Algorithms for Dynamic Routing in All-Optical Networks

Abstract

In this paper, we have studied a number of algorithms for routing in all-optical wavelength routed networks. We have considered situations where a lightpath is dynamically created in response to a request for communication and the WDM channels constituting the lightpath are reclaimed when the communication is over. We have looked at two schemes for dynamic wavelength allocation. In the first scheme we have assumed the existence of a central agent to maintain a database of existing lightpaths where the central agent attempts to generate a new lightpath in response to a request for communication. In the second scheme, we attempt to generate a new lightpath using a distributed algorithm. In the first scheme we have exploited the existence of multiple paths between any pair of nodes in a network in order to reduce the blocking probability. For the second scheme, we have proposed three distributed strategies to determine, if possible, a lightpath when there is a request for communication. Each of these strategies have their advantages and disadvantages in terms of the expected blocking probability and the set-up time. We have studied the performances of both the schemes using Monte Carlo simulation.