Wavelength assignment with sparse wavelength conversion for optical multicast in WDM networks

This paper addresses the problem of multicast wavelength assignment for sparse wavelength conversion (MWA-SWC) in wavelength-routed wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM) networks. It aims to optimally allocate the available wavelength for each link of the multicast tree, given a sparse wavelength conversion network and a multicast request. To our knowledge, little research work has been done to address this problem in literature.In this paper, we propose a new technique called MWA-SWC algorithm to solve the problem. The algorithm first maps the multicast tree from the sparse conversion case to the full conversion case by making use of a novel virtual link method to carry out the tree mapping. The method provides a forward mapping to generate an auxiliary tree as well as a reverse mapping to recover the original tree. Applying the auxiliary tree, we propose a dynamic programing algorithm for the wavelength assignment (WA) aiming to minimize the number of wavelength converters (NWC) required. Simulation results show that our new algorithm outperforms both random and greedy algorithms with regard to minimizing the NWC. Testing on various scenarios by varying the number of wavelength conversion nodes in the tree has confirmed the consistency of the performance. The primary use of the MWA-SWC algorithm is for static traffic. However, it can also serve as a baseline for dynamic heuristic algorithms. Typically, the MWA-SWC algorithm will provide great benefit when the number of available wavelengths on each link of the multicast tree is relatively large and the performance advantage is significant.     

Minimum connection count wavelength assignment strategy for WDM optical networks

In this paper, we have proposed one wavelength assignment strategy for optical networks which assigns the wavelength according to minimum connection count. The performance of proposed strategy is compared with the most commonly used strategy among the existing strategies in terms of number of searches to find the wavelength for connection establishment. The searching takes the time and directly affects the connection establishment time. The simulation is done using different network models. The results show that the proposed strategy is much better than existing strategy in terms of number of searches required to find a wavelength for establishing the connection and hence connection establishment time reduces.     

半导体激光器波长转换中的噪声抑制

利用可调谐外腔半导体激光器进行了波长转换实验。静态转换后的波长可以在６０ｎｍ范围内连续调谐,并实现了１５５Ｍｂ／ｓ和６２２Ｍｂ／ｓ速率信号的动态波长转换。对激光器型波长转换器的噪声传输特性进行了研究,分析表明,由于输入和输出存在阈值特性,因此可以有效地抑制输入信号“１”上的噪声,波长转换对噪声性能的改善和输入光的功率和噪声带宽有关。     

Design of grooming architectures for optical WDM mesh networks: limited grooming with electronic wavelength conversion

In this article, we consider the problem of traffic grooming in optical wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) mesh networks under static traffic conditions. The objective of this work is to minimize the network cost and in particular, the electronic port costs incurred for meeting a given performance objective. In earlier work, we have shown the benefits of limited grooming switch architectures, where only a subset of wavelengths in a network are equipped with expensive SONET Add Drop Multiplexers (SADM) that provide the grooming functionality. In this work, we also consider the wavelength conversion capability of such groomers. This can be achieved using a digital cross-connect (DCS) in the grooming switch to switch low-speed connections between the SADMs (and hence, between wavelengths). The grooming switch thus avoids the need for expensive optical wavelength converters. Based on these observations, we propose a limited conversion-based grooming architecture for optical WDM mesh networks. The local ports at every node in this architecture can be one of three types: an add-drop port, a grooming port that allows wavelength conversion or a grooming port that does not allow wavelength conversion. The problem studied is: given a static traffic model, where should the different ports be placed in a network? We formulate this as an optimization problem using an Integer Linear Programing (ILP) and present numerical results for the same. We also present a heuristic-based approach to solve the problem for larger networks.     

