Design alternatives of asynchronous WDM star networks

Various architectural alternatives for asynchronous wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) optical local area networks are discussed. Different choices of receiver/transmitter functionality, the number of buffers, and the number of wavelengths are studied and their effect on system performance are analyzed. An analytical solution is introduced to allow a uniform treatment of the various designs within the same modeling framework. The results show the interdependence between the system's hardware complexity and its potential performance.<
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