Sparse Wavelength Conversion in Wavelength-Routed WDM Optical Networks*

A wavelength-routed optical network can suffer inefficiencies due to the wavelength-continuity constraint (under which a signal has to remain on the same wavelength from the source to the destination). In order to eliminate or reduce the effects of this constraint, a device called a wavelength converter may be utilized. Due to the high cost of these wavelength converters, many studies have attempted to determine the exact benefits of wavelength conversion. However, most of these studies have focused on optical networks that implement full wavelength conversion capabilities. An alternative to full wavelength conversion is to employ only a sparse number of wavelength converters throughout the network, thereby reducing network costs. This study will focus on different versions of sparse wavelength conversion--namely, sparse nodal conversion, sparse switch-output conversion, and sparse (or limited) range conversion--to determine if most of the benefits of full conversion can be obtained using only sparse conversion. Simulation and analytical results on these three different classes of sparse wavelength conversion will be presented. In addition, this study will present heuristic techniques for the placement of sparse conversion facilities within an optical network.     

波分复用光网络中的波长路由分配策略

路由选择和波长分配是WDM光传输网中非常重要的问题.本文结合交叉连接节点,提出了一种基于最短路径的动态路由选择方案;然后利用这种动态的路由选择策略,以网络的阻塞性能为优化目标分配波长,达到充分利用网络资源的目的.计算机仿真结果表明,无论在单纤或者多纤WDM光传输网络中,利用这种策略的RWA算法优于传统的固定路由和单纯动态路由算法     

Routing and Wavelength Assignment in Optical Networks Using Logical Link Representation and Efficient Bitwise Computation

In this paper, we propose and evaluate a new approach for implementing efficient routing and wavelength assignment (RWA) in wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) optical networks. In our method, the state of a fiber is given by the set of free wavelengths in this fiber and is efficiently represented as a compact bitmap. The state of a multiple-fiber link is also represented by a compact bitmap computed as the logical union of the individual bitmaps of the fibers in this link. Likewise, the state of a lightpath is represented by a similar bitmap computed as the logical intersection of the individual bitmaps of the links in this path. The count of the number of 1-valued bits in the bitmap of the route from source to destination is used as the primary reward function in route selection. A modified Dijkstra algorithm is developed for dynamic routing based on the bitmap representation. The algorithm uses bitwise logical operations and is quite efficient. A first-fit channel assignment algorithm is developed using a simple computation on the bitmap of the selected route. The resulting bitwise routing algorithm combines the benefits of least loaded routing algorithms and shortest path routing algorithms. Our extensive simulation tests have shown that the bitwise RWA approach has small storage overhead, is computationally fast, and reduces the network-wide blocking probability. The blocking performance of our RWA method compares very favorably with three routing methods: fixed alternate routing, shortest path using flooding, and Dijkstra’s algorithm using mathematical operations. Our simulation experiments have also evaluated the performance gain obtained when the network access stations are equipped with finite buffers to temporarily hold blocked connection requests.     

混合光波长转换在波分复用光网络中的应用

在全光网络中，如何合理利用波长转换来降低光网络的阻塞率是一个非常关键的问题。研究了最新的波长转换体系结构和波长转换手段，提出一种全新的混合波长转换方法，在减少网络中波长转换器个数的同时，维持拥塞概率类似于全波长转换。提出了5种不同的波长转换器使用策略，并利用数值模拟的方法，比较了这5种不同的波长转换器使用策略，分析结果，得出了最小化光网络的阻塞概率的波长转换使用策略。结合混合波长转换和波长转换器使用策略，进一步提出了光网络中优化波长转换器配置的遗传算法，通过对14个节点的美国自然科学基金网(NSF Net)的数值模拟，结果表明它是十分有效的，在减少光网络中波长转换器数量，且不增加光网络波长数量的情况下，基本保持原有网络性能。     

Ant Colony Optimization for Dynamic RWA in WDM Networks with Partial Wavelength Conversion

