Polymorphic control for cost-effective design of optical networks

A WDM optical layer can provide differentiated services to various upper layer protocols by forming many virtual optical networks (VONs). Polymorphic control of an optical layer in the form of On-demand-reconfiguration in some VONs and Self-reconfiguration in other VONs is proposed. The former is suitable for bursty traffic and short-lived connections, and the latter is for steady traffic and long-lived connections. In respect to On-demand-reconfiguration, efficient distributed wavelength reservation protocols, and in particular optical burst switching (OBS) protocols supporting bursty traffic (e.g. Internet traffic) are described. In respect to Self-reconfiguration, optimal algorithms to schedule all-to-all personalized communications (AAPC) in WDM rings and its extensions are described.