NeTS: Small: NSF-DST: Integrating physical and network layers in the design of multi-core coherent optical WDM networks

University Of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln NE

Investigators

Abstract

Optical fiber networks, forming the backbone of modern internet and telecommunication systems, are undergoing rapid transformations to accommodate burgeoning data demands and emerging business requirements. The complexity and cost of developing and evaluating new algorithms and protocols on physical platforms necessitate an alternative approach, making network simulation tools indispensable. These tools offer a cost-effective, flexible solution for network design and planning. The accuracy of network simulations is paramount in predicting the real-world behavior of optical networks. Precise modeling ensures that the simulated network’s performance mirrors actual operations, aiding in identifying potential issues, optimizing network performance, and ensuring efficient resource utilization. Incorporating physical layer characteristics in simulations is vital to account for signal degradation, noise, and interference, significantly impacting network performance metrics like throughput, latency, and reliability. With an international collaboration partner at the Indian Institute of Technology - Madras (IITM), the project team at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) will contribute to a greater understanding of multi-core coherent optical communication networks, informed by lab and field measurements, resulting in the development of high-fidelity physical layer models and efficient network layer algorithms. The goal of this project is to enhance our understanding of physical models of optical elements and fiber systems, which would then be used to improve optical networking technologies. The project sets out to achieve this by (1) implementing the Optical Phase Conjugators in a field testbed scenario, demonstrating its practical feasibility, and incorporating the physical layer model into network simulation; (2) physical layer implementation of space division multiplexing in four core fibers in a laboratory environment and incorporating the corresponding physical layer models in the network layer; and (3) developing efficient resource allocation algorithms for utilizing the cores in multi-core networks. This includes exploring both direct and coherent detection mechanisms, optical phase conjugation, and space division multiplexing and the incorporation of our novel high-fidelity physical layer models. This project will facilitate a path for integrating physical layer modeling with network layer activities in optical networks. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.