Multiwavelength networks and new approaches to packet switching

The author shows how the bandwidth available through the use of multiwavelength optical-fiber technology can be used to achieve novel large-capacity switching systems to address anticipated switching bottlenecks. He does so by describing the features and network applications of a specific multiwavelength network, the Bellcore LAMBDANET packet switch. The discussion is then extended to a number of recent proposals for switching fabrics based on this new multiwavelength technology. The particular technologies he discusses are: the photonic knockout switch, a proposal similar to the concept of the LAMBDANET, but not requiring N receivers at each node; the FOX (fast optical cross-connect), an active wavelength routing approach; the ShuffleNet architecture; the HYPASS and BHYPASS switches; the coherent wavelength division λ switch; and the Bellcore Star-Track multicast switch