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100 Gbit/s Ethernet is foreseen in metro and access by 2014, while 1 Tbit/s Ethernet is forecasted for trunk links before 1020. This paper reviews the advantages and constraints of the optical networking and discusses how they meet the 100 Gbit/s Ethernet needs.

This paper addresses two related problems in the context of transparent optical networks. In the network design problem, the aim is to identify a set of fiber links to connect a given set of nodes. In the network upgrade problem, the aim is to identify a set of new fiber links to add to a given network topology. For a given fiber length budget, the aim in both problems is to maximize the network resilience to the simultaneous failure of its critical nodes. The resilience is evaluated by the average 2‐terminal reliability (A2TR) against a set of critical node failures and the critical nodes are the ones that minimize the A2TR of the network. So, the design/upgrade problem is a bi‐level max‐min optimization problem. Recently, a multi‐start greedy randomized heuristic was proposed for both problems. Here, we propose an alternative method based on a greedy deterministic algorithm and we provide computational results showing that the new method obtains better solutions. The results show that the resiliency difference between existing network topologies and the best network design solutions is very high but this difference can be significantly reduced by network upgrades with small fiber length budgets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Optical Burst Switching (OBS) is a promising technology for next generation of Transparent Optical Networks (TON). However, many scientific challenges remain to be overcome such as the problem of Burst Routing and Wavelength Assignment (BRWA) with several conflicting objectives and constraints. In this paper, we first formulate the BRWA as a Multi Objective Integer Linear Programming (MO-ILP) optimization problem. In the formulated problem, the proposed BRWA policy will satisfy several constraints in order to guarantee a high-speed management of processes, required by the transparent optical traffic. Then, since the obtained ILP problem contains a large number of optical constraints and conflicting objectives, we propose to use an exact parallel Neural Hierarchical (epNH) MO-ILP solution with Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) parallel implementation using Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA). This also allows doing a concurrent search for multiple solutions, reducing processing cost, making hybrid interfaces to other search techniques, and achieving better overall effectiveness. In addition, our architecture based on Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) allows flexibility and scalability. The processing time remains fixed regardless of the input size. Our BRWA GPU-based epNH MO-ILP solver is based on the joint use of advanced MO-ILP optimization methods, ANN large-scale inherent parallelism and CUDA-GPU High-Performance Computing (HPC) architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transparent Optical Networks has been known as a potential solution for high speed flexible optical backbone networks since a long time ago. However, many scientific challenges remain to be overcome such as the problem of Optical Burst Grooming (OBG) with several conflicting objectives and constraints. OBG is a fundamental problem in the engineering, control, and management of optical traffic networks, and arises in most network design applications, including optical burst routing, survivability design, and traffic scheduling. The traffic grooming problem is to coalesce several high and low speed sub bursts close in time together to form a larger burst that will be switched as one unit. In this paper, we first formulate OBG as a Multi Objective Integer Linear Programming (MO-ILP) optimization problem. Then we propose to use a parallel and hierarchical solver based on Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) with Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) parallel implementation using Compute Unified Device Architecture (CUDA). The processing time remains fixed regardless of the input size and the number of optical constraints and conflicting objectives. Our OBG solver benefits of the joint use of advanced ILP-MO optimization methods, ANN large-scale inherent parallelism and CUDA-GPU High-Performance Computing (HPC) architecture. Through a comprehensive simulation study, we show that, our proposed grooming approach can significantly improve the optical traffic performance, resulting in less contention and low burst lost probability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fault management has long been an indispensable component for controlling and managing telecommunication networks. To prevent huge data losses, it is necessary to develop a fast and efficient fault localization mechanism. In this work, we study the problem of multi-failure localization in transparent optical networks. In this context, a correlation-based approach is introduced to exploit the quality of transmission of acquired lightpaths to localize the faulty links. The proposed search-based framework can be implemented by leveraging any search algorithm. One may utilize the exhaustive search method to localize faulty links more accurately, but at the cost of taking more time. On the other hand, one may utilize intelligent search methods with the aim of reducing the required time for localization at the expense of accuracy. However, we propose to use both of the search approaches together. In this way, faulty links are first localized by the intelligent search methods to reroute and restore the failed traffic as fast as possible to prevent further loss of data. To this aim, a genetic algorithm (GA) is proposed to search among the suspected links. Subsequently, exhaustive