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Effects of Packet Size and Wavelength Numbers

on Delay and Link Utilization in WRONs by using
OWns
Asima Nisar*

Abstract—New networking protocols are desired essentially in future Optical Wide Area Network (OWAN) environments to meet increasing
demands of communication with low latency and high bandwidth. In this paper, a simulation study based on 100 nodes random topology is
conducted to observe packet delay patterns and efficient link utilization for two session traffic sources Exponential and CBR (Constant Bit
Rate), with number of wavelengths (16, 32, 48 and 64) while varying packet sizes ranging from 100 to 1000 bytes. By using OWns (Optical
WDM network simulator), an optimal packet size is presented for Exponential session traffic as one of the design considerations of new
protocol in Wavelength Routed Optical Networks (WRONs) with Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) technology. Simulation results also
show that Exponential session traffic performs better as compare to CBR session traffic in terms of average packet delay and link utilization.

Index Terms—Average Packet Delay, Link Utilization, Optical WDM network simulator (OWns), Wavelength Routed Optical Networks
(WRONs)

——————————  ——————————

1. INTRODUCTION

F IBER communications have already a dominant role as a

truly broadband networking transport infrastructure due
to their ability to grow gracefully, especially after the
emergence of the WDM technology [5]. Optical WDM net-
working technology has been identified as a suitable candidate
for future WAN environments due to its potential ability to
meet rising demands of low latency and high bandwidth
communication [1]. Optical networks are high-capacity tele-
communications networks based on optical technologies and
components that provide routing, grooming and restoration at
the wavelength level as well as wavelength-based services.
WDM or optical transport networks have assumed important
significance due to their ability to carry large amounts of data
traffic. In such networks, data is transmitted from its source to
its destination in optical form. Switching and routing opera-
tions are solely performed in the optical domain without under
doing any optical-to-electrical conversion. In the absence of any
wavelength conversion a connection (also called a lightpath) is
supposed to use the same wavelength on all links along the
chosen path [4].
By using OWns, this simulation study is conducted to
investigate effects of varying packet size on average packet
delay and link utilization with Exponential and CBR traffic
sources in WRONs. Further simulations are performed to find
effects of different wavelength numbers on these two network
performance parameters; namely, average packet delay and
link utilization. This information can be useful while designing
new networking protocol(s) to meet the upcoming operational
requirements in future optical WANs with WDM technology.
————————————————
* Asima Nisar is Assistant Professor in Dept. of Computer Science & I.T., Federal
Urdu University of Arts, Sciences and Technology, Gulshan Campus, Karachi -
75300, Pakistan.
Briefings of layered architecture of optical WDM networks,
topology of Optical WDM networks, and overview of OWns
including its architecture, components and functionalities are
discussed in section 2 as background. In section 3, related work
is discussed. Further, simulation study with scenario configu-
ration, simulation parameter values and OWnam’s visual out-
put is presented here as well. Simulation results and relevant
graphs are discussed in section 4. Conclusion and future work
are mentioned in section 5. References are listed in section 6.
2. BACKGROUND
2.1 Optical WDM Networks: Layered Architecture
The WDM network consists of atleast an IP layer and an optical
layer. According to ITU-T (International Telecommunications
Union – Telecommunication standard), deployment of WDM
technology introduces a new layer in the layered hierarchy,
named ‘Optical Layer’. Optical layer consists of a set of
lightpath established on the physical topology of the network.
Optical layer provides circuit-switched lightpath service to
higher its layers, such as SONET/SDH, ATM and IP [3].
Optical Channel layer provides wavelength routing
and switching functions to establish end-to-end optical connec-
tions between network nodes for transparent data delivery.
Optical Multiplex layer is responsible for the aggregation of
multiple signals. Optical Transmission Layer handles transmis-
sion of optical signals on different types of optical fibers such
as single-mode and/or multi-mode fibers [3].

