CONRAD: a novel medium access control protocol for WDM local lightwave networks enabling efficient convergence of real-time and data services

Abstract

This paper proposes a new medium access control (MAC) protocol named CONRAD (CONvergence of Real-time And Data services) for a passive-star based single-hop WDM local lightwave network which efficiently supports services with tight delay constraints, i.e. real-time traffic, and best-effort services, i.e. data traffic, directly in the optical layer. The integration of both service types in a packet-switched environment is primarily achieved by combining two different reservation schemes on the control channel, instead of applying conventional priority strategies or circuit-switched approaches. Thereby, a significant improvement of the access delay balance between real-time and data transmission may be obtained, while the system achieves high throughputs.