Optical communications has become the dominant medium for high-speed communication, mainly due to the vast amount of bandwidth available and the very low-bit error rates achievable, compared to their copper wire predecessors. Optical networking has also evolved with the introduction of intelligent optical nodes that can support features such as automated provisioning of optical services and automated protection/restoration capabilities to combat failure scenarios. As networks evolve to support more bandwidthintensive applications, and as rich multimedia and real-time services become more popular, next generation infrastructures are expected to support traffic that will be heterogeneous in nature with both unicast and multicast applications (e.g., high-definition television, video conferencing, interactive distance learning, live auctions, distributed games, and video-on-demand, etc.).
In this project we will investigate the problems of provisioning and survivability for transparent mesh optical networks that support multicast, as well as broadcast applications. Novel provisioning techniques will be developed that will provide solutions with lower blocking probability and lower cost compared to existing techniques. Furthermore, multicast/broadcast protection schemes will be devised that are capacity efficient and fast compared to traditional link- and path-based approaches. The algorithms designed will be incorporated in a software simulation/design tool that can be utilized by network designers and researchers to design and evaluate the performance of core mesh optical networks when such applications are present.
The project is coordinated by Prof. George Ellinas.
Project’s website: http://www.eng.ucy.ac.cy/gellinas/Multibroad.html
This project is funded by the Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation through the Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and Innovation 2009-10 (DESMI 2009-2010), co-funded by the Republic of Cyprus and the European Regional Development Fund.
