Design And Implementation Of Multicasting In The LOBS Network Testbed

The optical transport network is evolving toward transparent architecture since it can not only provide optical connectivity without being aware of bit rate, modulation format and protocol of client traffic, but also can greatly reduce energy consumption, network construction and maintenance costs. So far, most of research efforts have focused on provisioning point to point (P2P) transparent optical connectivity. However, with emergence of various new multicast applications, such as high definition video distribution, it is indispensible to enable point to multi-point (P2MP) services in transparent optical networks.In response, this thesis investigates multicasting technologies based on the labeled optical burst switching (LOBS) network testbed, including the multicast-enabled burst switching node architecture and corresponding signaling and routing protocols extensions. The major achievements of this thesis can be summarized as follows:1) In the data plane, a novel multicast scheme based on multi-wavelength convertor (MWC) is introduced, and burst clone together with simultaneous burst amplification is experimentally demonstrated. This scheme is also applied to successfully realize a LOBS switching node capable of burst multicasting.2) In the control plane, an extended signaling scheme as well as the related frame format of PATH, RESV and LRE messages are intensively investigated for the P2MP LSP provisioning, and a novel node capability message is introduced in the routing protocol in order to disseminate the splitting and wavelength conversion capability of multicast-capable LOBS nodes.3) In order to verify the aforementioned proposal, design and implementation are conducted to enhance the existing LOBS network testbed, and a basic multicast application is successfully demonstrated.