HORNET: A Packet-Switched WDM Metropolitan Area Network

HORNET is a metro network designed to better face the challenges offered by next generation metropolitan area networks. HORNET uses a packet-over-WDM transport on a bi-directional ring network. Fast-tunable packet transmitters and wavelength routing enable it to scale cost-effectively to ultra-high capacities. A control-channel-based MAC protocol enables the nodes to share the bandwidth of the network while preventing collisions. The MAC protocol is designed to transport variable-sized IP packets and guaranteed bit-rate circuits while maintaining fairness in the network. Survivability protocols protect circuit and best effort traffic against a fiber cut or node failure. A burst mode receiver, in conjunction with the tunable transmitter and constant gain optical amplifiers make up the essential sub-systems inside a node. This article summarizes the accomplishments of the HORNET project, including the design, analysis, and demonstration of the architecture, protocols, sub-systems and testbed. As this work shows, the HORNET architecture is an excellent candidate for next-generation high-capacity metro networks.

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