Some new load balancing algorithms for single-hop WDM networks

The problem of reconfiguring broadcast and select, single-hop wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) networks to maintain a balanced load when the traffic demand changes is considered. When the load becomes unbalanced the wavelength assignment (WLA) has to be reconfigured. When reconfiguring the WLA according to the new traffic demand, it is important to reduce the number of receivers that need to be retuned to correspondingly reduce the disruption to the network operation. Although it is clear that if the number of retunings is unlimited a better WLA and load balance can be achieved, there is a trade-off between the network load balance and the number of retunings. In this work, two new WLA reconfiguration algorithms are introduced, the One-Directional Transfer (1DT) and the Two-Directional Transfer (2DT) algorithms, and both are shown by simulation to outperform existing algorithms in terms of the trade-off described.