Optical backbone topology choice

Historically, the ring has been extensively used in the implementation of optical core networks. The ring topology consists of consecutive nodes, which are connected by point-to-point links to form a closed path. Mesh networks can be formed from a ring structure by taking into consideration the number of wavelengths required for full mesh connectivity in a ring with N nodes. Wavelengths differ in the even and odd number of nodes and in most cases the even number of nodes produces the most cost effective method of forming a mesh from a ring. In this paper, we consider the KwaZulu Natal optical ring network, deployed by Telkom SA, and illustrate its transformation into a mesh topology. We demonstrate the advantages of mesh over ring at different numbers of nodes i.e. both even and odd number and show the traffic handling capability of the mesh topology, as well as delays, in both topologies