Optimization of splitting node placement in wavelength-routed optical networks

This paper addresses the placement of multicast nodes in wavelength-routed all-optical networks. This problem is motivated by the expected high cost of optical multicast cross-connects due to fabrication complexity and power considerations. An analytical model for the approximate blocking probability in multicast networks is developed. The blocking performance is used to guide an iterative algorithm, Multicast-ADD, for the placement of multicast nodes. We provide validation of the model and the techniques used. In addition, a simulation study is provided to evaluate the performance of the heuristic. Insights obtained from the simulation results reveal that: (1) only a subset of the nodes (found to be 50%) need to be multicast-capable for acceptable blocking performance; (2) the blocking performance of Multicast-ADD outperforms that of random placement; and (3) employing alternate routing trees is not helpful in the optimization procedure.