The cost benefits of multi-layer architecture with multi-granularity switching in optical networks

The benefits of using multi-granularity switching to reduce the number of ports, including both electronic and optical ports, have been investigated. A novel multi-layer ring architecture with multiple switches is proposed and two general equations to count the number of ports are derived. Comparisons are made between the multi-layer multi-granularity switching (MM-XC) architecture and the reported architectures: multi-switching (M-XC) and single switching (S-XC) architectures. The results show that the M-XC or S-XC architectures can be deduced from the MM-XC architecture and the latter architecture can achieve more considerable savings of the port count compared to the former.