Optical switch configuration and lightpath assignment in wavelength routing multihop lightwave networks

A wide-area transparent optical network can be constructed by using wavelength routers and switches, each dealing with only a small number of wavelengths. In this work we consider the problem of configuring the wavelength routers based on the observed traffic. Various policies for wavelength routing, and the corresponding assignment of wavelengths along the routes have been studied before, which are based on minimizing congestion, average hop-distance, and call blocking probability or on maximizing carried traffic, and the number of clear channels. However these approaches often lead to scenarios where a significant number of available wavelengths at the input/output ports of the routers cannot be used due to potential wavelength conflict. The wavelength routing and assignment algorithms presented in this paper focus on maximizing the wavelength-utilization at the switching devices which also improve the overall network performance.