Input wavelength conversion in optical packet switches

This letter analyzes an architecture for optical packet switches in which the wavelength converters are shared per input line (SPIL). The architecture performance are evaluated by means of an analytical model and are compared with those of an optical packet switch architecture in which the wavelength converters are shared per output line (SPOL). The obtained results show that in both balanced and unbalanced traffic scenarios the proposed architecture allows for a remarkable saving in terms of number of converters. In some cases this saving can reach 50%.