Content-Based Switching Network: A Flexible Architecture for Future Content Distribution Optical Networks

Conventional hybrid networks implement a horizontal separation over the entire network (from edge to edge), which leads to a rigid separation of the resources. In this paper, we propose a network, called Content-based Switching Network, whose nodes can flexibly choose their switching paradigm (store-and-forward, optical bypass, electrical bypass) during a path establishment. Thanks to this, the network does not have to choose through which plane a content should be transmitted before the transfer. The global architecture and signaling schemes of our proposal are given. Simulation results comparing the Content-based Switching Network to an Optical Circuit Switching illustrate its behavior and performances.