Using Dynamic Control Frames to Reduce Packet Delays in Transceiver Array-Based Single-Hop WDM Networks

This paper considers transceiver array-based single-hop wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) networks with reservation-based packet scheduling algorithms. In reservation-based packet scheduling algorithms for single-hop WDM networks, one or more of the wavelengths are used as control channels for transmitting reservation information. Time on a control channel is divided into control frames and each control frame is further divided into control slots. Each node is usually assigned a dedicated control slot in each control frame. Before transmitting a data packet, a node sends a control packet in a control slot to all other nodes to reserve a data slot. This paper proposes to adjust the lengths of the control frames dynamically according to the loads of the nodes by removing unused control slots. A dynamic control frame structure with variable number of control slots is proposed. A method is devised to enable the nodes in the network to dynamically acquire and release control slots depending on their loads such that the control frames include only necessary control slots for those nodes that have or potentially have data packets to send. Therefore, the delays for transmitting control packets and data packets can be reduced. Dynamically adjusting the lengths of the control frames is able to reduce the delays for transmitting control packets and data packets when the network load is light to medium or the traffic pattern is moderately or highly nonuniform; however, it introduces extra overhead in each control frame such that the length of the control frame may become larger than the size of the control frame in the fixed control frame structure resulting in higher mean packet delay when the load of the network is heavy and the traffic pattern is uniform or nearly uniform. Therefore, this paper further proposes a hybrid fixed and dynamic scheme that dynamically employs the fixed control frame scheme or the dynamic control frame scheme depending on the loads of the nodes. The performance of the proposed hybrid scheme is studied via simulations. Our simulation results show that the hybrid scheme is able to dynamically choose the better of the fixed and dynamic control frame schemes such that it yields the lowest mean packet delay for the entire range of network loads and traffic patterns.