A multichannel optical network

The performance of a network based on an optical star is discussed. Destination nodes are addressed by directly sending the information on the channel reserved to that node. Simulation of the network shows that the throughput-delay characteristic is dramatically affected by the output capabilities of the network nodes, i.e., by the number of packets they can simultaneously send. In particular, nodes able to transmit two packets at the same time represent a good tradeoff between cost and performance. Wavelength division multiplexing and code division multiplexing techniques can be combined to implement the network. This, in turn, requires new integrated components for a single-chip implementation of transmitters and receivers