On the fairness of dynamic bandwidth allocation schemes in Ethernet passive optical networks

Ethernet passive optical networks (EPONs) technology has emerged as a promising candidate for next-generation broadband access networks. As this technology evolves, the development of efficient dynamic bandwidth allocation (DBA) algorithms has become a key concern. This paper devises and presents the principle and implementation issues of a new robust DBA scheme. This proposed scheme consistently maintains a robust fairness mechanism in the DBA operation. With the better maintained fairness mechanism, network performance is improved; specifically average packet delay and upstream link utilization, as well as inter-ONU statistical bandwidth multiplexing. Detailed simulation experiments are presented to study the performance and to validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.