Lightpath setup time optimization in wavelength routed all-optical networks

Abstract

Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) technology evolved to utilize effectively the enormous bandwidth of optical fiber. In circuit-switched WDM networks data transfer between a given pair of source and destination nodes takes place by using a lightpath. A lightpath is an optical channel having a single wavelength established between the given pair of nodes by configuring the Wavelength Routing Switches (WRS) at the intermediate nodes along the path. In a reconfigurable optical wavelength routing switch, the time required to reconfigure the switch is often long when compared to the speed of data passing through the switch. It is necessary to consider the delay introduced by slow switches as it has significant impact on the performance of the network. In this paper, we present a new technique to mitigate the lightpath setup time overheads in Dynamic Lightpath Establishment (DLE) algorithms for the wavelength continuous circuit switched all-optical networks. Simulation studies indicate that the proposed technique significantly reduces the number of reconfigurations required to setup new lightpaths.