A Proposal and Evaluation of Multi-class Optical Path Protection Scheme for Reliable Computing

Emerging GMPLS (Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching)-based photonic networks are expected to realize dynamic allocation of network resources for high-performance computing. To address diverse reliability requirements of computing, various optical path recovery schemes, some of them under GMPLS standardization, should be supported on a photonic network. This paper proposes multi-class optical path protection scheme, supporting 1+1 protection, M:N protection, and extra path reusing back-up resources, for a unified approach to build such a network. The proposed scheme was implemented on an OXC prototype and its path establishment time and failure recovery time were evaluated. It was confirmed that a node supporting a wide range of recovery capabilities could realize small or relatively small recovery time to various applications according to their diverse reliability requirements.