Optical Communications Efficient burst aggregation for QoS-aware slotted OBS systems

The burst aggregation strategy in Optical Burst Switching systems is a balancing act between delay to assemble the burst and efficiency in filling it. The longer the assembly time, the better the fill level. Slotted systems can simplify control and avoid very short and inefficient bursts but the slot assembly strategy becomes a critical issue particularly when service quality must be supported by differentiated treatment of real-time and elastic traffic. The strict delay requirements of the demanding class can significantly reduce system efficiency by often emitting poorly filled slots. A slot aggregation strategy that creates a composite slot, improving utilization gain while respecting service guarantees, is presented and evaluated in this paper.