Dynamic lightpath establishment considering four-wave mixing in multifiber WDM networks

Abstract

This paper proposes a dynamic lightpath establishment scheme considering four-wave mixing (FWM) in multifiber wavelength-division multiplexed (WDM) all-optical networks. The FWM is one of the most important physical impairments to be resolved in WDM networks because the FWM induces nonlinear inter-channel crosstalk and decays the performance of WDM networks. In WDM networks, data are transmitted via lightpaths. When the effect of FWM crosstalk is large, it is highly possible that data transmission fails even if lightpaths are correctly established. The proposed scheme aims to avoid not only the blocking of lightpath establishment but also the accumulation of FWM crosstalk by means of ingenious selection of routes, wavelengths, and fibers for lightpath establishment. In the proposed scheme, a route and a wavelength are selected for each lightpath based on wavelength availability and wavelength placement of established lightpaths. Furthermore, fibers on the route are selected based on estimated FWM power. In this paper, we show the effectiveness of the proposed scheme through simulation experiments.