An Idle-Time Eliminating Channel Transmission Scheme in EPON System

Optical access network technology is widely accepted as one of the best choice for future broadband access networks. Ethernet passive optical networks (EPON) is designed to deliver multiple services and applications in access network environment such as voice communications, high-definition television (HDTV), video conferencing (interactive video), real-time transactions, and interactive data traffic, respectively. Dynamic bandwidth allocation (DBA) algorithm is one of the most important technologies in EPON systems. Existing dynamic bandwidth allocation algorithms mostly utilize cycle-polling based mechanism and has the disadvantage of time wasting between polling cycles called idle time which reduce the uplink efficiency. This paper presents a new idle-time eliminating channel transmission scheme which divides the ONUs into different types and adopts distinguished handle mechanisms. Theoretical analysis and numerical calculations prove that the new scheme can effectively eliminate the idle time and improve the efficiency of upstream link utilization.