a fiber is an attractive alternative to wavelength conversion when the number of usable wavelengths in a fiber is maintained the same.