Dedicated path protection for optical networks based on function programmable nodes

Due to the constantly increasing volumes and tightening reliability requirements of network traffic, survivability is one of the key concerns in optical network design. Optical “white box” nodes based on the Architecture on Demand (AoD) paradigm allow for self-healing of nodal component failures due to their architectural flexibility and the ability to employ idle components for failure recovery. By incorporating node-level survivability with network-level protection from link failures, resiliency of optical networks can be significantly improved. To this end, we propose a survivable routing algorithm for AoD-based networks called Dedicated Path Protection with Enforced Fiber Switching (DPP-EFS), which combines self-healing at the node level with dedicated path protection at the network level. The algorithm aims at improving the self-healing capabilities of the nodes by increasing the percentage of fiber switching (FS). Namely, fiber-switched lightpaths require a minimal amount of processing within the node (i.e. only signal switching), while other aspects of processing (e.g. demultiplexing, bandwidth virtualization) and the related components (i.e. demultiplexers, splitters, wavelength selective switches) remain unused and may be used as redundancy. On the other hand, lightpaths that are not eligible for FS have to be re-routed to alternative, longer paths in order to allow for FS between certain ports within the node. Therefore, the proposed algorithm pursues an advantageous trade-off between the increase of the number of idle components which can be used as redundancy at the node level and the unwanted length increase of lightpaths re-routed to render components redundant. For particular cases when DPP-EFS is not able to reduce the mean down time (MDT) in the network merely by increasing the percentage of fiber switching, we propose an algorithm for Dedicated Path Protection with Fixed Shortest Path routing and added Redundancy (DPP-FSP-RED) which adds additional spare components at strategic nodes to ensure that all connections have at least one redundant node component along their path. Simulation results show a significant reduction in MDT with minimal extra capital expenses.