NRT: Optical Multiplexed Mesh Networks (OMM-Net) for Thin-Layer, Multi-Service Transparent Optical Transport

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

The proposed project carries out a theoretical investigation of a new, highly efficient and transparent optical networking paradigm, called OMM-Net, which avoids fast optical switching and buffering in the network core by scheduling fast tunable lasers, and admission control and buffering at the network edge. The boundary of the optical network is pushed closer to end users by combining time and wavelength division multiplexing for mesh networks through effective scheduling and global synchronization. OMM-Net views the network as a giant and geographically distributed generalized Birkhoff-von Neumann switch in which the network edge are its input/output ports and the fabric consists of fibers and quasi-static wavelength-selective switches. End-to-end switching is emulated by scheduling ultrafast tunable lasers at the network edge, in effect providing sub-microsecond switching without requiring fast internal network node switching and optical buffering.