Wavelength Selective Switch-Based Clos Network: Blocking Theory and Performance Analyses

A Clos network is a classical switching network often used in conventional electrical switches. In a Wavelength Selective Switch (WSS) based Clos all-optical switching network, the wavelength dimension needs to be additionally considered. However, the conventional blocking theory of the Clos network may not be valid in this scenario and it may be necessary to conduct a theoretical study specifically for the WSS-based Clos all-optical switching network. In this paper, we derive the strictly non-blocking conditions for the WSS-based Clos network for the cases where there is no wavelength conversion, partial wavelength conversion, and full wavelength conversion. For the situation where there is service blocking, we also formulate probabilistic analytical models to estimate the blocking performance for the three types of WSS-based Clos networks. The gain of transceiver utilization achieved by the WSS-based Clos network with wavelength conversion is evaluated and compared with that of one without wavelength conversion. We also evaluate the impact of partial wavelength conversion capability on the blocking performance of a WSS-based Clos network.