An Efficient Optical Switch Architecture with Controlled Latency for GRID Networks

In this paper we evaluate a hybrid optoelectronic switch architecture, which can be used under optical burst switching (OBS) or even optical packet switching (OPS) schemes. The proposed architecture incorporates electronic switching equipment to a limited degree utilizing the large buffering capacity available only by means of electronic subsystems. This hybrid architecture achieves efficient utilization of optical network resources, which can be assigned dynamically in small time scales, limiting loss probability with controlled average latency. Thus, the proposed switch architecture is suitable for critical networking applications with high capacity and dynamically changing requirements like GRID networking.