Innovative Technology for Virtual Leased-Line Services for High-Speech Networks

High-performance optical networks play a pivotal role within the DOE complex by enabling high-bandwidth communication and collaboration over long distances. The problem, however, is that optical networks do not have the same buffering capacity as electrical networks, and, thus, they require new techniques and protocols to share optical links. Many current techniques result in poor network utilization as the path length increases. This project will develop innovative network protocols and real-time scheduling algorithms to optimize the reservation of network links, thereby dramatically improving optical network utilization. Phase I will involve the design, simulation, and tuning of network protocols that enable leased-line service quality in buffer-limited optical networks. A detailed analysis of the computational requirements of the real-time scheduler will also be performed. Commercial Applications And Other Benefits as described by the Applicant: High-quality, high-speed optical networks not only is needed by the DOE but also is needed by network service providers. This effort will improve network utilization and, thus, provide more usable bandwidth using commercially available optical networks. The market for passive optical network equipment was estimated to be over $500 million in 2004, with the number of subscribers expected to reach 20 million by 2008.