Medium access control protocols for robust wavelength division multiplexed local area networks

The wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM) network architectures, in general, are based on transmitters and/or receivers that can be precisely, and speedily, tuned to predetermined, fixed wavelengths. These requirements are not easy to meet in practice. Robust WDM networks do not rely on fixed wavelength channels. Any node that requires a connection with another node dynamically selects a currently unused wavelength in the spectrum. Two medium access control protocols for robust WDM networks are presented and evaluated.