Performance analysis of large-scale OXC that enables dynamic modular growth

Area of Science:

• Optical networking
• Telecommunications engineering
• Modular system design

Background:

• Traditional optical cross-connect (OXC) nodes face challenges in scaling and managing network growth.
• Service disruptions during upgrades are a significant concern in optical networks.
• Wavelength Selective Switches (WSSs) are critical but costly components in OXC architectures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the performance of a novel subsystem modular OXC node designed for graceful modular growth.
• To assess the feasibility of achieving high performance with reduced component count and cost.
• To demonstrate the elimination of service disruption during network expansion.

Main Methods:

• Simulated network traffic increase scenarios were used to test the modular OXC node.
• Performance metrics such as throughput and optical loss were analyzed.
• Comparison with conventional large-scale OXC node architectures was conducted.

Main Results:

• The novel modular OXC node demonstrated performance comparable to conventional large-scale OXC nodes.
• A significant reduction in the number of required Wavelength Selective Switches (WSSs) was achieved.
• The use of smaller-degree WSSs was enabled, further optimizing the design.
• Both the number of WSSs traversed and total end-to-end optical loss were substantially reduced.

Conclusions:

• The proposed subsystem modular OXC node offers a scalable and cost-effective solution for optical networks.
• Graceful modular growth without service disruption is achievable with this architecture.
• The design presents a promising alternative for future optical network infrastructure, reducing component count and optical impairments.