Optical-computing-enabled Network: A New Dawn for Optical-layer Intelligence?
Dao Thanh Hai, Minh Nguyen, Isaac Woungang
TL;DR
The paper addresses the bottleneck of rigid optical-bypass architectures in meeting growing traffic demands. It proposes an optical-computing-enabled network that integrates optical computing into the optical layer to enable in-network aggregation of lightpaths. An ILP formulation for routing, wavelength and computing assignment is developed and evaluated on NSFNET and INDIA networks. The results indicate spectral gains up to about thirty-five percent with average gains around sixteen percent, suggesting a feasible pathway toward higher spectrum efficiency and flexibility in next-generation optical transport networks. This work points to a paradigm shift toward optical-layer intelligence, with practical implications for capacity planning and network design.
Abstract
Inspired by the renaissance of optical computing recently, this poster presents a disruptive outlook on the possibility of seamless integration between optical communications and optical computing infrastructures, paving the way for achieving optical-layer intelligence and consequently boosting the capacity efficiency. This entails a paradigm shift in optical node architecture from the currently used optical-bypass to a novel one, entitled, optical-computing-enabled mode, where in addition to the traditional add-drop and cross-connect functionalities, optical nodes are upgraded to account for optical-computing capabilities between the lightpath entities directly at the optical layer. A preliminary study focusing on the optical aggregation operation is examined and early simulation results indicate a promising spectral saving enabled by the optical-computing-enabled mode compared with the optical-bypass one.