Single-path provisioning with multi-path recovery in flexgrid optical networks

The new flexgrid technology, in opposition to the fixed grid one traditionally used in wavelength switched optical networks (WSON), allows allocating the spectral bandwidth needed to convey heterogeneous client demand bitrates in a flexible manner so that the optical spectrum can be managed much more efficiently. In this paper we propose a new recovery scheme, called single-path provisioning multi-path recovery (SPP-MPR), specifically designed for flexgrid-based optical networks. It provisions single-paths to serve the bitrate requested by client demands and combines protection and restoration schemes to jointly recover, in part or totally, that bitrate in case of failure. We define the bitrate squeezed recovery optimization (BRASERO) problem to maximize the bitrate which is recovered in case of failure of any single fiber link. A mixed integer linear programming (MILP) formulation is provided. Exhaustive numerical experiments carried out over two network topologies and realistic traffic scenarios show that the efficiency of the proposed SPP-MPR scheme approaches that of restoration mechanisms while providing recovery times as short as protection schemes.