Study of multicast wavelength arrangement for maximizing network capacity in WDM networks with sparse wavelength converters

The issue of wavelength assignment is one of the most important factors that affect the capacity for the deployment of optical networks. This issue becomes more critical for multicast connections, especially when the network nodes have no wavelength conversion capability. Although the wavelength assignment can be more flexible if each node can perform wavelength conversion, the deployment cost increases accordingly. A compromise is to support a limited portion of conversion nodes in the WDM network. We propose a systematic approach for the wavelength assignment of multicast connections in WDM networks with sparse wavelength conversion nodes. The efficiency of the arrangement of wavelength is measured by its influences on the available capacity of the network and the consumption of wavelengths. By using the proposed approach, the Static Cost Greedy (SCG) algorithm [8] can be easily extended to be applicable in a Sparse Wavelength Conversion Network (SWCN). In addition, instead of SCG, the Minimum-Effect-First (MEF) algorithm is proposed to maximize the network capacity during wavelength assignment. We compare the performance of the proposed MEF methods with the extended SCG scheme through exhaustive simulations. The experimental results indicate that the proposed MEF schemes demonstrate much better performance than the SCG scheme. We also found that the performance is not always improved proportionally to the increment of the wavelength conversion nodes. The improvement reaches saturation when the number of conversion nodes is above 35% of the total number of nodes.

A novel online wavelength assignment algorithm in wavelength-convertible multi-granular optical networks

As industrial technology gets more mature, a single fiber can offer more and more wavelengths. However, it also results in a large amount of switching ports at optical cross-connects (OXCs). Certainly, it is expected that higher and higher complexity is inevitable to control and manage such large OXCs. In this paper, we study the dynamic wavelength assignment problem in waveband switching (WBS) networks composed of multi-granular OXCs (MG-OXCs). Moreover, in order to relax the wavelength continuity constraint on lightpath establishments, each MG-OXC node is equipped with a certain number of converters. To efficiently minimize the extra port consumption and utilize wavelength converters, we proposed an online wavelength assignment algorithm named Least Weighted Configuration Cost (LWCC). For a new request, LWCC first adopts fixed routing and then exploits the layered-graph approach and a new cost function for edge weight assignment to determine adequate wavelength(s). The performance metrics of interest include both blocking performance and converter utilization. Numerical results show that LWCC is superior in waveband grouping and therefore results in significant performance gain in terms of blocking probability.

Performance tradeoffs of optical WDM switches using different shared limited-range wavelength conversion mechanisms

The effects of different wavelength conversion ranging configurations on the performance of Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) optical switches are investigated. Any-to-Any, Any-to-Range, Range-to-Any, and Range-to-Range conversion ranging configurations are considered. These mechanisms provide important design alternatives for optical switches due to technological limitations in the implementation of full range wavelength conversion in an all-optical wavelength converter device. Limited-range wavelength converter (LRWC) is a more economical and practical solution for WDM based optical networks. Differences among the input and output side ranging mechanisms and their effects on conversion resource sharing, and consequently on performance, are investigated. Any- to-Range ranging configuration is the most efficient mechanism and it operates comparably to Any-to-Any, reducing the need for complex control algorithms. The results help determine the most efficient ranging configuration for all-optical crossconnect.     

A synthetic algorithm for wavelength routing in optical network

After analyzing the merits and shortcomings of Fixed-Alternated Routing algorithm （FAR） and Least Loaded Routing algorithm （LLR）, we propose one novel dynamic optical routing algorithm. Having considered the influences of path＇s length and path＇s congestion just like in FAR and LLR, we take into account the network resource status-amount of free wavelengths in the network. Proposed algorithm sets up connections on three possible paths according to amount of available free wavelengths in the network, which effectively decreases the blocking probability. The National Science Foundation （NSF） network and mesh-torus network simulation results show that the performance of this algorithm is better than that of FAR and LLR.     

Design of an ultra fast pipelined wavelength scheduler for optical burst switching

Optical Burst Switching (OBS) is an emerging technology that allows variable size data bursts to be transported directly over DWDM links without encountering O/E/O conversion. In OBS, before the transmission of a data burst, a burst header is transmitted through an electronic control path, setting up and tearing down optical paths on-the-fly. Data bursts can remain in the optical domain and pass through the OBS network transparently. Unfortunately, system performance will be greatly degraded, if burst scheduling requests cannot be processed in time. This article quantitatively studied the negative impact of control path overloading on the performance of OBS networks. Results have shown that control path overloading greatly affects the performance of the OBS routers, especially for systems with large WDM channel counts. In order to remove this performance bottleneck, we have designed and implemented an ultra fast pipelined burst scheduler that is able to process a burst request every two clock cycles, regardless of the number of WDM channels per link. The design has been implemented in Verilog HDL and synthesized to FPGAs. Circuit level simulation results confirm the correctness of the design. The circuit has achieved 100 MHz in Altera Cyclone II devices, allowing the scheduler to process a burst request every 20 ns. To the authors’ best knowledge, this is the fastest implementation of burst scheduling algorithms.     

