Performance analysis of a novel optical network architecture - PetaWeb

The dramatic increase of Internet users and the development of new volume Internet applications has a profound impact on the design of next generation optical network (NGON) architectures. In order to cope with the immense diversity of applications and traffic volume, highly dynamic optical networks will be needed. PetaWeb, proposed by Nortel networks, is based on the use of adaptive core and edge switches, which can accommodate traffic fluctuations through periodic reconfiguration of channels. This increases the effective capacity of the network, reduces delay and delay jitter. We implement a simulation model of the PetaWeb architecture, verify the functionality of the PetaWeb and quantify its performance. Extensive simulation results are presented to quantify the benefits of agility. We have performed a thorough analysis how performance related parameters are affected by several factors, such as the reconfiguration frequency, the size and number of optical channels, as well as the buffer size of the edge node.