Performance modeling of bufferless WDM packet switching networks with limited-range wavelength conversion

All optical communication is attracting more and more attention because of the huge bandwidth of optics. In this paper, we study the performance of bufferless optical wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) packet switching networks with limited-range wavelength conversion capabilities. We first introduce an optimal scheduling algorithm that maximizes the throughput of the switch. We then derive an analytical model to evaluate the performance of the switch in terms of packet-loss probability. Our model is the first accurate analytical model for a bufferless WDM packet switch with variable conversion distances, and can be used to quantitatively determine the maximum load for a given conversion distance or the minimum conversion distance for a given traffic load. We also conducted simulations to validate the analytical model. Both the analytical and simulation results reveal that limited-range wavelength conversion can achieve almost the same performance as full-range wavelength conversion.