Cost-Aware Optimization of Optical Add-Drop Multiplexers Placement in Packet-Optical xHaul Access Networks

Abstract

This work concentrates on the problem of optimizing the cost of a passive wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) optical network used as a transport network for carrying the xHaul packet traffic between a set of remote radio sites and a central hub in a 5G radio access network (RAN). In this scope, we investigate the flexible use of optical add-drop multiplexers (OADMs) for the aggregation of traffic from a number of remote sites, where the type/capacity of optical devices—OADMs and optical multiplexers (MUXs)—is selected in accordance with the traffic demand. The approach is referred to as Flex-O. To this end, we formulate the xHaul network planning problem consisting in the joint provisioning of transmission paths (TPs) between the remote sites and the hub with optimized selection and placement of OADMs on the paths and proper selection of MUXs at the ends of the TPs. The problem formulation takes into accounts the optical power budget that limits the maximum transmission distance in a function of the amount and type of optical devices installed on the TPs. The network planning problem is modeled and solved as a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) optimization problem. Several network scenarios are analyzed to evaluate the cost savings from the flexible (optimized) use of OADMs. The scenarios differ in terms of the availability of OADMs and the capacity of the WDM devices applied on the TPs. The numerical experiments performed in three mesh networks of different size show that the cost savings of up to between 35 and 45% can be achieved if the selection of OADMs is optimized comparing to the networks in which either single-type OADMs are used or the OADMs are not applied.