Wavelength routing in a photonic network

摘要

In a photonic network, signals are degraded by passing through amplifiers. A maximum number of amplifiers may be traversed before regeneration is necessary. Regeneration (typically carried out in an optical cross-connect) involves relatively expensive hardware and is to be avoided if possible. An algorithm is set out which operates in two stages. In a first stage untenable paths are rejected and in a second stage the shortest path analyzes are carried out which maximizes the number of amplifiers interspersed between regenerative nodes thereby to minimize the use of regenerative nodes but ensures that all paths have regenerative nodes spaced at no more than a maximum interval of non-regenerative nodes.