Multi-Fasnet protocol: short-term fairness control in WDM slotted MANs

Single-hop wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) ring networks operating in packet mode are a promising architecture for the design of innovate Metropolitan Area Networks. They allow a cost-effective design, with a good combination of optical and electronic technologies, while supporting features like restoration and reconfiguration that are essential in any metropolitan scenario. In this article, we address the fairness problem in a slotted WDM optical network. We introduce the Multi-Fasnet fairness protocol, we discuss its limitations and we propose an extension, based on a dynamic strategy, that achieves high aggregate network throughput, throughput fairness, and bounded and fair access delays.