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Fig. 1. Layered network [3]
2.2 Topology of Optical WDM Networks
The topology of WDM networks is an important architectural
issue that needs careful attention. The mesh configuration is
more flexible than the other options. Cost reduction in 10 Gb/s
optics would make the optical mesh architecture even more
attractive. So, the next generation Internet backbone would be
a flexible, reconfigurable and reliable mesh optical network
with OXCs (Optical Cross Connects) connected to one another
[3]. Optical mesh networks will enable a variety of dynamic
services such as bandwidth-on-demand, just-in-time band-
width, bandwidth scheduling, bandwidth brokering, and opti-
cal virtual private networks that open up new opportunities for
service providers and their customers alike [4].
Fig. 2. Wavelength Routed WDM Mesh Network [3]
2.3 OWns: Overview
OWns (an extension of network simulator ns2; designed espe-
cially to simulate optical WDM networks) has been developed
as a generic framework to study routing in Optical WDM net-
works. It provides a definite support for modeling of WDM
network characteristics, generating random network topology
44
with (Exponential, CBR, and Pareto) traffic patterns, evaluating
performance of new protocols, and making possible to visual-
ize simulation events/sub-events with an option of extensibili-
ty in all of its features. For this OWns has two scenario genera-
tion tools, namely topology generator and traffic generator.
Topology generator creates random topologies according to a
set of specified parameters with a definite number of wave-
lengths. Traffic generator generates random traffic source des-
tination pairs, according to specified traffic models and para-
meters [1].
OWnam, an extension to nam of ns, is designed to vi-
sualize WDM network scenarios for circuit-driven environ-
ment. Mainly, it has two components, one is events monitor
and other is virtual topology statistics. Event monitor is used to
capture and display dynamic events that occur in virtual to-
pologies. Virtual topology statistics is used to visualize the dy-
namic information of virtual topology construction involving
the current state of virtual topology, the state of established
lightpaths, and wavelength usage on multi-wavelength links
[1].
2.3.1 OWns: Architecture and Layers
OWns architecture encompasses the key characteris-
tics of WDM networks including optical switching nodes, mul-
ti-wavelength links, and RWA (Routing and Wavelength As-
signment) algorithms. OWns adopts a certain level of abstrac-
tion to build the specific switching schemes of WDM networks
(e.g. circuit switching) based on the packet switching frame-
work of ns2. A new class of traffic sources termed the session
traffic is implemented to generate traffic sessions suitable for
WDM circuit switching simulations. The traffic generator ran-
domizes source and destination pairs according to their uni-
form distribution. By default, all generated multi-wavelength
links have the same wavelength number and all wavelengths
have the same bandwidth.
Fig. 3. OWns architecture and layers [1]
OWns view the physical and logical topology of WDM
networks being implemented as the physical layer and the log-
ical layer respectively. It uses C++ to implement efficient build-
ing blocks (such as nodes, links, traffic models, and existing
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protocol suites) as well as transmission mechanisms and a
scripting language OTcl, an object-oriented extension of Tcl as
a glue (simulation description languages that configure simula-
tion scenarios). The current version of OWns supports circuit
switching [1].
2.3.2 OWns: Components and Functionalities
OWns circuit-switched architecture is composed of
routing module, WA module, optical switching nodes, and the
multi-wavelength links. Optical switching node, multi-
wavelength link, routing module, and WA (Wavelength As-
signment) module are implemented as WDMNode, duplex-
FiberLink, RouteLogic/ Wavelength, and WAssignLogic ob-
jects respectively. Multi-channel structures of multi-
wavelength links are centrally maintained in the ‘Logical
Layer’. WA module works along with routing module to com-
pute wavelength assignment, set up lightpaths, and construct
the virtual topology. Relying on these results, optical nodes
forward incoming traffic to the corresponding next hops
through multi-wavelength links [1].
3. RELATED WORK AND SIMULATION STUDY
In order to meet bandwidth demand and decreasing cost,
many researches have been done in the domain of switching
modes in optical network [7].
3.1 Optical Switching Techniques
With the tremendous growth of Internet Protocol (IP) traffic
and the rapid development of WDM technology, optical fiber
switching techniques have been promoted over recent years.
Up to now, there are mainly three kinds of optical network
switching techniques being raised, namely, Optical Circuit
Switching (OCS), Optical Packet Switching (OPS), Optical
Burst Switching (OBS).
3.1.1 Optical Circuit Switching (OCS)
OCS is perfectly fit for large, stable and long duration
traffic flows where the lightpath setup overhead is amortized
over a large amount of traffic and thus can be ignored. So, OCS
can easily support QoS (Quality of Service) and traffic engi-
neering. In OCS networks, lightpath for a large flow requires
dedicated wavelengths on all links. In this way, it cannot per-
form multiplexing of wavelength with higher bandwidth utili-
zation [6].
3.1.2 Optical Packet Switching (OPS)
In OPS, packets are buffered and routed in the optical
domain. OPS networks have the switching granularity on the
packets level. The functionality of OPS node should include;
decoding packet header (can be electronic if the packet header
is encoded at lower bit rates), configuring a switch fabric (the
reconfiguration needs to be performed very fast in nanosecond
range), synchronization (for synchronous OPS nodes), multip-
lexing and contention resolution. The lack of flexible optical
buffers makes the contention resolution in optical domain very
difficult [9].
3.1.3 Optical Burst Switching (OBS)
In contrast to OCS, OBS is based on statistical multip-
lexing, which can increase the efficiency of network resource
utilization. OBS networks mainly consist of two types of
switching nodes, namely edge and core nodes. The main func-
45
tions of the edge nodes are optical burst assem-
bly/disassembly, offset time and burst size decision. The OBS
core nodes perform control header lookup, optical crosscon-
necting and data burst monitoring [9].
3.2 Comparison among Optical Switching Techniques
In these modes, OCS is the easiest to deploy, but not efficient to
handle burst data (Non-Real-time traffic). Whereas, OPS is the
optimal choice, but the necessary optical technologies have not
matured yet e.g. optical buffer and optical logic element [7].
Among them, OBS is an integrated one which takes some me-
rits of OCS and OPS while avoiding their demerits [6]. Despite
the benefits of OBS paradigm, its high burst blocking probabili-
ty has delayed its introduction in the industry [8].
3.3 Simulation Study: Why OWns?
As the advent of WDM, hundreds wavelength channels carry-
ing data at rates in order of terabits per second can be multip-
lexed into a single fiber [2]. Networking protocols and algo-
rithms are being developed to meet the changing operational
requirements in future OWANs. Simulation is used in the
study and evaluation of new protocols, and is considered a
critical component of protocol design. But, a lack of uniformity
in the choice of simulation platforms for optical WDM net-
works makes it difficult for researchers to exchange and com-
pare obtained results under a common simulation environ-
ment. To address this need, a WDM network simulation tool
called OWns is developed. By using OWns for 100 nodes ran-
domly generated topology, effects of varying wavelength con-
version factor are studied on network performance parameters
with traffic load 0.3 Erlangs. Similarly, effects of varying traffic
load are observed on network performance parameters having
wavelength conversion factor 0.5 with the same simulation
configuration, mentioned in figure 3 of [1]. In WDM networks,
channels are created by dividing the bandwidth into a number
of wavelength or frequency bands, each of which can be ac-
cessed by the end users at the peak rate their network interfac-
es can support. In order to efficiently utilize this bandwidth,
efficient transport architectures and protocols are needed [5].
This simulation study is conducted to investigate effects of va-
rying packet size with Exponential and CBR traffic sources on
average packet delay and link utilization in OWANs with
WDM technology. In ns2 [10], Exponential traffic objects gen-
erate On/Off traffic. During "on" periods, packets are generat-
ed at a constant burst rate. During "off" periods, no traffic is
generated. CBR objects generate packets at a constant bit rate.
Further, finding effects of varying number of wave-
lengths on network performance parameters (average packet
delay and link utilization) are targeted also to allow studies on
network performance evaluation regarding one of the network-
ing protocol design concerns.
3.4 Simulation Scenario Configuration by using OWns
The default scenario generation tool of OWns is utilized to
generate random topology and traffic. Exponential session traf-
fic and CBR (Constant Bit Rate) session traffic sources are used
for a 100 node random topology separately under same simula-
tion configurations while varying packet size ranging from 100
to 1000 bytes. The script presented in the simulator as Demo
Topology is used to invoke topology generation tool and confi-
gure this simulation. Through this script the RWA algorithm
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with fixed-alternate shortest path routing and first-fit wave- 3.5 OWnam: Visual Tool of OWns
length assignment is evaluated. The wavelength conversion Following is the reflection of visual output of OWnam for the
factor, wavelength conversion distance, connectivity probabili- simulation under study.
ty, traffic pair density and load per traffic pair are set as 0.5, 4,
0.03, 0.6, and 0.3 Erlangs respectively. Wavelength routing is
performed on the shortest path.

