CATO: CAD Tool for design, simulation, and optimization of optical telecommunications networks

As dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) devices began to appear, so did all-optical networks and all-optical "islands" embedded in backbone networks. Costs of pioneering systems are high, and impending adoption raises issues such as robustness, survivability, and compatibility. Engineers need new design tools to minimize costs, in the design process itself, and in network devices and management; and maximize performance, both in traffic metrics, and in delivery and safety guarantees. CATO (prototype CAD Tool for Optical Networks and Interconnects) performs DWDM network design, balancing costs and performance. CATO's interactive visual interface allows demand conversion; topology creation/editing; protection, lightpath routing and wavelength assignment; reduction and placement of OXC ports, lambda-converters, amplifiers, and other critical resources; network simulation; and graphical reporting. CATO combines novel heuristics with artificial intelligence, solving problems unique to optical networks, yielding dramatic savings, and running in half the time or less of tools based on linear programming (LP). Thus, CATO can maximize performance, utilization, and survivability in real time, and is suited for management tasks. Design tools for the emerging all-optical networking environment will enable engineers to cope with faster research/development/deployment cycles, allow on-line network management, and, most importantly, optimize critical network cost and functionality relationships.