Architectures and Buffering for All-Optical Packet-Switched Cross-Connects

Abstract

This paper considers the performance of an alloptical packet-switched cross-connect. All-optical header processing and all-optical routing are implemented in the cross-connect architectures. The main metric considered to measure the performance is the packet loss ratio for the buffering. This is influenced primarily by three factors. The first is the cross-connect architecture: feedback or feed-forward buffering, incorporating wavelength domain contention resolution. The second is the selection of the fibre delay line distribution: degenerate or non-degenerate distributions. And the third is the traffic load together with the traffic model used for the performance analysis: a Poisson distribution or a selfsimilar model. It is shown that the optimal implementation of a feedback buffer requires a technique such as overflow buffering as well as the superior performance of an all-optical switch in order to maintain signal quality through multiple recirculations.

Time‐slot interchanging using the crosspoint switch and a recirculating buffer

“…Requiring less physical fiber than traveling buffers, recirculating buffers provide flexibility in terms of delay lengths in that packets can be accessed upon each recirculation through the switch fabric [15]. The main drawbacks of recirculating buffering using an electro-optic switch are the loss resulting from traversing the switch fabric multiple times and switch crosstalk that accumulates with multiple traversals of the signal.…”