Multi-MetaRing Protocol: Fairness in Optical Packet Ring Networks

We focus on metropolitan area networks operating in packet mode and exploiting a single-hop wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) architecture. First, we briefly describe a specific slotted WDM optical network, based on a folded bus topology. Then, we address the fairness problem arising in this architecture and propose an extension of the MetaRing protocol to a WDM scenario. Two possible strategies are defined and analyzed. Finally, we show that both fair access and high aggregate network throughput can be achieved by properly handling node access through all WDM channels.