Cognition-Enabling Techniques in Heterogeneous and Flexgrid Optical Communication Networks

High degree of heterogeneity of future optical networks, such as services with different quality-of-transmission requirements, modulation formats and switching techniques, will pose a challenge for the control and optimization of different parameters. Incorporation of cognitive techniques can help to solve this issue by realizing a network that can observe, act, learn and optimize its performance, taking into account end-to-end goals. In this letter we present the approach of cognition applied to heterogeneous optical networks developed in the framework of the EU project CHRON: Cognitive Heterogeneous Reconfigurable Optical Network. We focus on the approaches developed in the project for optical performance monitoring and power consumption models to implement an energy efficient network.