A delay-based void filling DBA in long-reach EPON for multimedia services

Long-reach passive optical networks are one of the proposed solutions to the merging of access and metro networks into a single system for lowering deployment costs. As propagation delays increase proportional to the network range, new designs of scheduling and bandwidth distribution schemes need to be considered to mitigate its effects on overall packet delay. This paper presents an interleaved polling scheme for Ethernet Passive Optical Networks based on the well-known IPACT algorithm with Limited Service granting. The proposed algorithm takes advantage of the idle time gaps caused by heterogeneous propagation delays and bursty traffic, and utilizes an enhanced Limited Service granting scheme based on the packet delay approximation of ONUs. Simulation results show that the proposed scheduling and bandwidth distribution schemes achieve lower packet delays in providing multimedia services in long-reach EPON systems when compared to IPACT.