A protocol for piggy-backing on Markov based wavelength reservation in WDM optical networks

During lightpath establishment in WDM optical networks, two important steps, other than routing, are: wavelength selection and wavelength reservation. If two or more lightpaths select the same wavelength, wavelength collision occurs. The basic reason for collision is the non-availability of the updated wavelength usage information. Markov based wavelength selection guesses a unique wavelength in advance, where each node periodically broadcasts its adjoining link usage information at a regular interval T. But, at any intermediate time t (0<t<T), all nodes use the old update which is already outdated by time t. If T is large, the problem becomes severe. To get around this problem without introducing any extra overhead, we propose a novel technique where the normal control packets, passing through the relevant nodes during [0,T], can be leveraged to carry the desired link state information. This may allow us even to increase the value of T (thereby reducing broadcast overhead), when control packets are frequent in the network. We apply the proposed modification to our previous work on Markov selection Split Reservation Protocol (MSRP) and call the modified protocol Fast updated MSRP (FMSRP). In fast update, we “piggy-back” normal control packets with link usage information, in addition to the usual periodic broadcasting of the same at every T. It obviously increases the chance for the nodes to get the latest information of link usage. We have simulated FMSRP and compared it with MSRP and also with another current best protocol (i.e., Markov based Backward Reservation Protocol) to show that the blocking probability for FMSRP improves considerably over them in some regions of offered load.     

一种全光波长路由器的设计及性能分析研究

该文基于一种简单低成本的、波长转换节点共享型全光波长路由器结构,设计了以排队理论为基础的M/M/T/T模型,研究了波长路由器在波分复用波长路由网络中的阻塞特性。数值结果表明,全光网波长路由器的阻塞特性与复用波长数目,链路波长利用率,节点接入光纤端口数,有无波长转换器密切相关。尤其在受限波长转换条件下的配置优化分析,可看出波长路由器无需可调谐器件,也能获得灵活的波长转换能力,不但可避免波长路由器因为精确调谐所开销的时间,而且所有的控制均为简单的开关控制,可降低工程实现的复杂度。     

全光波长变换技术

简要分析了各种全光波长变换技术的原理，评价了各自的优缺点，并指出全光波长变换在光通信系统中的应用前景。     

WDM网络中确定波长变换器位置与数目的启发式算法

该文首次研究了波分复用(Wavelength Division Multiplex,WDM)网络中如何在最佳节点中确定波长变换器数目的算法,设计了3种启发式算法,通过在NSFNET(the U.S.NationalScience Foundation backbone NETwork,美国科学基金会骨干网络),ARPANBT(the AdvancedResearch Projects Agency NETwork,美国高级研究规划局网络),CERNET(China Educationand Research NETwork,中国教育科研网络)上的仿真,比较了3种算法的性能差异,得出算法1的性能最优,且复杂度最低。另外,通过比较在部分节点以及全部节点中运用算法1确定波长变换器的数目,得出:在WDM网络中,在部分节点中装配有限的波长变换器也可以达到全部节点中装备波长变换器的性能,并且还可以降低光交叉连接设备(Optical Cross-Connects,OXC)的成本,减少复杂的控制。     

Dynamic routing and wavelength assignment in multi-granularity WDM networks

For the purpose of reducing the complexity and cost of optical large-scale cross-connect, wavelengths are grouped into wavebands or fiber to be switched as a single entity, which is called multi- granularity switching. However, it introduces more complexity into the routing and wavelength assignment problem. In this paper, we propose a novel graph model for describing the states of the multi-granularity switching WDM networks. Based on the model, the dynamic routing and wavelength assignment problems for multi-granularity traffic can be solved jointly, and different on-line wavelength grooming policies can be achieved simultaneously. By simulation, we compared the performance of our algorithms under different policy and different percent of fibers for fiber switching. The result proved that our algorithms yield better performance than those deal with the routing and wavelength assignment separately. This work was supported in part by NSFC Project No. 90104003, 60272023, 60372025 and National 863 project No. 2005AA122310.     

