Wavelength Allocation Strategies in Optically Switched Networks for Avionics

In this paper, an architecture for an optically-switched avionics network is presented. The performance of this architecture was analyzed using simulative experiments for two wavelength allocation strategies. Additionally, the effects of varying the timeslot period and maximum number of consecutively allotted timeslots were analyzed. Results showed slightly lower packet latencies with a fixed-destination wavelength protocol. Larger timeslot periods, up to 1,000 ns, also improved performance, although further increases would not be beneficial. The optimal parameters for any platform will always depend upon the nature of the network traffic. Our modeling tools and approach allow us to evaluate such design decisions for a wide range of network scenarios