Management and control of transparent optical networks

Multiwavelength optical networking is expected to play a significant role in the next-generation transport networks providing capacity enhancements as well as built-in network survivability and reconfigurability. While advances have been made in the hardware technologies, considerable research effort is still required in the area of network management and control in order for optical networking to be proven commercially viable. This paper investigates key design issues concerning optical network management and control and examines how the networking architecture is influenced by the various management considerations     

Scaling limitations in transparent optical networks due tolow-level crosstalk

As transparent optical networks are scaled up in size, stringent constraints must be placed on the in-band crosstalk generated by their components. Measurements show that transparent networks corrupted by interferometric signal-crosstalk beat noise from only 8 crosstalk fields require component crosstalk levels <-35 dB. Good agreement with theory is shown     

Accurate modeling of optical multiplexer/demultiplexerconcatenation in transparent multiwavelength optical networks

This paper presents an accurate theoretical model for the study of concatenation of optical multiplexers/demultiplexers (MUXs/DMUXs) in transparent multiwavelength optical networks. The model is based on a semianalytical technique for the evaluation of the error probability of the network topology. The error-probability evaluation takes into account arbitrary pulse shapes, arbitrary optical MUX/DMUX, and electronic low-pass filter transfer functions, and non-Gaussian photocurrent statistics at the output of the direct-detection receiver. To illustrate the model, the cascadability of arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) routers in a transparent network element chain is studied. The performance of the actual network is compared to the performance of a reference network with ideal optical MUXs/DMUXs. The optical power penalty at an error probability of 10^-9 is calculated as a function of the number of cascaded AWG routers, the bandwidth of AWG routers, and the laser carrier frequency offset from the channel's nominal frequency     

Fast analytical assessment of the signal quality in transparent optical networks

Constraint-based routing (CBR) requires a fast and accurate assessment of the different physical degradation effects in optical communications systems. This paper deals with fast analytical approximation formulas describing the induced system penalty due to the dominant nonlinear effects in 10-Gb/s nonreturn to zero (NRZ) transmission systems. This paper concentrates on the multichannel effects of cross-phase modulation (XPM) and four-wave mixing (FWM).     

FWM aware evolutionary programming algorithm for transparent optical networks

This paper proposes and evaluates a four-wave mixing (FWM) aware evolutionary programming algorithm for dynamically setting up lightpaths in an optical wavelength division multiplexed network (WDM network). The proposed algorithm also considers the effect of amplified spontaneous emission noise (ASE noise) on a lightpath during propagation of the optical signal from any source to the intended destination. As crosstalk due to FWM and ASE noise are two transmission impairments that degrade the quality of optical signal even at low to medium data rates, it is mandatory for an algorithm for dynamic routing and wavelength assignment in a WDM network to consider the effect of these two impairments on the lightpath to be established. The distinguishing feature of the proposed algorithm is that it is based on an initial population of a single individual and uses a fitness function that is expressed in terms of the number of hops, path cost, variance contributions due to FWM crosstalk, amplifier noise, and different beat noises at the receiver. The performance of a newly introduced FWM aware priority-based wavelength assignment technique is compared with few of the existing wavelength assignment techniques in the present work.     

OSNR model to consider physical layer impairments in transparent optical networks

We propose a model that considers several physical impairments in all-optical networks based on optical signal-to-noise degradation. Our model considers the gain saturation effect and amplified spontaneous emission depletion in optical amplifiers, coherent crosstalk in optical switches, and four-wave mixing in transmission fibers. We apply our model to investigate the impact of different physical impairments on the performance of all-optical networks. The simulation results show the impact of each impairment on network performance in terms of blocking probability as a function of device parameters. We also apply the model as a metric for impairment-constraint routing in all-optical networks. We show that our proposed routing and wavelength assignment algorithm outperforms two common approaches.

Distance-adaptive routing and spectrum assignment in OFDM-based flexible transparent optical networks

Orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) technology has been recently gaining increasing attention in flexible optical networks due to its significant spectrum efficiency, flexibility, and superior tolerance against impairments. In this paper, we put forward a novel distance-adaptive routing and spectrum assignment algorithm to select the proper modulation format dynamically based on OFDM according to the transmission reach, thereby effectively improving the spectrum utilization. The presented simulation results show that our proposed algorithm achieves significantly improved spectrum efficiency.     

