Traffic statistics in WDM storage area networks

Storage area networks (SANs) are becoming an important part of optical metropolitan area networks (MANs). Growing storage and business-continuity needs; high-bandwidth, low latency requirements for SANs; storage infrastructure consolidation; and post-9/11 regulatory issues are among the several driving factors to push this trend. In this paper, we study network traffic in a proposed metro wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) ring architecture SAN with variable-length packets. The paper begins with a brief review of the relevant background information on SANs, data mirroring and network traffic analysis in the literature. Subsequently, the network architectures along with their medium access control (MAC) protocols are described. Network traffic analysis for the proposed network architectures is studied by means of discrete-event computer simulation. Network traffic characteristics are evaluated under self-similar asymmetric traffic scenarios.