On using forward error correction for loss recovery in optical burst switched networks

An important issue in optical burst switched (OBS) networks is the loss of bursts at intermediate nodes due to contention. Such contention losses, usually do not mean a situation of congestion. In this paper, we propose for the first time, a loss recovery mechanism using forward error correction to recover bursts that are lost due to contention. Using FEC, for every K bursts, N-K redundant bursts are also sent to the destination. This redundancy can be used to recover from losses in the K data bursts. Our mechanism can also be used to recover from losses due to network component (link/node) failures. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our mechanism by comparing with no protection and 1+1 protection using simulation studies.