Dynamic routing, modulation level and spectrum allocation (RMLSA) in FWDM with modulation format conversion

This paper proposes a dynamic routing, modulation level and spectrum allocation (RMLSA) scheme in the flexible optical wavelength-division multiplexing (FWDM) networks with modulation format conversion ability. The scheme considers the modulation format conversion at the intermediate nodes and addresses the fragmentation problem by avoiding appearance of them. The influence of routing to the emergence of the fragmentation is quantified, which is referenced to decide which one route of k-paths to use. Simulation results demonstrate efficient reductions in blocking rates and improvements in failure recovery rates for the scheme in the network.