Algorithmic Choice of Optical Amplifiers Respecting Noise and Nonlinearity Constraints

An important design problem for dense WDM optical networks is the placement of optical amplifiers along the transmission lines connecting optical add-drop multiplexers. We present a dynamic programming algorithm that chooses the minimum-cost amplifier placement subject to bounds on introduced nonlinear phase shift and noise. The algorithm is in current use and is effective over a wide range of design scenarios.