TCP Over Optical Burst Switching: To Split or Not to Split?

TCP-based applications account for a majority of data traffic in the Internet; thus, understanding and improving the performance of TCP over optical burst switching (OBS) network is critical. In this paper, we identify the ill effects of implementing TCP over a hybrid network (IP-access and OBS-core). We propose a Split-TCP framework for the hybrid IP-OBS network to improve TCP performance. We propose two Split-TCP approaches, namely, 1:1:1 and N:1:N. We evaluate the performance of the proposed approaches over an IP-OBS hybrid network. Based on the simulation results, N:1:N Split-TCP approach outperforms all other approaches. We also develop an analytical model for end-to-end Split-TCP throughput and verify it with simulations.     

Improving TCP performance over optical burst-switched (OBS) networks using forward segment redundancy

Random contentions occur in optical burst-switched (OBS) networks because of one-way signaling and lack of optical buffers. These contentions can occur at low loads and are not necessarily an indication of congestion. The loss caused by them, however, causes TCP at the transport layer to reduce its send rate drastically, which is unnecessary and reduces overall performance. In this paper, we propose forward segment redundancy (FSR), a proactive technique to prevent data loss during random contentions in the optical core. With FSR, redundant TCP segments are appended to each burst at the edge and redundant burst segmentation is implemented in the core, so that when a contention occurs, primarily redundant data are dropped. We develop an analytical throughput model for TCP over OBS with FSR and perform extensive simulations. FSR is found to improve TCP’s performance by an order of magnitude at high loads and by over two times at lower loads.     

Absolute QoS differentiation in optical burst-switched networks

A number of schemes have been proposed for providing quality-of-service (QoS) differentiation in optical burst-switched (OBS) networks. Most existing schemes are based on a relative QoS model in which the service requirements for a given class of traffic are defined relative to the service requirements of another class of traffic. In this paper, we propose an absolute QoS model in OBS networks which ensures that the loss probability of the guaranteed traffic does not exceed a certain value. We describe two mechanisms for providing loss guarantees at OBS core nodes: an early dropping mechanism, which probabilistically drops the nonguaranteed traffic, and a wavelength grouping mechanism, which provisions necessary wavelengths for the guaranteed traffic. It is shown that integrating these two mechanisms outperforms the stand-alone schemes in providing loss guarantees, as well as reducing the loss experienced by the nonguaranteed traffic. We also discuss admission control and resource provisioning for OBS networks, and propose a path clustering technique to further improve the network-wide loss performance. We develop analytical loss models for the proposed schemes and verify the results by simulation.     

Renewable energy-aware grooming in optical networks

The optical layer of a network is the energy-efficient technology to provision high bandwidths for data transport. Unfortunately, occasional electronic processing is unavoidable in current networks. This process is much more energy-consuming than the optical transport. Recent research has already yielded great improvements in terms of energy efficiency. It is, however, observed that increased energy efficiency typically leads to higher overall energy consumption. Therefore, it is imperative to reduce the environmental impact by additional means: maximizing the use of renewable energy. We present an approach to greenhouse gas (GHG) emission-reducing grooming by considering the heterogeneous distribution of fossil and renewable energy sources. We analyze various two-step solutions for the route calculation and lightpath provisioning problem in IP-over-WDM mesh networks. We show that it is possible to reduce GHG emissions at a stable level of energy consumption and improved blocking performance compared to previous energy-efficient solutions.     

Source-ordering for improved TCP performance over load-balanced optical burst-switched (OBS) networks

Recent advances in optical switching technology allow for the creation of networks in which data bursts are switched optically at each node, offering a greater degree of flexibility suitable for handling bursty Internet traffic. TCP-based applications account for a majority of data traffic in the Internet; thus understanding and improving the performance of TCP implementations over OBS networks are critical. Previously, several articles show that load-balanced routing improves loss-performance in OBS. In this paper, we identify the ill-effects of load-balanced OBS on TCP performance caused by false time-outs and false fast-retransmits. We propose a source-ordering mechanism that significantly improves TCP throughput over a load-balanced OBS network.     

