The Development Of A Tool For Dynamic Traffic Blocking Modelling In Automatic Switched Optical Networks

The merging of telecommunications and computer networks into one network handling voice, data and video communications has resulted in data traffic (mainly Internet-related traffic) overtaking voice-generated traffic in volume. In South Africa, although data traffic has overtaken voice traffic in volume, the latter remains the main source of revenue for network operators. Therefore, the optical backbone networks will have to evolve to an optimised model for carrying high volumes of data-centric traffic and thus enable operators to increase their revenues from this type of traffic. The advent of Automatic Switched Optical Networks (ASONs) will facilitate this evolution. An ASON is a DWDM-based network designed to provide client networks and customers with flexible transport services that comprise permanent, soft-permanent and switched optical connections. We have developed a tool for modelling blocking probability in a data-centric optical network. In this article we propose a new dynamic-traffic blocking model, used in our tool for the IP-over-ASON configuration, for characterising and evaluating the altered traffic pattern due to the changing importance of voice and data generated traffic relative to each other. The dynamic-traffic blocking model proposed in this study has been tested for switched optical connections for telesurgery purposes, which demands very high connection reliability in different current communication networks in Europe and South Africa. The results thereof are within close proximity of ''zero'' (<= 2.28 x 10(-3) ) probability of connection blocking and interruption, as required for telesurgery.