Abstract

In this paper, we consider the problem of dynamically provisioning an end-to-end optical path that spans multiple wavelength-routed WDM optical domains. We examine the general topic of automated path provisioning that involves establishing a circuit from one client end-system to another through the optical backbone. A sequence of operations is typically involved in the path provisioning process, including: neighbor discovery, topology discovery, route computation, wavelength assignment and lightpath setup signaling functions. The paper tries to summarize the various architectural choices designed for each step. We conduct simulation experiments using a discrete event simulation tool to evaluate two modes of signaling schemes: centralized, and distributed along with a backward reservation and an adaptive routing schemes in a multi-domain setting. Our experimental results show that the blocking ratio for lightpath requests in a centralized architecture is lower than that of a distributed scheme especially when control messages travel for longer periods and in a highly dynamic network condition.

© 2005 Optical Society of America