An Analytical Model to Optimally Dimension Resources in OPS Equipped with Heterogeneous Wavelength Converters

An optical packet switch that shares both limited range and full range wavelength converters for contention resolution is proposed with the aim to guarantee an high conversion cost saving. To optimally dimension the number and the conversion range of the wavelength converters, an analytical model, validated by simulation, is introduced to evaluate the packet loss probability of the switch. Numerical results show that the proposed switch architecture allows for a conversion cost saving in the order of 90% with respect to a classical architecture in which only shared full range wavelength converters are used.