Reliable optical burst switching for next-generation grid networks

Grid computing provides a flexible, secure, sharing of resources among dynamic collections of individuals, institutions, and resources. Optical burst switching (OBS) is one of the most promising new optical transport paradigms for efficiently transporting data over an all-optical network. In this paper, we discuss several mechanisms for deploying a reliable OBS network using a range of loss minimization and loss recovery mechanisms. We also propose two new loss recovery mechanisms for deploying a reliable OBS network, namely, forward error correction and composite burst assembly. Our simulation shows that the two proposed mechanisms significantly reduce the loss experienced by loss-sensitive connection-oriented traffic through an OBS network. We have also shown how the reduction of loss leads to increased throughput of TCP-over-OBS network. We also propose a comprehensive OBS service architecture, and provide guidelines for implementing a reliable connection-oriented photonic transmission control protocol (PTCP) over OBS-based grid networks.