Dynamic routing and wavelength assignment (RWA), which supports request arrivals and lightpath terminations at random times, is needed for rapidly changing traffic demands in wavelength division multiplexed, (WDM) networks. In this paper, a new distributed heuristic algorithm based on ant colony optimization for dynamic RWA is put forward. We consider the combination of route selection and wavelength assignment as a whole using a multilayer-graph model. Therefore, an extended multilayer-graph model for WDM networks with limited wavelength conversion is presented. Compared with other RWA methods, the Ant Colony heuristic algorithm can achieve better global network optimization and can reduce communication overhead cost of the networks. Simulation showed that a lower blocking probability and a more rational wavelength resource assignment can be achieved.     

Optimal Wavelength Assignment Algorithms for Permutation Traffic in Multi-Fiber WDM Ring Networks*

Permutation traffic occurs in a number of networking applications. In this paper, the problem of wavelength assignment for permutation traffic in multi-fiber WDM rings with and without wavelength conversion is considered. We focus on a special class of permutation traffic and analyze the bounds on the number of wavelengths required to establish the connections. Lower bounds and optimal algorithms are presented for all the cases. The results indicate that a small number of fibers is sufficient to provide most of the benefits that wavelength conversion provides for this class of permutation traffic.     

Cost Effective Shared Path Protection for WDM Optical Mesh Networks with Partial Wavelength Conversion

In this paper, we study routing and wavelength assignment of connection requests in survivable WDM optical mesh networks employing shared path protection with partial wavelength conversion while 100% restorability is guaranteed against any single failures. We formulate the problem as a linear integer program under a static traffic model. The objective is to minimize the total cost of wavelength-links and wavelength converters used by working paths and protection paths of all connections. A weight factor is used which is defined as the cost ratio of a wavelength converter and a wavelength-link. Depending on the relative cost of bandwidth and wavelength conversion, the optimization objective allows a proper tradeoff between the two. The proposed algorithm, the shortest-widest-path-first (SWPF) algorithm, uses a modified Dijkstra's algorithm to find a working path and a protection path for each connection request in the wavelength graph transformed from the original network topology. When there are multiple candidate paths that have the same minimum total cost, the path along which the maximum number of converters used at each node is minimized is chosen by the SWPF algorithm. We have evaluated the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm via extensive simulation. The results indicate that the performance of the proposed algorithm is very close to that of the optimal solutions obtained by solving the ILP formulation and outperforms existing heuristic algorithms in terms of total number of converters used and the maximum number of converters required at each node in the network. The proposed algorithm also achieves slightly better performance in terms of total cost of wavelength-links and converters used by all connections. We also investigated shared path protection employing converter sharing. The results show that the technique can reduce not only the total number of converters used in the network but also the maximum number of converters required at each node, especially when a large number of converters are needed in the network. In this study, although the ILP formulation is based on static traffic, the proposed algorithm is also applicable to routing dynamic connection requests.     

Routing Mechanisms Employing Adaptive Weight Functions for Shortest Path Routing in Optical WDM Networks

Optical dense wavelength division multiplexed (DWDM) networks are an attractive candidate for the next generation Internet and beyond. In this paper, we consider routing and wavelength assignment in a wide area wavelength routed backbone network that employs circuit-switching. When a session request is received by the network, the routing and wavelength assignment (RWA) task is to establish a lightpath between the source and destination. That is, determine a suitable path and assign a set of wavelengths for the links on this path. We consider a link state protocol approach and use Dijkstras shortest path algorithm, suitably modified for DWDM networks, for computing the shortest paths. In [1] we proposed WDM aware weight functions that included factors such as available wavelengths per link, total wavelengths per link. In this paper, we present new weight functions that exploit the strong correlation between blocking probability and number of hops involved in connection setup to increase the performance of the network. We also consider alternate path routing that computes the alternate paths based on WDM aware weight functions. The impact of the weight functions on the blocking probability and delay is studied through discrete event simulation. The system parameters varied include number of network nodes, wavelengths, degree of wavelength conversion, and load. The results show that the weight function that incorporates both hop count and available wavelength provides the best performance in terms of blocking probability.     