TABLE 1
SIMULATION PARAMETERS

Topology
Seed to generate Random to-
pology
Wavelength Routing Protocol WDM Static
Wavelength Assignment Pro-
tocol
Total no. of nodes
Nodes Connection Probability
Link Wavelength number 16, 32, 48, 64
Link Bandwidth
Link Delay
Wavelength Conversion Factor
Wavelength Conversion Dis-
tance
Wavelength Conversion Time
Link Utilization Sample Inter-
val
Traffic Density
Total Session-Traffics in net-
work
Session Traffic Load
Traffic Arrival Rate
Traffic Holding Time
Random
98765
First Fit
100
0.03
Fig. 4. Snapshot of the simulation run
16 Mb In this snapshot shown in Fig. 4, for instance at
461.350770s, a lightpath is created for traffic session 7 from
10ms node 5 to node 52 and lightpath is established on the shortest
0.5 path (path 1) between source and destination without wave-
length conversion.
4
4. SIMULATION RESULTS AND GRAPHS
0.024 100 nodes randomly generated topology with each link having
0.5 16, 32, 48 and 64 wavelengths for two session traffic types Ex-
ponential and CBR is simulated while varying packet size
ranging from 100 to 1000 bytes. Two major network perfor-
0.6 mance measures are strictly observed: average packet delay
10 and link utilization.
4.1 Packet Size vs. Average Packet Delay and Link
0.3 Erlangs Utilization for Exponential Session Traffic
Fig. 5a shows the effects of varying packet size on average
0.5 packet delay with 16, 32, 48 and 64 wavelength numbers along
1.0 the shortest path for Exponential session traffic.