search method can be utilized to localize failures more accurately without time constraint and then send technicians to the right site to recover the faulty links. The obtained results reveal that the proposed GA approach achieves overall high localization accuracy (98.6%–100%) that is insignificantly affected as the traffic load decreases. Dual and triple-failure incidents are localized within 42–80 ms and 596–2180 ms, respectively. It is shown that the mean time required for localizing failures using the GA search algorithm is significantly lower than exhaustive search approach by several orders of magnitude. Hence, the proposed GA-based fault localization algorithm can reduce the average time required to restore the traffic in case of failures, applicable for the restoration applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present and discuss a new proposal for narrowband optical band pass filters based on asymmetric ring resonators in silicon. We carried out our investigation, by means of analytical and numerical calculations, to find out the best ring radii ratio and spacing between the rings in order to achieve narrow band filtering. As result, we devised a three-ring structure that performs as an 11.7 GHz optical band pass filter and, then, by cascading three structures of this, we obtained a 7.1 GHz optical band pass filter. Furthermore, this sort of filter would occupy a 20 m per 28 m area, which is considerably smaller than the correspondent state-of-the-art reported in literature until now. We also demonstrated this filter is suitable to mitigate signal-fading effects in Radio over Fiber (RoF) links. Our results indicate that, by using the proposed filters, the maximum propagation distance for RoF links could be increased from 4 km to 40 km. Since this new filter combines reduced dimensions, it has great potential to integration with other opto-electronics components into a silicon photonics circuit. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

ABSTRACT Transparent optical networks can be highly vulnerable to various physical-layer attacks, such as high-power jamming, which can cause widespread service disruption and even service denial. The propagation of such attacks can be thwarted with wavelength-selective attenuators, referred to as power equalizers, installed at the network nodes. However, employing all nodes with power equalization functionality can lead to substantial costs. In previous work, we proposed a heuristic approach for sparse power equalization placement to limit jamming attack propagation cost-effectively. The approach provides suboptimal solutions quickly; however, it does not guarantee optimality. Because placement of such power equalization is a long-term planning problem affecting the capital expenditures of the network operator, solution quality is more critical than execution time. Thus, in this paper, we propose an integer linear programming formulation for the problem to guarantee optimality in terms of the number of power equalizers placed. Evaluation results show that our proposed integer linear programming formulation is able to solve moderately sized problems in reasonable time. These results also support the efficiency of our previously proposed heuristic by confirming its ability to find optimal solutions for the cases tested. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All-optical data encryption is a promising technology that could lead communication systems to an unprecedented degree of security. In this paper we use computer simulations to systematically investigate a new all-optical cryptography technique that is bit-rate independent and transparent to modulation formats. Encryption encompasses signal spectral slicing followed by two encoding stages that impose different attenuations and delays to each of the spectral slices. We analyze the quality of the encoded signal by evaluating its bit error rate (BER) performance. Results indicate that such BER may achieve 45 and 28%, respectively, for input non-return-to-zero on-off keying (NRZ-OOK) and differential quadrature phase-shift keying (DQPSK) signals. At the receiver side, results suggest that signals may be properly decoded after propagation distances that are compatible with those utilized in metropolitan area networks. The robustness of the technique against waveform analysis and brute force attacks is also approached [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper presents an intelligent approach for modelling Routing and wavelength assignment (RWA) problem in wavelength-routed Dense-Wavelength-Division-Multiplexing (DWDM) optical networks. A new idea based on Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) algorithm is introduced for solving RWA problem which is known to be an NP-hard problem. In the proposed ABC-RWA approach every food source represents a possible and feasible candidate lightpath between each original and destination node pair in demand matrix. The positions of food sources are modified by some artificial bees in the population where the aim is to discover the places of food sources. The food source with the highest nectar value seems to be a solution which is evaluated by the fitness function. The proposed approach is evaluated for both path length (propagation delay) and hops count optimization schemes for PAN EUROPEAN and NSFNET test bench optical networks. The performance of ABC based approach is compared with the Genetic Algorithm (GA) model for solving RWA problem under random and heavy load traffic models. Simulation results demonstrate the ability and efficiency of proposed ABC model for solving RWA in real-world optical networks. Furthermore a comparison study approves that ABC is faster than GA to hit RWA global optimization solutions due to less complexity and computational processing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper investigates offline virtual topology design in transparent