SMARTNet: an all-optical wavelength-division meshed-ring packet-switching network

We study an all-optical wavelength-division packet-switching meshed-ring local/metropolitan area network. This network architecture, known as SMARTNet (Scalable Multi-channel Adaptable Ring Terabit Network), offers a significant increase in the throughput capacity realized by any local/metropolitan area shared-medium network. It is ATM capable and takes best advantage of the kinds of high speed optoelectronic and optical components that can actually be constructed: very few ports, very simple routing decisions, and very little buffering. For symmetrical meshed-ring physical topologies, the number of required wavelengths and achievable network's throughput efficiency are investigated. A network configuration which employs 5 wavelength channels and exhibits a throughput efficiency level which is 80% higher than that realized by traditional (non-meshed) ring networks is demonstrated.