Hybrid multiaccess for all-optical LANs with nonzero tuning delays

Proposes a hybrid multiaccess scheme for all-optical local area networks. This scheme alleviates the effect of slow tuning speeds of optical devices on the network performance. A number of users share a wavelength through an additional degree of freedom (such as subcarrier frequencies or code words from a CDMA code). The reduction of the number of wavelengths with no reduction in the transmission concurrency provides robustness against tuning delays. The authors analyze the hybrid scheme under a simple, suboptimal access protocol to evaluate the network performance in terms of average packet delay. Results indicate that the average packet delay is significantly lower with this multiaccess scheme compared with pure wavelength division multiple access.