Abstract

Generalized MultiProtocol Switching (GMPLS) is the proposed control plane solution for next generation optical networking. It is an extension to MPLS that enable lightpaths to be automatically setup and torn down by means of a signaling protocol. It is the first step towards the integration of data and optical network architectures. GMPLS also allows LSP hierarchy at different layers in the network architecture.

In this talk, an optimal policy is presented for the dynamic setup and tear-down of LSPs and lightpaths in response to new traffic demands in order to operate the Internet backbone networks more efficiently. It allows to adjust the virtual topologies both at the MPLS level and the optical level. The ITE approach is crucial to the dynamic topology adaptation of optical networks. ITE provides the capability to dynamically add capacity to the optical network when necessary. This adaptability leads to better QoS satisfaction and negligent request rejection. The proposed optimal policy is derived based on the Markov Decision Process theory and a sub-optimal policy is obtained by some simplifications to the optimal policy. In addition, a threshold-based policy is also presented where the threshold is derived from economic considerations related to bandwidth reservation/utilization, switching and signaling the new LSP and lightpath information to the relevant nodes. The threshold calculation requires knowledge of only few network-wide constant parameters along with local node state. Thus, this method is highly scalable and easy to implement. Performance comparison of the proposed policies with a few heuristics is also provided.

Biography

Tricha Anjali is a doctoral candidate in the Broadband and Wireless Networking Laboratory at the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Georgia Institute of Technology. She received her Integrated M.Tech. degree in Electrical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology - Mumbai (Bombay), India in June 1998. She expects to receive her Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering in April 2004. Her research and teaching interests are in the fields of computer and broadband networks, network measurement, network design and management.