Design issues for edge nodes in agile all-photonic networks

This paper raises the issues faced in edge node design for an agile all-photonic network (AAPN) and proposes solutions. The architecture discussed addresses several issues such as packet processing, traffic aggregation and encapsulation, buffers implementation, local scheduling, QoS provision, traffic monitoring and internal control mechanisms. The main goal of this work is to provide a detailed description of the functional modules considering technologies readily available now or immediately on the horizon