Network control and management challenges in opaque networks utilizing transparent optical switches

There is a potential for significant cost, footprint, and power savings by eliminating unnecessary opto-electronic conversions on a signal path in a core optical mesh network. The article addresses and clarifies some fundamental issues surrounding all-optical networking and all-optical switching, and analyzes the trade-offs between transparent and opaque networking. It investigates a number of networking and interface compatibility issues that arise for an opaque network with transparent switches, and presents a number of ways to address these issues.     

More accurate simulation of dynamic transparent optical wavelength division multiplex networks

Novel modulation schemes and higher bit rates as well as dynamically switched networks make it necessary to consider effects, which could be neglected in system simulations so far. In this paper, we present simulation methodologies needed for the accurate characterisation of the signal quality in such transparent optical networks.The combined effects of polarisation mode dispersion (PMD) and polarisation-dependent loss (PDL) are investigated, and a more accurate method for the BER estimation based on histograms is described. Furthermore, dynamical transient effects in the physical layer require extending the regarded time scale to the millisecond range. An efficient way how to simulate the effects on different time scales is presented.     

Improved EDF-based management of the setup of connections in opaque and transparent optical networks

The need to support the diverse quality-of-service (QoS) requirements of the ever-emerging Internet applications is a major challenge for optical network operators. This paper tackles such a challenge through the definition of a QoS-aware optical connection setup management scheme. The proposed scheme utilizes the Earliest Deadline First (EDF) queueing discipline to schedule the setup of optical connections that cannot be established due to lack of optical resources. The EDF-based approach aims at minimizing blocking probability while realizing QoS differentiation. Blocking probability reduction is realized through the insertion of blocked connection requests into a queue giving them thus a second chance with respect to network access. QoS differentiation on the other hand is achieved as follows. The blocked connection requests are ranked in the EDF queue according to their connection setup requirements, which are viewed as deadlines during connection setup. In this way, pending connection requests having shorter setup time requirements are guaranteed to experience better QoS compared to the ones having longer setup time requirements. The performance of the EDF-based strategy is analyzed through extensive simulations in the context of both opaque and transparent NSFNET network topologies. The reported results show that the proposed strategy yields remarkable reduction in terms of blocking probability while effecting QoS differentiation.     

Toward efficient failure management for reliable transparent optical networks - [Topics in optical communications]

Security and reliability issues are of utmost importance in transparent optical networks due to the extremely large fiber throughput. Fast and successful reaction and restoration mechanisms performed by failure management can prevent loss of large amounts of critical data, which can cause severe service disruption. In this article we discuss failure management issues in TONs, the mechanisms involved, and optical monitoring techniques. Furthermore, we propose applying structural properties of self-organizing systems to create a small world hybrid supervisory plane that can enable faster system-wide communication. We also investigate the possibility of a scale-free structure aimed at improving robustness in the network and propose various topology generation algorithms.     

BER for optical heterodyne DPSK receivers using delay demodulationand integration detection

Previous work on the bit error rate (BER) performance of differential phase-shift keying (DPSK) including the effects of additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) and phase noise has concentrated on the delay demodulator with narrow-band intermediate frequency (IF) bandpass filtering (BPF) and sampling detection. No similar analysis has yet been performed for the delay demodulator with wideband IF bandpass filtering and integration detection. Phase noise is an important consideration in coherent optical communication systems and the most widely accepted model is a Brownian motion process. A closed-form BER expression along with detailed Monte Carlo simulation results are presented for the DPSK delay demodulator with wideband IF bandpass filtering and integration detection filtering including phase noise effects using the Brownian motion model. Analytic expressions are also obtained for the moments of the phase noise component of the decision variable. Using these moments, estimates of the phase noise BER floor are produced. It is found that this receiver has noise performance comparable to receivers with narrowband IF bandpass filtering and sampling detectors for signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and phase noise in the range of practical interest, but with potentially less degradation due to intersymbol interference (ISI)     

System-independent threshold and BER estimation in optical communications using the extended generalized gamma distribution

Two important tasks with respect to the optimized configuration of an optical communications system are those of the performance evaluation and the receiver decision threshold estimation. In this paper, a new training-based BER and threshold estimation technique is proposed relaxing the assumption of Gaussian distributed received signals. The proposed method is similar in philosophy to the Gaussian Approximation one, and is system-independent and simulation-based. This means that the probability density function (pdf) of the sampled electrical current is estimated based on training data provided via simulations without any assumptions on the specific configuration of the communications system under consideration. The novelty of the paper is that for the first time a combination of a generalized form of the gamma distribution together with the noncentral chi-square distribution have been used for the modeling of the pdfs of the spaces and the marks, respectively.     

