Performance evaluation of a WDM metropolitan network: A virtual prototyping approach

We present a generic low-cost and flexible metropolitan area network optical ring architecture and evaluate its performance using optical transmission simulation software. We describe a specific design method that can be used to extract relevant parameters, such as the ber and osnr for different channels at any ring network node. We show the possibility offered by a personal computer in the physical modeling of a complex system consisting of numerous components with many parameters. The design method that we describe can be considered as an efficient virtual prototyping method, offering cost and timesavings to network planners.