Multi-granular optical cross-connects for the CANON network scenario

Todaypsilas core networks deploy wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) to offer high capacity of the order of 1 Tb/sec and long reach transmission of the order of 1000 km. In such systems, the information is transmitted optically on different wavelengths but it is transferred across the network through fibre links that are terminated by SONET/SDH equipment. In such networks, layer crossing is inevitable, requiring deep data inspection and complex protocol processing, resulting in limited scalability and high installation, operation and maintenance cost. It is however the only reliable end-to-end service delivery scenario available today that utilises the optical bandwidth and guarantees provisioning of resources. In this paper we review the alternative concept of CANON (clustered architecture for nodes in optical networks), a scenario that utilises clustering of nodes in ring topologies to create a hierarchy in transporting traffic in a dynamic, future proof and scalable manner. Here we emphasize on the optical crossconnect architectures that can serve such a network scenario.