Hybrid Buffer Structured Optical Packet Switch with the Optimum Numbers of Tunable Wavelength Converters and Internal Wavelengths

In the optical packet switch (OPS) with the hybrid buffer for contention resolution of asynchronous and variable length packets, the optimum numbers of tunable wavelength converters (TWCs) and internal wavelengths is, for the first time, presented for reducing switch cost. The hybrid buffer was addressed, to reduce packet loss further as one of the alternative buffer structures for contention resolution of asynchronous and variable length packets, which consists of the FDL buffer and the electronic buffer. To optimize TWCs and internal wavelengths related to design cost of the OPS with the hybrid buffer, we proposed a scheduling algorithm for the hybrid buffer with the limited TWCs and internal wavelengths. For the fully shared TWC structure, the optimum numbers of TWCs and internal wavelengths to guarantee minimum packet loss are evaluated to prevent resource waste under the hybrid buffer. Under a given load, TWCs and internal wavelengths could be significantly reduced, guaranteeing the same packet loss as the performance of the hybrid buffer structured OPS with more number of TWCs and internal wavelengths.