Wavelength converter management in all-optical networks with arbitrary topologies using abstracting techniques

Previous works have shown the wavelength conversion can considerably reduce the blocking probability in all-optical networks, but most of analytical models and algorithms are proposed under simplifying assumptions or restricted to specific cases. In this paper, we first introduce an abstracting technique called blocking island (BI) paradigm. A blocking island hierarchy (BIH) can be constructed by using the BI paradigm and bottleneck links can be easily identified in BIH. We then propose the wavelength placement algorithms using this traffic case. To make sure our algorithm is applicable in arbitrary topologies and any incoming traffic patterns, a simulation-based optimization approach is employed. In the simulation, we show the performance improvement obtained by full wavelength conversion can almost be achieved by using limited number of wavelength converters with careful placement. In a random generated network topology, we demonstrate our algorithm outperforms the best existing allocation scheme.