Packet Size 100 – 1000

bytes
Session Traffic Packet Arrival 1 Mb
Rate
Traffic Type Exponential,
CBR
Expoo Traffic Average Burst 0.7
Time
Expoo Traffic Average Idle 0.1
Time
Fig. 5a
Max. Traffic Requests Number 1000
Fig. 5b shows the effects of varying packet size on link
utilization with 16, 32, 48 and 64 wavelength numbers along
the shortest path for Exponential session traffic.
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It is observed for CBR session traffic, there is a

straightforward increase in average packet delay with the in-
crease in packet size while link utilization remains constant
showing no effect of varying packet size for each wavelength
numbers (16, 32, 48 and 64). Further, 16 wavelength numbers
are observed with minimum average packet delay and efficient
link utilization [Fig. 6a], [Fig. 6b].

4.3 Number of Wavelengths vs. Average Packet Delay

for Exponential and CBR Session Traffic
Fig. 7a shows the effects of varying wavelength numbers on
average packet delay along the shortest path for Exponential
and CBR session traffics.
Fig. 5b

It is observed that for Exponential session traffic, at

packet size 300 the average packet delay gets its minimum val-
ue with efficient link utilization for each number of wave-
lengths (16, 32, 48 and 64) in general and particularly 16 wave-
length numbers are found as optimal [Fig. 5a], [Fig. 5b].

4.2 Packet Size vs. Average Packet Delay and Link

Utilization for CBR Session Traffic
Fig. 6a shows the effects of varying packet size on average
packet delay with 16, 32, 48 and 64 wavelength numbers along
the shortest path for CBR session traffic.
Fig. 7a

4.4 Number of Wavelengths vs. Link Utilization for

Exponential and CBR Session Traffic
Fig. 7b shows the effect of varying wavelength numbers on link
utilization along the shortest path for Exponential and CBR
session traffics.

Fig. 6a

Fig. 6b shows the effects of varying packet size on link

utilization with 16, 32, 48 and 64 wavelength numbers along
the shortest path for CBR session traffic.

Fig. 7b

5. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK

OWns provides the sound platform for evaluating routing and
wavelength assignment algorithms and simulating new proto-
col design concerns in OWAN environment by generating ran-
dom WDM network topology with 100 nodes.

Packet delay patterns with optimum link utilization

are observed and it is presented by using OWns that for Expo-
nential session traffic, at packet size 300 the average packet
Fig. 6b
delay is minimized with efficient link utilization at 16 wave-
length numbers.
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Asima Nisar is currently Assistant Professor in

For CBR session traffic, there is a straightforward in-
crease in average packet delay with the increase in packet size
while link utilization remains constant showing no effect of
varying packet size at each wavelength numbers (16, 32, 48 and
64). Further, Exponential session traffic performs well while
comparing it with CBR session traffic in terms of two network
performance metrics; average packet delay and link utilization.
This information can be useful while designing new network-
ing protocol(s) to meet the upcoming operational requirements
in future optical WANs with WDM technology.
The same simulation study can be repeated with Pare-
to session traffic for circuit switching networks by using OWns.
Further, more realistic traffic sources for WANs with packet
switching such as self-similar traffic source with LRD (Long
Range Dependence) will definitely be integrated in OWns to
achieve valuable simulation results.
Dept. of Computer Science and I.T. – Federal Urdu
University of Arts, Sciences & Technology, Gulshan-
e-Iqbal Campus, Karachi – 75300, Pakistan. She
got her Matriculation from P.I.A. Model School, Ka-
rachi in 1991 with A-Grade. She got Higher School
Certificate in 1993 with First division from Govt.
Science College, Malir Cantt - Karachi. She did her
B.Sc. (Honours) in Statistics from University of Ka-
rachi in 1996 with First Class Second position at
Department level. In 1997, she got her M.Sc. de-
gree in Statistics from the University of Karachi with A-Grade. She did her
M.Sc. (Computer Science) from N.E.D. University of Engineeing & Tech-
nology, Karachi in 2001 as second Masters’ degree. In the same year, she
got Diploma in Oracle 8i from ORAsoft Institute, Karachi. These days, she
is just winding up her third Masters’ degree M.S. (Computer Science) in
Networking from PAF-KIET City Campus, Karachi. She has been published
two survey research papers in Technology Forces, Journal of Engineering
and Sciences, ISSN 1994-862x. Her current research interests include
survivability issues against multi-link failures in multi-domain optical WDM
networks.

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