Label-switching architecture for IP traffic over WDM networks

The paper focuses on the architecture of running IP traffic directly in a DWDM network using label switching which effectively simplifies the protocol layers between the IP and the DWDM network backbone. A label-switching optical network architecture based on multiple protocol label switching for routing and label assignment is proposed. The performance evaluation for the proposed network architecture focuses on the effects of IP traffic load, the burst nature of IP traffic and the interchannel interference caused by the fibre nonlinear four-wave mixing. Numerical results including IP packet error probability and high-order distribution functions of IP packet error such as IP packet free-run distribution and IP packet error pattern distribution are presented in terms of IP traffic load, input light signal power and the frequency space between the optical wavelengths. These results provide useful reference and estimation to system designers