Sparse power equalization placement for limiting jamming attack propagation in transparent optical networks

The latest advances in Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) technology are making it possible to build all-optical transparent WDM networks, which are expected to be able to satisfy the rapid growth of today’s capacity demand. However, the transparency of such networks makes them highly vulnerable to deliberate attacks, specifically targeting the physical layer. Physical-layer attacks, such as high-power jamming, can cause severe service disruption or even service denial, enhanced by their capability to propagate through a transparent optical network. Several attack-aware routing and wavelength assignment algorithms have been proposed to reduce the possible disruption caused by high-power jamming attacks. However, even with network planning approaches which take network security, specifically physical-layer attacks, into account, resilience to deliberate attacks in such scenarios remains an issue.In this paper, we propose the use of wavelength-selective attenuators as power equalizers inside network nodes to limit the propagation of high-power jamming attacks. Due to the increased cost of optical switching nodes associated with the addition of power equalizers, we aim at minimizing their number through sparse power equalization placement. We developed a set of greedy algorithms to solve what we call the Power Equalization Placement (PEP) problem with the objective of minimizing the number of power equalizers needed to reduce, to a desired level, the propagation of high-power jamming attacks for a given routing scheme. We further improved upon these results by proposing a GRASP (Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedure) heuristic with a somewhat longer execution time, but with significantly superior results. The performance evaluation results indicate that the proposed GRASP heuristic can achieve the same attack propagation reduction as can be obtained by equipping all nodes with power equalizers by placing them at less than 50% of the nodes on average, potentially yielding significant cost savings.     

A dynamic impairment-aware networking solution for transparent mesh optical networks - [Topics in optical communications]

Core networks of the future will have a translucent and eventually transparent optical structure. Ultra-high-speed end-to-end connectivity with high quality of service and high reliability will be realized through the exploitation of optimized protocols and lightpath routing algorithms. These algorithms will complement a flexible control and management plane integrated in the proposed solution. Physical layer impairments and optical performance are monitored and incorporated in impairment-aware lightpath routing algorithms. These algorithms will be integrated into a novel dynamic network planning tool that will consider dynamic traffic characteristics, a reconfigurable optical layer, and varying physical impairment and component characteristics. The network planning tool along with extended control planes will make it possible to realize the vision of optical transparency. This article presents a novel framework that addresses dynamic cross-layer network planning and optimization while considering the development of a future transport network infrastructure.     

Survivability in multi-domain optical networks using p-cycles

Survivability is becoming an important issue in optical networks due to the huge bandwidth offered by optical technology. Many works have studied network survivability. The majority of these works are destined for single-domain networks. In this work, we address the survivability of multi-domain optical networks. This paper provides a classification of the existing protection solutions proposed for multi-domain networks and analyses their advantages and limitations. We propose a new solution for multi-domain optical networks based on p-cycles (pre-configured cycles). For scalability and security reasons, we also propose a topology aggregation model adapted to p-cycle computations. This aggregation model allows our proposed solution to find a trade-off between two competing goals: efficient use of backup resources and short running time. Simulation results show that the proposed solution is a good trade-off between resource utilization and running time compared to existing solutions.     

BER assessment accuracy and promptness in SDH networks

Error monitoring accuracy and promptness of the assessment methodology based on the violation computation of bit interleaved parity (BIP) codes are analysed and compared. It i show that the BIP (24, 801) code outperforms the other codes recommended for the synchronous digital hierarchy.<>     

用于检测透明介质中微粒的光奇异滤波器的研究

本文报道我们研究设计的实时、平行处理像的光学奇异滤波器(Optical Novelty Filter)的原理与结构,以检测透明介质中的微粒为例,分析了影响处理结果的各种因素。利用这一滤波器可以检测出15μm以上尺寸的微粒,检测的重复性可达98.6％。     

Frequency division multiplexed optical networks using heterodynedetection

The optical heterodyne process is described. Because the best attainable system gain (transmitter power divided by receiver sensitivity) is only about 50 dB for lightwave systems, as compared with values approaching 100 dB at radio frequencies, it is extremely important in building an optical network (such as a local area network, or LAN) to minimize excess tap losses. It is shown that a star coupler provides a nearly ideal means for interconnecting a multiterminal network. Three areas in which problems unique to optical systems have been discovered are discussed. Theses are transmitters for coherent optical systems, optical frequency determination and control, and polarization control and optical receivers. Experimental progress is briefly discussed