Dimensioning of the Wavelength Converters in a WDM Optical Packet Switch

This paper analyzes the performances of a WDM optical packet switch making use of fiber delay lines to resolve output packet contentions; the optical packet switch is equipped with tunable wavelength converters which can shift optical packets to any wavelength of the output link which they are directed to. As not all packets need conversion, we propose a dimensioning technique allowing to reduce the number of converters and to improve the signal quality by reducing unnecessary conversions. The obtained results show that a remarkable reduction of the number of converters is obtained with respect to that needed by other switches described in literature. Such a saving is achieved by maintaining the packet loss probability below a prefixed threshold.     

Efficient Wavelength Assignment Algorithms for Light Paths in WDM Optical Networks With/Without Wavelength Conversion

In order to reduce the overall wavelength number required in a wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) network with static traffic loading, new heuristic algorithms for wavelength assignment are proposed in this paper. A new parameter called one-wavelength-decrease cost is defined and used to compare the efficiency of these algorithms. Comparative simulation studies have been carried out for various network topologies to investigate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.     

波分复用光网中的一种新型波长分配算法

目前网络承载业务的趋势是以IP为中心的数据业务,从而促进了以WDM光网络向高速和宽带多波长的应用和普及,为了进一步提高网络的性能并提高资源利用率,出现了光网络控制面技术.路由选择与波长分配问题是WDM光传输网络控制面中非常重要的问题之一.目前实际应用最广泛的波长分配算法是First-Fir(FF)算法.本文基于FF算法,研究动态业务下波分复用光网络在固定选路下的波长分配问题,提出了一种新的波长分配启发式算法——Joint First Fit.计算机仿真试验表明,与常用的FF算法相比,该算法显著的降低了网络呼叫阻塞率,有利于提高网络资源的利用率.     

基于半导体光放大器的波长转换技术 及其在WDM 全光网络中的应用

本文在简单地介绍了各种波长转换技术之后,对基于半导体光放大器的交叉增益调制,交叉相位调制,以及四波混频效应的波长转换技术进行了深入地分析,为了阐明波长转换技术在WDM全光网络的中的应用,研究了一种分析模型。     

WDM光传送网的选路和波长分配算法

文章综述了波分复用(WDM)光传送网的选路和波长分配(RWA)算法;考虑了两种需求情况一种是从建立光路的需求出发,另一种是从运送分组业务的需求出发;还概述了RWA设计中要考虑的附加问题,包括波长变换、抗毁和服务策略.     

Configuration of p-Cycles in WDM Networks with Partial Wavelength Conversion

The p-cycle concept offers a capacity-efficient and rapid protection mechanism for mesh-restorable networks. This work investigates the configuration of span protecting p-cycles in wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) networks with limited wavelength conversion. An important point of view is the relation between the costs associated with the number of required wavelength converters, and the protection capacity-efficiency achieved. We formulate mathematical models and solve the respective optimization problems for a pan-European network as a test-case. An interesting finding is that the total number of converters required for the network as a whole can be greatly reduced, with only a small increase in spare capacity for protection by a strategy of associating wavelength converters with the access points between a pure wavelength path (WP) working layer and a set of pure WP p-cycle protection structures.     

自适应TDM/WDM光网络结构

WDM(波分复用)技术极大地利用了光纤的巨大带宽潜力，为此介绍了一种运用WDM技术的光网络结构，其中心局之间通过光交换设备的控制进行自适应的时分交换，同一中心局内的光交换机之间通过预约的时分复用共享所有可用波长，IP(因特网协议)数据包可以直接在该网络中透明传输。该网络结构具有组网灵活，带宽利用率高，扩容性好以及路由方法简单的优点。     

Performance of Adaptive Routing in Wavelength-Routed Networks with Wavelength Conversion Capability

