Node dimensioning in optical burst switching networks

Network dimensioning should be progressed for pursuing the ultimate efficiency of network system resources in order to satisfy target performance. This article studies node dimensioning as a method of resource optimization in optical burst switching (OBS) networks. OBS is a new switching technology for pursuing bufferless transparent optical networks by sending control packets prior to data burst in order to provision resources for the burst. However, the basic assumption of a bufferless node implies burst contention at a core node when more than two bursts attempt to move forward the same output simultaneously. Thus, burst contention is a critical performance metric and this article takes it into account as a constraint on node dimensioning and target performance. In this article, we first present node dimensioning issues for OBS networks. Two constraints from the transport plane and the control plane which affect burst contention are then introduced. The effect of the burst assembly process on node dimensioning is also presented. From numerical analysis, the optimal number of wavelengths in a link, which provides the lowest blocking probability, is obtained to suggest a guideline for node dimensioning.