A GMPLS/OBS network architecture enabling QoS-aware end-to-end burst transport

This paper introduces a Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching (GMPLS)-enabled Optical Burst Switched (OBS) network architecture featuring end-to-end QoS-aware burst transport services. The proposed GMPLS/OBS architecture guarantees specific burst loss probability requirements, independently of the offered network load. This is achieved through the configuration of burst Label Switched Paths (LSPs) over the network which are set-up at the GMPLS control plane level only, while it is the OBS node controller the responsible for eventually committing data plane resources upon burst arrival. In such a way, statistical multiplexing feature is preserved and, at the same time, the end-user QoS demands are met by tightly dimensioning the LSPs. A Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model is devised to provide the optimal burst LSPs dimensioning according to the offered network load and QoS requirements. Moreover, GMPLS-driven capacity reconfigurations are dynamically triggered whenever unfavorable network conditions are detected. The performance of the proposed architecture is extensively assessed on several network scenarios. Future work on the topic is finally outlined.