Cross-connect meshed-ring communications networks with applications to high speed electro-optical and all-optical networks

We introduce a meshed ring communications network that employs cross-connect switches. The network is divided into (overlapping) communities of nodes. Each community is assigned a wavelength and a wavelength graph. Each pair of nodes in a community can communicate across the associated wavelength graph. We show that this network architecture results in a significant increase in throughput performance in comparison with (SDH/SONET) ring networks. For a certain class of meshed rings, under a uniform traffic matrix, we derive the optimal topology that achieves maximum throughput efficiency. We present methods of constructing wavelength graphs and derive the required number of wavelengths.;Next, we study the survivability of such a cross-connect meshed-ring network. By meshing the ring, the nodal degree of connectivity is increased when compared to a ring topology and thus more alternative (protection) paths are available. We consider two types of wavelength graph topologies to simplify the routing in a normal (non-failure) situation. For each type of wavelength graphs, different protection methods are proposed to protect against a single link and/or nodal failure and throughput performances are derived.;We then study the queueing delay performance of an all-optical meshed-ring packet-switching cross-connect network (non-failure). Under a uniform traffic matrix, packets in a cross-connect network experience longer queueing delay as compared to in a more complicated store-and-forward network (delay results are also derived), due to traffic separation by using wavelength graphs. However, by increasing the capacity of a cross-connect network, we can reduce the queueing delay difference to an insignificant amount.;Finally, we study an all-optical ring network that performs wavelength by-passing (instead of physical meshing) at the routers. Packets that arrive at a wavelength (optical cross-connect) router at designated wavelengths are switched by the router without having their headers examined (bypassed). We present methods to construct wavelength graphs that define the bypassing pattern employed by the routers. We study a multitude of network loading configurations. For a fixed total processing capacity, we show that a WDM bypassing ring network provides a higher throughput level than that exhibited by a non-bypassing ring network, using the same value of total link capacity.