Modeling and Performance Analysis of Small Group Multicast with Deflection Routing in Optical Burst Switched Networks

In this paper, we focus on the problem of effectively supporting a large number of small group multicasts in optical burst switched (OBS) networks. We first propose a multicast scheme for small group multicast in OBS networks. To reduce burst loss due to potential burst contentions, a deflection routing scheme for multicast is proposed. We then develop an analytical model to evaluate the performance of the multicast scheme and the deflection routing scheme. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first analytical model proposed for the problem of multicast with deflection routing. The model is very general in the sense that it can handle unicast traffic, multicast traffic, and the mixture of unicast and multicast traffic, with or without deflection routing. The analytical model is verified through simulations. Numerical results show that the analytical model is accurate, and that, under low or medium network load, deflection routing for multicasting can significantly reduce burst loss while slightly increasing burst delay.