Load-sensitive deflection routing for contention resolution in optical packet switched networks

Contention resolution schemes are the key determinant of the network performance in optical packet switched networks. This paper presents a contention resolution scheme in wavelength and space dimension. By integrating deflection routing with wavelength conversion, this paper investigates their effects on packet-loss performance through simulation studies. In particular, we propose a load-sensitive deflection algorithm to compute the preferred and deflection routing tables. The proposed algorithm proves effective in resolving contention and in reducing packet-loss rate. The load-sensitive deflection routing can share network resources between multiple nodes effectively and produce the same effect as increasing the number of wavelengths in each node. The load-sensitive deflection routing is most effective when the load is high in some parts of the network.