Multi-path adaptive optical burst forwarding

Reducing burst contention is an inherently challenging problem in optical burst switched (OBS) networks. We present a new proactive approach for tackling this problem; the approach is based on adaptive use of multiple paths between edge nodes. The proposed adaptive framework is entirely edge-assisted, distributed, and scalable; it can be employed with any OBS control architecture. The framework is based on (1) dynamically finding, among multiple paths for forwarding bursts, the optimal path that yields a global low burst drop probability throughout the network and (2) pipelined burst delivery for seamless path shifting and also to avoid out-of-order packet delivery. Simulation studies on various network and load scenarios demonstrate a significant reduction of burst contention compared to the existing single path non-adaptive case.