Time Slot Allocation for Burst Switched Network

摘要

Anode for burst switching of traffic flows in an optical network switches bursts of traffic flows in different time slots. Time slots are allocated (96) so that a time gap between successive allocated time slots is selected according to a jitter specification of the traffic flow. A map of the allocations controls a burst switch to pass the bursts in their allocated time slots (86). By making the time gap between allocated time slots for successive bursts selectable, the jitter can be controlled more precisely, or the proportion of time slots filled can be increased resulting in better utilisation of available bandwidth. The allocation can be made hop by hop. The map can be generated in a distributed and duplicated manner at each node. The allocation can be updated to adapt to changes bandwidth demands.

主权项

1. A method of configuring a node for burst switching of traffic flows in an optical network, having the steps of:
receiving indications relating to a traffic flow to be scheduled comprising at least an indication of a destination node and of a jitter specification for the traffic flow, the traffic flow comprising a series of bursts, and allocating bursts of that traffic flow to time slots of at least one optical network frame having a destination corresponding to the indicated destination node of the traffic flow, wherein a time gap between successive allocated time slots is selected according to the jitter specification of the traffic flow, and configuring the node, before the traffic flow arrives at the node, to enable the node to switch the bursts towards the respective destination node in their allocated time slots.