A comparative simulation study of protocols for a bus WDM architecture

Wavelength division multiplex (WDM) networks divide the bandwidth of a single optical channel into a number of non-overlapping wavelength channels and are regarded as future high-speed networks with a potential throughput in the order of Terabits. Inherent in this mechanism is the facility to utilise the capacity of the optical fibre more efficiently than existing single-channel high-speed networks. We compare three MAC protocols for single-hop WDM networks and evaluate their support for multimedia communications. We show that current WDM protocols, developed mainly for typical data traffic, do not perform well when subjected to multimedia communications. An object-oriented simulation framework, which provides both fast prototyping of time-slotted access protocols and a common simulation environment from which these protocols can be developed is also presented.