Towards deciding the optimum optical reach for GMPLS-based long-haul transport networks

With the advances in the optical signal processing, extending the optical reach beyond thousands of kilometers becomes a reality, but the debatable question remains: how far the optical reach needs to be extended in order to achieve a minimal transport network cost. In this paper, we investigate the issue of determining the best optical reach in the domain of the GMPLS-based long-haul transport network. To conduct this investigation, we use heuristic approaches which we have previously developed to plan large-scale GMPLS-based transport networks with conversion and regeneration capabilities. Our investigation proceeds into two directions. First is deciding the best optical reach without the consideration of the optical reach customization. The second direction is deciding the best reach with customizing the optical reach of all-optical paths.