On controlling burst loss ratio inside an OBS network

This paper considers the use of closed loop feedback control theoretic techniques to improve the performance of optical burst switching (OBS) networks. In OBS networks, the burst loss ratio (BLR) is the ratio between the lost bursts to the sent bursts. The BLR is used as a performance metric. The desired burst loss ratio depends on the application using the network. Burstification rate is the rate of injecting bursts into the OBS network. In this paper, a novel technique to control the burst loss ratio in OBS networks is proposed. The technique is based on classical control theory approaches to tune the burstification rate in order to achieve a desired burst loss ratio to satisfy the application requirements. Extensive simulations on the NSFNET topology show that the proposed technique achieves promising results. That is, the measured burst loss ratio hovers around the desired burst loss ratio for all nodes.