Fixed-alternate routing and wavelength conversion in wavelength-routed optical networks

Consider an optical network which employs wavelength-routing crossconnects that enable the establishment of wavelength-division-multiplexed (WDM) connections between node pairs. In such a network, when there is no wavelength conversion, a connection is constrained to be on the same wavelength channel along its route. Alternate routing can improve the blocking performance of such a network by providing multiple possible paths between node pairs. Wavelength conversion can also improve the blocking performance of such a network by allowing a connection to use different wavelengths along its route. This work proposes an approximate analytical model that incorporates alternate routing and sparse wavelength conversion. We perform simulation studies of the relationships between alternate routing and wavelength conversion on three representative network topologies. We demonstrate that alternate routing generally provides significant benefits, and that it is important to design alternate routes between node pairs in an optimized fashion to exploit the connectivity of the network topology. The empirical results also indicate that fixed-alternate routing with a small number of alternate routes asymptotically approaches adaptive routing in blocking performance.