Wavelength conversion in networks with differing link capacities

Transmission limitations, asymmetric loads and network upgrade strategies are all expected to mean that different links in a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) network are expected to have different numbers of wavelengths. We examine the performance improvements offered by wavelength converters in WDM networks which have different number of wavelengths on different links. We show that wavelength converters can provide more significant performance improvements in networks with differing numbers of wavelengths on each link than in networks with the same number of wavelengths on each link. However, these performance improvements depend on the number of wavelengths on each link, the offered loads and the wavelength assignment scheme used