TRA: an efficient dynamic resource assignment algorithm for MCF-based SS-FONs

Abstract

Service provisioning can be enhanced with spectrally spatially flexible optical networks (SS-FONs) with multicore fibers; however, intercore crosstalk (XT) is a dominant impairment that complicates the problem of maintaining the quality of transmission (QoT) and resource allocation. The selection of modulation formats (MFs), due to their unique XT sensitivities, further increases the complexity. The routing, modulation, core, and spectrum assignment (RMCSA) problem must select the resources carefully to exploit the available capacity while meeting the desired QoT. In this paper, we propose an RMCSA algorithm called the tridental resource assignment (TRA) algorithm for transparent SS-FONs, and its variant, translucency-aware TRA (TaTRA), for translucent SS-FONs. TRA balances three different factors that affect network performance under dynamic resource allocation. We consider translucent networks with flexible regeneration and with and without modulation and spectrum conversion. Our resource assignment approach includes both an offline network planning component to calculate path priorities and an online/dynamic provisioning component to allocate resources. Extensive simulation experiments performed in realistic network scenarios indicate that TRA and TaTRA significantly reduce the bandwidth blocking probability by several orders of magnitude in some cases.