Blocking performance analysis on adaptive routing over WDM networks with finite wavelength conversion capability

Analytical blocking probability analysis is important for network design. In this paper, we present an analytical model for the blocking probability analysis on adaptive routing over the WDM networks with finite wavelength conversion capability. Modeling the finite nature of wavelength conversion has been a difficult task. We make use of the idea of segmented route to handle the finite wavelength conversion property. In this approach, a route is divided into a number of segments separated by wavelength converting nodes. We then combine the single-link model and the overflow model to derive the network-wide blocking probability. There are two distinct features in our technique. First, a concept of segmented route is used. Second, link state is considered when calculating the traffic flow. The latter ensures that the analytical results match closely to practical network status. Extensive simulations show that the analytical technique is effective in modeling the blocking probability performance for sparse networks.     

Performance analysis of an improved soft preemptive scheme for unevenly distributed traffic in optical wavelength-division multiplexing networks

In optical wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) networks, traffic can be unevenly distributed across the network causing inefficient utilization of resources. To solve this problem, an improved soft preemptive (SP) scheme is proposed by considering dynamic resource distribution to deal with the uneven network utilization. A novel unevenly distributed traffic model in cross-time-zone networks is also presented to evaluate the efficiency of the new scheme. Compared with other schemes such as normal shortest path first (SPF) routing and wavelength conversion (WC), the new proposed scheme results demonstrate significantly better performance with respect to the network utilization and overall network blocking probability.

多光纤WDM网中支持QoS的波长重路由算法

在WDM网上，波长连续性限制会降低网络的信道利用率，增加光路建立请求的阻塞率。采用波长重路由技术可以减少波长连续性限制对网络性能的影响。该文采用波长图模型，对多光纤WDM网中支持QoS的波长重路由算法进行了探讨，提出一种支持QoS的波长重路由算法－－动态选择法，并采用两种网络模型，在不同负载的动态业务下对所提算法进行了仿真研究；仿真结果表明所提算法既满足了上层业务不同的QoS要求，同时又充分利用了有限的网络资源，使全网的平均阻塞率降低。     

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.     

基于非线性光纤环镜的全光波长变换器性能分析

非线性光纤环镜是一种很有前途的全光波长变换装置。介绍了利用光束传输法（ＢＰＭ） 对耦合非线性薛定谔方程组进行数值解析,详细讨论了对变换信号质量起作用的因素,包括泵浦光脉冲与信号光脉冲之间的走离和初始时延、光纤长度、向长波长变换和向短波长变换等。结果表明,适当的初始时延可以补偿走离的影响,适当增加光纤长度可以改善脉冲波形。     

Genetic evolutionary algorithm for optimal allocation of wavelength converters in WDM optical networks

In this article, a genetic evolutionary algorithm is proposed for efficient allocation of wavelength converters in WDM optical networks. Since wavelength converters are expensive, it is desirable that each node in WDM optical networks uses a minimum number of wavelength converters to achieve a near-ideal performance. The searching capability of genetic evolutionary algorithm has been exploited for this purpose. The distinguished feature of the proposed approach lies in handling the conflicting circumstances during allocation of wavelength converters considering various practical aspects (e.g., spatial problem, connectivity of a node with other nodes) rather than arbitrarily to possibly improve the overall blocking performance of WDM optical networks. The proposed algorithm is compared with a previous approach to establish its effectiveness and the results demonstrate the ability of the proposed algorithm to efficiently solve the problem of Optimal Wavelength Converters Allocation (OWCA) in practical WDM optical networks.