Modeling WDM Wavelength Switching Systems for Use in GMPLS and Automated Path Computation

• Published in: Journal of optical communications and networking Vol. 1; no. 1; pp. 187 - 195
• Main Authors: Bernstein, G.M., Lee, Y., Gavler, A., Martensson, J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Piscataway IEEE 01.06.2009; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Add-drop multiplexers; assignment and routing algorithms; Automatic control; Computer networks; Devices; Encoding; Multiplexing; Multiprotocol label switching; Networks; Optical communication; Optical control; Optical fiber networks; Optical wavelength conversion; Planes; Switching; Switching systems; Switching theory; Wavelength assignment; Wavelength division multiplexing; wavelength routing; Wavelengths
• ISSN: 1943-0620; 1943-0639; 1943-0639
• DOI: 10.1364/JOCN.1.000187

Network control planes have made an implicit assumption that the switching devices in a network are symmetric. In wavelength-switched optical networks even the most basic switching element, the reconfigurable add-drop multiplexer, is highly asymmetric. This paper presents a model of optical switching subsystems for use in generalized multiprotocol label switching (GMPLS), route selection, and wavelength assignment. The model covers a large class of switching subsystems without internal wavelength converters. The model is applied to a number of common optical technologies, and a compact encoding for use in the optical control plane is furnished along with a method for deriving a simplified graph representation.