Burst segmentation: an approach for reducing packet loss in optical burst switched networks

In this paper we address the issue of contention resolution in optical burst switched networks, and we introduce an approach for reducing packet losses which is based on the concept of burst segmentation. In burst segmentation, rather than dropping the entire burst during contention, the burst may be broken into multiple segments, and only the overlapping segments are dropped. The segmentation scheme is investigated in conjunction with a deflection scheme through simulation, and it is shown that segmentation with deflection can achieve a significantly reduced packet loss rate.