A Distributed Scheduling Approach for Ethernet-based Passive Optical Networks

Ethernet-based passive optical networks (EPON) are being considered as the best candidates for the next generation broadband access networks. Several algorithms for dynamic bandwidth allocation in EPON have been proposed, as this is an open issue that was left out of the scope of the standard IEEE 802.3ah. Very few of those works address the possibilities for an on-the-fly (immediate) distributed scheduling method. In this paper we propose and simulate a distributed scheduling method where the user devices perform most of the dynamic distribution process. The results show an important improvement in terms of delay and queue size for high network loads.