TCP over optical burst-switched networks with controlled burst retransmission

For optical burst-switched (OBS) networks in which TCP is implemented at a higher layer, the loss of bursts can lead to serious degradation of TCP performance. Due to the bufferless nature of OBS, random burst losses may occur, even at low traffic loads. Consequently, these random burst losses may be mistakenly interpreted by the TCP layer as congestion in the network. The TCP sender will then trigger congestion control mechanisms, thereby reducing TCP throughput unnecessarily. In this paper, we introduce a controlled retransmission scheme in which the bursts lost due to contention in the OBS network are retransmitted at the OBS layer. The OBS retransmission scheme can reduce the burst loss probability in the OBS core network. Also, the OBS retransmission scheme can reduce the probability that the TCP layer falsely detects congestion, thereby improving the TCP throughput. We develop an analytical model for evaluating the burst loss probability in an OBS network that uses a retransmission scheme, and we also analyze TCP throughput when the OBS layer implements burst retransmission. We develop a simulation model to validate the analytical results. Simulation and analytical results show that an OBS layer with controlled burst retransmission provides up to two to three orders of magnitude improvement in TCP throughput over an OBS layer without burst retransmission. This significant improvement is primarily because the TCP layer triggers fewer time-outs when the OBS retransmission scheme is used.     

Infrastructure Communication Sensitivity Analysis of Wireless Sensor Networks

Sensitivity or importance analysis has been widely used for identifying system weaknesses and supporting system improvement and maintenance activities. Despite the rich literature on the sensitivity analysis of many mission‐critical and safety‐critical systems, no existing work has been devoted to wireless sensor networks (WSN). In this paper, we first analyze link and node importance with respect to the infrastructure communication reliability of WSN systems. The binary decision diagrams based algorithms are implemented to evaluate and compare three importance measures: structural importance measure, Birnbaum's measure, and criticality importance measure. The effects of node degree, choice of the destination node, data delivery models, as well as mission time on the importance analysis results are investigated through examples. Results from this work can facilitate the design, deployment, and maintenance of reliable WSN for critical applications. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Communication Reliability Analysis of Wireless Sensor Networks Using Phased‐Mission Model

Communication reliability of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) is essential to ensure the correct and reliable operation of the network. Two distinct communication paradigms exist in WSNs: infrastructure communication and application communication, and a practical communication task typically involves both types of communications. To the best of our knowledge, no reliability studies on WSNs have been dedicated to combining the two communication paradigms. In this paper, we advance the state‐of‐the‐art by proposing a phased‐mission framework to analyze the communication reliability of WSNs considering both infrastructure communication and application communication, as well as K‐coverage requirements. WSNs containing two types of sensor nodes (energy harvesting sensor nodes and battery‐powered sensor nodes) are modeled. Corresponding to the two types of sensor nodes, two different link reliability models are first presented. Binary decision diagram (BDD) based algorithms are then developed for the phased‐mission communication reliability analysis of WSNs. Case studies are given to illustrate the application of the proposed algorithms. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Prioritized burst segmentation and composite burst-assembly techniques for QoS support in optical burst-switched networks

We address the issue of providing quality-of-service (QoS) in an optical burst-switched network. QoS is provided by introducing prioritized contention resolution policies in the network core and a composite burst-assembly technique at the network edge. In the core, contention is resolved through prioritized burst segmentation and prioritized deflection. The burst segmentation scheme allows high-priority bursts to preempt low-priority bursts and enables full class isolation between bursts of different priorities. At the edge of the network, a composite burst-assembly technique combines packets of different classes into the same burst, placing lower class packets toward the tail of the burst. By implementing burst segmentation in the core, packets that are placed at the tail of the burst are more likely to be dropped than packets that are placed at the head of the burst. The proposed schemes are evaluated through analysis and simulation, and it is shown that significant differentiation with regard to packet loss and delay can be achieved.