Impact of New Wavelength Grouping Technique Based on the Subpath Concept

1. Introduction Recent advances in photonic cross-connect (XC) systems and their associated switch fabrics are remarkable [1], [2]. Some photonic switches are reported to allow for an abundant switching capability beyond 1000×1000 at the optical path (OP) level. However, the rationale for such large-scale switches has not yet been proven from the viewpoint of network management or operation. Wavelength grouping (WG) is a new feature applicable to the next generation photonic network. Introducing a new layer by the WG technique allows for simpler network management as well as XC switch size reduction [3]. Several authors have reported its impact on XC port/cost quantitatively [4], [5]. This paper introduces a new WG scheme based on the subpath concept, and demonstrates its impact on cost-efficiency. A novel path setup algorithm enabling this concept is also proposed.