Dynamic converter-aware wavelength assignment in WDM networks with sparse conversion capability

In wavelength-routed optical networks, wavelength converters are considered as one of the most critical network resources. Unfortunately, previous wavelength assignment algorithms have seldom considered their presence. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a novel dynamic algorithm that can minimize the number of wavelength translations required for each lightpath. Our algorithm establishes a lightpath by chaining a minimum number of wavelength-continuous segments, called lambda-runs. The simulations show that our algorithm performs as well as the existing optimal algorithm while it is very scalable and easy to implement.