Path allocation access control in fiber optic communication systems

The authors consider a path-oriented channel allocation management. As opposed to multiaccess protocols of existing fiber-optic systems, in the proposed approach the outgoing channel of the source node and the incoming channel of the destination node are allocated time-sequentially, creating a time-dependent virtual path for all pairs of users. Using the time-oriented path allocation, the need for packet buffering at the central node is eliminated multiple channels can be utilized simultaneously for different transmissions, and packet delays are bounded. The authors demonstrate that the same approach is feasible for efficient control of multibeam satellite systems. They introduce a tractable analytic model for the evaluation of communication systems based on this approach. The model is used to evaluate the proposed system performance under different switching functionalities of the central node. In addition to providing the throughput/delay characteristics of the system, the model shows a relation between the degree of star symmetry and the system performance, with the equidistant node arrangement yielding the optimal performance.<>