Joint multicast survivability and hybrid QoS differentiation for bandwidth usage optimization and variable traffic control in elastic optical networks

Elastic optical networks (EONs) are a promising solution for future optical transport networks, managing spectrum resources and high bandwidth scalability while ensuring traffic duplication and orientation to support multicast services. However, the growing demand for high-bandwidth multicast applications presents recent challenges affecting variable traffic demands, resource survivability, and QoS (Quality of Service) control. This paper introduces a joint multicast survivability and hybrid QoS differentiation (MS-HQD) scheme designed to address these challenges. MS-HQD effectively manages single and multiple light tree failures by employing an appropriate strategy that enhances spectrum allocation and satisfies varying traffic needs, particularly requiring maximum loss rate (RMLR) and blocking delay (RMBD). The developed mathematical model offers a novel cost formulation to supervise bandwidth usage (BWU), diverse traffic demands, and light tree protection, whether shared, dedicated, or both. The introduced algorithm utilizes this formulation to optimize the allocation of frequency slot units (FSUs) over selected protection paths based on traffic requirements. Simulation results demonstrate that MS-HQD reduces BWU by approximately 10% and protection switching time (PST) by about 16% while ensuring RMLR and RMBD compared to conventional methods under varying high traffic loads.