This paper concerns itself with the performance of adaptive routing in wavelength-routed networks with wavelength conversion capability. Exploiting the concept of load balancing, we propose an adaptive weighted-shortest-cost-path (WSCP) routing strategy. The salient feature of WSCP is that it seeks the path that minimizes the resource cost while simultaneously maintaining the traffic load among the links as balanced as possible. In our simulation, we compare the blocking probability, average hops and link utilization of WSCP with traditional shortest-cost-path (SCP) strategy, fixed routing and alternate routing. The numerical results show that WSCP can enhance blocking performance and just lengthen hop distances a little longer. The improvement is more significant in denser networks or with more wavelengths. We also develop an analytical model to estimate blocking performance of WSCP and compare analyses with simulations. Because of the benefit from load balancing, the proposed WSCP strategy can be used as a path selection algorithm in traffic engineering.     

Dynamic Routing and Wavelength Assignment in Optical Networks by Means of Genetic Algorithms

We propose a novel genetic algorithm for solving the dynamic routing and wavelength assignment (DRWA) problem in wavelength-routed optical networks. The algorithm not only obtains low call blocking probability, but it also employs a very short computation time. Moreover, it is capable of providing fairness among connections, that is, to offer approximately the same quality of service (in terms of blocking probability) for all source-destination node pairs. Since requirements on optical network availability are highly severe, we also propose an extension of the algorithm to provide fault-tolerance capability at the optical layer. It is achieved by means of protection, where each optical connection request is provided with a pair of lightpaths (a primary and a backup lightpath). Again, the genetic algorithm proves to be highly efficient, in this case, at performing routing and wavelength assignment of pairs of lightpaths.     

Performance Analysis of Multi-Fiber WDM Network with Limited-Range Wavelength Conversion

Wavelength routed optical networks have emerged as a technology that can effectively utilize the enormous bandwidth of the optical fiber. Wavelength conversion technology and wavelength converters play an important role in enhancing fiber utilization and in reducing the overall call blocking probability of the network. In this paper, we develop a new analytical model to calculate the average blocking probability in multi-fiber link networks using limited range wavelength conversion. Based on the results obtained, we conclude that the proposed analytical model is simple and yet can effectively analyze the impact of wavelength conversion ranges and number of fibers on network performance. Also a new heuristic approach for placement of wavelength converters to reduce blocking probabilities is explored. Finally, we analyze network performance with the proposed scheme. It can be observed from numerical simulations that limited range converters placed at a few nodes can provide almost the same blocking probability as full range wavelength converters placed at all the nodes. We also show that being equipped with a multi-fiber per-link has the same effect as being equipped with the capability of limited range wavelength conversion. So a multi-fiber per-link network using limited range wavelength conversion has similar blocking performance as a full wavelength convertible network. Since a multi-fiber network using limited range wavelength conversion could use fewer converters than a single-fiber network using limited range wavelength conversion and because wavelength converters are today more expensive than fiber equipment, a multi-fiber network in condition with limited range wavelength conversion is less costly than a single fiber network using only limited range wavelength conversion. Thus, multi-fiber per-link network using limited range wavelength conversion is currently a more practical method for all optical WDM networks. Simulation studies carried out on a 14-node NSFNET, a 10-node CERNET (China Education and Research Network), and a 9-node regular mesh network validate the analysis.     

Planning of WDM Ring Networks

The rapid introduction of wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) technology to cope with the increased bandwidth requirements of transmission networks has intensified the need for recovery mechanisms at the optical layer. A first step towards survivable optical networking will be seen through the introduction of optical rings. This paper presents different types of optical rings (dedicated and shared protection WDM rings) and the planning issues associated with these WDM rings. In particular, we give mathematical models as well as solution methods for the ring loading and wavelength assignment problem. We compare the wavelength requirement of dedicated and shared protection rings under scenarios with different demand patterns. We also discuss the influence of the WDM equipment cost, and present a mathematical model for the optimization of hybrid networks with both dedicated and shared protection rings.     

Tutorial: Key Elements for WDM Transport Networks

This paper reports a brief review of the key elements for WDM transport networks. In particular, the transmission aspects, the basic elements of WDM networking, and the issues relating to failure restoration and network management are taken into account.