Programmable Multi-Granular Optical Router: Modular Architecture and Testing

Dynamic, flexible and programmable network nodes will enable the key infrastructure for the Future Internet. Reengineering of the traditional router architectures is required in order to allow hardware- and vendor-independent routing functions and to design open and cost-effective service platforms. This paper presents a modular programmable router architecture to support multi-granular routing based on optical switching matrices, according to recent IETF standards. A possible implementation of the proposed concepts is demonstrated using a software-based optical router emulator, which integrates optical packet and circuit switching paradigms. The emulator is designed as a test platform to prove the feasibility of different subsystems and their interoperability.