The significance of label conversion in GMPLS-based optical transport networks

One of the most debatable issues in the field of optical networks is wavelength conversion. With the introduction of the multi-granular switching concept, the debate can be extended to consider the significance of performing label conversion for all optical flows defined in Generalized Multiprotocol Label Switching (GMPLS). In order to conduct this study, we compare heuristics that are developed specifically to plan large-scale GMPLS-based transport network with and without the label-conversion capability. The simulation results show that label conversions can be quite beneficial especially when fiber resources are scarce and the network physical connectivity is high.