optical networks under a multihour traffic demand. The main problem variant addressed here designs a reconfigurable virtual topology that evolves over time to more efficiently utilize network resources (the MH-VTD-R problem). The case of designing a static non-reconfigurable virtual topology that can accommodate the time-varying traffic (the MH-VTD-NR problem) is also considered. The objectives are to minimize: 1) the number of transceivers, which make up for the main network cost; and 2) the frequency of reconfiguration (for MH-VTD-R), which incurs additional overhead and potential service disruption. We formulate this multiobjective problem as an exact mixed integer linear program (MILP). Due to its high complexity, we propose a very efficient heuristic algorithm called Greedy Approach with Reconfiguration Flattening (GARF). GARF not only solves both (non-)reconfigurable problem variants, but it allows for tuning of the relative importance of the two objectives. Exhaustive experiments on real and synthetic traffic and comparison to previous proposals and bounds reveal the merits of GARF with respect to both solution quality and execution time. Furthermore, the obtained results indicate that the maximal transceiver cost savings achieved by the fully reconfigurable case may not be enough to justify the associated increase in reconfiguration cost. However, results show that an advantageous tradeoff between transceiver cost savings and reconfiguration cost can be achieved by a allowing a small number of virtual topology reconfigurations over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The latest advances in Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) technology are making it possible to build all-optical transparent WDM networks, which are expected to be able to satisfy the rapid growth of today’s capacity demand. However, the transparency of such networks makes them highly vulnerable to deliberate attacks, specifically targeting the physical layer. Physical-layer attacks, such as high-power jamming, can cause severe service disruption or even service denial, enhanced by their capability to propagate through a transparent optical network. Several attack-aware routing and wavelength assignment algorithms have been proposed to reduce the possible disruption caused by high-power jamming attacks. However, even with network planning approaches which take network security, specifically physical-layer attacks, into account, resilience to deliberate attacks in such scenarios remains an issue. In this paper, we propose the use of wavelength-selective attenuators as power equalizers inside network nodes to limit the propagation of high-power jamming attacks. Due to the increased cost of optical switching nodes associated with the addition of power equalizers, we aim at minimizing their number through sparse power equalization placement. We developed a set of greedy algorithms to solve what we call the Power Equalization Placement (PEP) problem with the objective of minimizing the number of power equalizers needed to reduce, to a desired level, the propagation of high-power jamming attacks for a given routing scheme. We further improved upon these results by proposing a GRASP (Greedy Randomized Adaptive Search Procedure) heuristic with a somewhat longer execution time, but with significantly superior results. The performance evaluation results indicate that the proposed GRASP heuristic can achieve the same attack propagation reduction as can be obtained by equipping all nodes with power equalizers by placing them at less than 50% of the nodes on average, potentially yielding significant cost savings. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In the last years, the migration from 10 to 40/100 Gbps networks has been proposed as a solution to increase the capacity of transparent optical networks. Initially, the replacement of 10 Gbps legacy equipment was considered. Nowadays, some works point out that the deployment of mixed line rate (MLR) networks, where 10 Gbps and higher bit rate Gbps channels share the same fiber, could be more cost effective than the total replacement of 10 Gbps systems. In this paper, we investigate the planning of 10/40 Gbps MLR networks using the ITU 50 GHz grid, considering nonlinear interferences between 10 and 40 Gbps channels, which degrade the quality of transmission. This approach is novel in the literature. In addition, we conduct a set of tests normalizing the length of fiber links, to observe the trends in MLR planning for different network sizes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In transparent optical networks, the signal transmission is degraded by optical layer physical impairments. Therefore, lightpaths may be blocked due to unacceptable quality of transmission (QoT). Among physical impairments, polarization mode dispersion (PMD) is a detrimental effect which has stochastic characteristics. Moreover, PMD depends on time-variant factors, such as the temperature and the fiber stress. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Security issues and attack management in transparent wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) optical networks have become of prime importance to network operators due to the high data rates involved and the vulnerabilities associated with transparency. Deliberate physical-layer attacks, such as high-powered jamming, can seriously degrade network performance and must be dealt with efficiently. While most approaches are focused on the developing fast detection and reaction mechanisms triggered in case of an attack, we propose a novel approach to help deal with these issues in the network planning and provisioning process as a prevention mechanism. Namely, we propose to route lightpaths in such a way as to minimize the potential damage caused by various physical-layer attacks. We present a new objective criterion for the routing and wavelength assignment (RWA) problem, which we call the maximum Lightpath Attack Radius (maxLAR), and formulate the routing subproblem as an integer linear program (ILP). We test it on small networks to get an insight into its complexity and compare it to a formulation that minimizes congestion. Results indicate that our formulation achieves significantly better results for the maxLAR while obtaining near-optimal or optimal congestion in all cases. For larger networks, we propose a tabu search algorithm for attack-aware lightpath routing, in combination with an existing graph-coloring algorithm for wavelength assignment. Testing and comparing with existing approaches from literature indicate its superiority with respect to the maxLAR and average lightpath load, albeit at the expense of somewhat higher congestion. However, this is justified with the obtained improvement in network security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

100 Gbit/s Ethernet is foreseen in metro and access by 2014, while 1 Tbit/s Ethernet is forecasted for trunk links before 1020. This paper reviews the advantages and constraints of the optical networking and discusses how they meet the 100 Gbit/s Ethernet needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, quality of transmission (QoT)-aware lightpath provisioning schemes for transparent optical networks are proposed and assessed. The main idea is to overcome lightpath blocking due to excessive physical impairments (i.e., unacceptable QoT) by means of successive lightpath set up attempts performed by generalized multiprotocol label switching (GMPLS) signaling protocol along alternate routes. The schemes are enabled by the introduction into current GMPLS signaling protocol [i.e., resource reservation protocol with traffic engineering (RSVP-TE)] of extensions which encompass the QoT parameters that characterize the optical layer. Differently from previous approaches, the proposed GMPLS-based schemes are still distributed but they do not imply the introduction of additional extensions into the routing protocol (e.g., OSPF-TE). The QoT-aware provisioning schemes are first validated by simulations performed on a WDM mesh network. Results show that only few successive set up attempts are required to complete the lightpath establishment. In addition, an experimental demonstration where the proposed RSVP-TE extensions are implemented in the control plane of a transparent metro network is reported showing that impairment-aware lightpath provisioning is achieved on a time scale of few milliseconds. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

WDM all-optical networks where electrical regeneration is not available, physical impairments due to propagation in the fibers, amplifier noise, and leaks between channels and in the switches cannot be removed at the physical layer. These effects cause calls, especially between physically distant nodes, to be rejected because they cannot meet minimum Quality Transmission (QoT) requirements, as measured by signal bit-error rates. It is possible to mitigate physical layer effects at the network layer using appropriate Routing and Wavelength Assignment (RWA) algorithms. We present new RWA algorithms which account for physical impairments in their design and increase QoT and fairness among users without sacrificing low blocking probabilities in metropolitan-sized networks. We also present RWA algorithms that can sharply decrease blocking probabilities in regional-sized networks using optional channel coding. All algorithms are evaluated through simulation in realistic scenarios and shown to successfully mitigate crosstalk effects and to perform better in terms of QoT and network access fairness than traditional algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing growth of data traffic from existing and new applications poses a challenge to the packet-switched network infrastructure. High-capacity transport can be achieved in such networks by using dense wavelength-division-multiplexed systems, and reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexers allow the optical layer to provision wavelength-based circuits between routing nodes. However, construction of the high-capacity packet routers provides significant scaling issues due to complexity, interconnect, and thermal limits. In this paper we will not seek to cover all aspects of optical packet switching and routing but outline some of the challenges facing the construction of such future routers and describe the role photonics can have in overcoming some of these issues. We will discuss how photonics' primary role will be to provide interconnection between racks of electronic routing elements and describe how fast wavelength switching can provide a high-capacity distributed switch fabric that will allow these packet routers to scale to higher capacities. The fast wavelength switching can be seen as the packet analog of wavelength-based circuit switching of today's transparent optical networks [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Constraint-based routing (CBR) requires a fast and accurate assessment of the different physical degradation effects in optical communications systems. This paper deals with fast analytical approximation formulas describing the induced system penalty due to the dominant nonlinear effects in 10-Gb/s nonreturn to zero (NRZ) transmission systems. This paper concentrates on the multichannel effects of cross-phase modulation (XPM) and four-wave mixing (FWM). [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The performance of current optical networks is inherently limited by the speed of electronic components and, in particular, by electronic switches. A new generation of optical networks, referred to as all-optical networks, overcomes this limitation by switching data entirely optically using all-optical crossconnects (OXCs). However, all-optical networks are prone to phenomena that are unknown to current