On the design of optical buffers for variable length packet traffic

This paper addresses the problem of dimensioning buffers realized by means of fiber delay lines in optical packet switches. The network scenario considered is such that packets have variable length and are sent asynchronously on the optical links. The role of the basic time unit of the fiber delay lines is discussed, showing that it is a crucial parameter to determine the queuing performance. The paper gives an approximate model that, in spite of being very simple, provides reasonable results to estimate the optimal choice of this time unit.