Efficient distributed control protocols for WDM all-optical networks

Path multiplexing (PM) and link multiplexing (LM) are two approaches for establishing connections (or lightpaths) in optical networks. This paper describes distributed control protocols for establishing lightpaths in WDM networks using LM and PM. We propose and evaluate the performance of two classes of protocols, namely source initiated reservation (SIR) and destination initiated reservation (DIR). It is found that DIR protocols generally perform better than SIR protocols. However, the impacts of DIR protocols on the performance of a network using LM and PM are different.