optical networks with electrical regeneration: OXCs are subject to optical leaks, called crosstalk, resulting in unwanted components being added to transmitted signals, and this crosstalk is transmitted over very long paths without any signal regeneration. In this paper, we consider the interplay between fiber nonlinearity and crosstalk signals over long distances as the source of performance degradation, measured in terms of Q factor. We present an analytical crosstalk model for all-optical networks and give expressions for the performance degradation resulting from the joint propagation of a signal [using a continuous-wave (CW) assumption and perturbation theory] and crosstalk in large networks. Analytical calculations required by this model are shown to be much less computationally intensive than simulations. Simulations are carried out to validate our analytical model and good agreement is found between the analytical model and simulations for wide ranges of parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article introduces the main achievements resulting from the DWDM/ODC project. The five areas of research activity within the DWDM/ODC project cover some of the main issues of design and development of dense wavelength division multiplexing systems for transparent optical networks. These issues are: performance assessment with arbitrary optical filtering; performance of signaling formats; dispersion compensation strategies for directly and externally modulated systems in presence of nonlinear transmission-induced degradation; and the impact of noise and crosstalk in the extent of transparent optical networks. All five areas of research activity have contributed significantly to a better understanding of the limitations present in dense wavelength division multiplexing systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design and performance of several generations of wavelength-selective 1×K switches are reviewed. These optical subsystems combine the functionality of a demultiplexer, per-wavelength switch, and multiplexer in a single, low-loss unit. Free-space optics is utilized for spatially separating the constituent wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) channels as well as for space-division switching from an input optical fiber to one of K output fibers (1×K functionality) on a channel-by-channel basis using a microelectromechanical system (MEMS) micromirror array. The switches are designed to provide wide and flat passbands for minimal signal distortion. They can also provide spectral equalization and channel blocking functionality, making them well suited for use in transparent WDM optical mesh networks. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We describe an experimental realization of ultra-long-haul (ULH) networks with dynamically reconfigurable transparent optical add-drop multiplexers (OADMs) and optical cross-connects (OXCs). A simple new approach to dispersion management in ULH dense-wavelength-division-multiplexing (DWDM) transparent optical networks is proposed and implemented, which enables excellent transmission performance while avoiding dispersion compensation on a connection-by-connection basis. We demonstrate "broadcast-and-select" node architectures that take full advantage of this method. Our implementation of signal leveling ensures minimum variations of path-averaged power among the wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM) channels between the dynamic gain-equalizing nodes and results in uniform nonlinear and spontaneous-emission penalties across the WDM spectrum. We achieve 80×10.7-Gb/s DWDM networking over 4160 km (52 spans×80 km each) of all-Raman-amplified symmetric dispersion-managed fiber and 13 concatenated OADMs or 320×320 wavelength-port OXCs with 320-km node spacing. The WDM channels use 50-GHz grid in C band and the simple nonreturn-to-zero (NRZ) modulation format. The measured Q values exhibit more than a 1.8-dB margin over the forward-error correction threshold for 10-15 bit-error-rate operation. We compare these results with point-to-point transmission of 80×10-Gb/s NRZ WDM signals over 4160 km without OADM/OXC and provide detailed characterization of penalties due to optical signal-to-noise-ratio degradation, filter concatenation, and crosstalk. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

• The impact of physical layer impairments on CDC ROADM-based networks is assessed. • Multicast switches and WSSs are considered for the ROADM add/drop structures. • For 16QAM signals B&S ROADMs with WSSs-based add/drop structures is the best choice. In this work, we assess the impact of several physical layer impairments (PLIs) on the performance of optical networks based on colorless, directionless and contentionless reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers (ROADMs), through Monte-Carlo simulation, and considering polarization division multiplexing 4 and 16 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) signals, at 28 GBaud, for 37.5 GHz optical channels. The PLIs taken into account are the amplified spontaneous emission noise, optical filtering, in-band crosstalk and nonlinear interference noise caused by Kerr effect. A detailed model of the ROADM node is built considering two typical ROADM architectures, broadcast and select (B&S) and route and select (R&S), and two different add/drop structures, multicast switches (MCSs) and wavelength selective switches (WSSs), resulting in four different ROADM node scenarios. Our results have shown that for 16QAM signals, the B&S ROADMs with WSSs-based add/drop structures is the scenario that has the best relation cost/performance, foreseeing its use in metro networks, while for 4QAM signals, the R&S ROADM with WSSs-based add/drop structure scenario allows a larger ROADM cascade at an expectable lower cost anticipating its implementation in long-haul networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]