Equivalent Random analysis of a buffered optical switch with general interarrival times

We propose an approximate analytic model of an optical switch with fibre delay lines and wavelength converters by employing equivalent random theory. General arrival traffic is modelled by means of gamma-distributed interarrival times. The analysis is formulated in terms of virtual traffic flows within the optical switch from which we derive expressions for burst blocking probability, fibre delay line occupancy and mean delay. Emphasis is on approximations that give good numerical efficiency so that the method can be useful for formulating dimensioning problems for large-scale networks. Numerical solution values from the proposed analysis method compare well with results from a discrete-event simulation of an optical burst switch.