Future-Proof Photonic Switched Optical Networks for Metropolitan Access

Photonic Switching for traffic optimization in Metropolitan Access Optical Networks using technologies of optical packet/burst switching (OPS/OBS) seems to be a future-proof solution considering high-capacity and the highly variable traffic in these networks. In this study we propose and analyze through computer modeling and simulations network performance of OPS/OBS distributed switching networks and the impact of link failure when electronic buffering at ingress (client input) to optical network is also included. Mesh and ring topologies are chosen as more suitable topologies and the parameters packet loss fraction and average number of hops are adopted for performance metrics. Minimum electronic buffering is included at node ingress (client side) to improve lossless access to the optical layer, yielding high throughput and low latency. It is further observed that optical buffering is not necessary for adequate network performance.