IoT (Internet of Things) services are emerging and the bandwidth requirements for rich media communication services are increasing exponentially. We propose a virtual edge architecture comprising computation resource management layers and path bandwidth management layers for easy addition and reallocation of new service node functions. These functions are performed by the Virtualized Network Function (VNF), which accommodates terminals covering a corresponding access node to realize fast VNF migration. To increase network size for IoT traffic, VNF migration is limited to the VNF that contains the active terminals, which leads to a 20% reduction in the computation of VNF migration. Fast dynamic bandwidth allocation for dynamic bandwidth paths is realized by proposed Hierarchical Time Slot Allocation of Optical Layer 2 Switch Network, which attain the minimum calculation time of less than 1/100.

The λ-tunable WDM/TDM-PON is a promising candidate for next-generation optical access networks since it can provide load balancing between optical subscriber units, power savings, high reliability, and pay-as-you-grow capability. In a λ-tunable WDM/TDM-PON system, the degradation of communication quality caused by wavelength switching should be minimized. The system should also preferably be able to change wavelengths of multi ONUs simultaneously to make wavelength reallocation speed high. The system should also be able to accommodate ONUs whose wavelength tuning times are different. The challenge to meet all three requirements is to suppress latency degradation and frame loss when wavelengths of multi-type ONU are switched simultaneously in WDM/TDM-PON systems. We proposed an OLT architecture and a wavelength switching method that cooperates with traffic control to suppress frame loss and latency degradation by multi-ONU wavelength switching. However, there have been no reports on the impact on latency of downstream and upstream traffic when wavelengths of multi-ONU are simultaneously switched in λ-tunable WDM/TDM-PON. In this paper, we evaluate and analyze the impact of wavelength switching on latency in 40 Gbps WDM/TDM-PON systems. An experiment results show that latency degradation and frame loss are suppressed. Dynamic wavelength allocation operation with 8-ONUs-simulateous wavelength switching in 512-ONUs WDM/TDM-PON system is demonstrated.

Flexible resource utilization in terms of adaptive use of optical bandwidth with agile reconfigurability is key for future metro networks. To address this issue, we focus on optical subwavelength switched network architectures that leverage high-speed optical switching technologies and can accommodate dynamic traffic cost-effectively. Although optical subwavelength switched networks have been attracting attention, most conventional studies apply static (pre-planned) protection scenarios in the networks of limited sizes. In this paper, we discuss optical switch requirements, the use of transceivers, and protection schemes to cost-effectively create large-scale reliable metro networks. We also propose a cost-effective adaptive protection scheme appropriate for optical subwavelength switched networks using our fast time-slot allocation algorithm. The proposed scheme periodically re-optimizes the bandwidth of both working and protection paths to prevent bandwidth resources from being wasted. The numerical examples verify the feasibility of our proposed scheme and the impact on network resources.

We have demonstrated switching characteristics in a wavelength switch based on multiple GaInAs/InP quantum wells. It consisted of straight arrayed waveguides with a linearly varying refractive index distribution. The refractive index can be changed via the thermo-optic (TO) effect. Using a Ti/Au thin-film heater to generate the TO effect, we realized four-port switching at four demultiplexed wavelengths. In addition, by changing the structure of the heater from rectangular to triangular, the power consumption for four-port switching was reduced by half.

Wavelength demultiplexed light switching is numerically calculated in the variable index arrayed waveguide. Wavelength demultiplexed light is switched in 4 output ports by changing the refractive index of variable index arrayed waveguide with 16 array waveguides. In the calculation, the phase differences in each arrayed waveguide, and the diffraction in the star coupler are considered. In 4 output ports switching, numerically calculated the refractive index changes of 16 array waveguides are numerically calculated to obtain the 24 switching pattern, and also calculated the crosstalk of each switching.

A translucent wavelength switched optical network (WSON) is a cost-efficient infrastructure between opaque networks and transparent optical networks, which aims at seeking a graceful balance between network cost and service provisioning performance. In this paper, we experimentally present a resilient translucent WSON with the control of an enhanced path computation element (PCE) and extended generalized multi-protocol label switching (GMPLS) controllers. An adaptive routing and wavelength assignment scheme with the consideration of accumulated physical impairments, wavelength availabilities and regenerator allocation is experimentally demonstrated and evaluated for dynamic provisioning of lightpaths. By using two different network scenarios, we experimentally verify the feasibility of the proposed solutions in support of translucent WSON, and quantitatively evaluate the path computation latency, network blocking probability and service disruption time during end-to-end lightpath restoration. We also deeply analyze the experimental results and discuss the synchronization between the PCE and the network status. To the best of our knowledge, the most significant progress and contribution of this paper is that, for the first time, all the proposed methodologies in support of PCE/GMPLS controlled translucent WSON, including protocol extensions and related algorithms, are implemented in a network testbed and experimentally evaluated in detail, which allows verifying their feasibility and effectiveness when being potentially deployed into real translucent WSON.

We have successfully demonstrated a GaInAs/InP multiple quantum well (MQW)-based wavelength switch composed of the straight arrayed waveguide with linearly varying refractive index distribution by changing the refractive index using thermo-optic effect. Since optical path length differences between waveguides in the array were achieved through refractive index differences that were controlled by SiO2 mask design in selective metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE), wavelength demultiplexing, and the output port switching in each wavelength of light by the refractive index change in the array waveguides through the thermo-optic effect were achieved. We have obtained the wavelength switching and the change of transmission spectra in each output ports.

The wavelength switching performance of a super-structure-grating DBR laser (SSG-DBR-LD) has been investigated. The lasing wavelength could be selected by directly modulating the wavelength tuning region with the switching time of less than a few nanoseconds. We observed that the pulse width of the output signal in each lasing wavelength monotonically changed with increasing the injection current amplitude when the low level of injection current was fixed. This is considered to be due to the increase of transient time from high level to low level of injection current when the amplitude increases and time duration for carrier density to satisfy the lasing mode at the low level of injection current decreases. For improving the stability of the pulse width of the output signal, a novel method of the mean level of injection current pulse fixed is proposed. Almost the same pulse width for wavelength switching from one supermode to another has been realized because the low level of injection current becomes lower than the conventional method and the time duration for carrier density to satisfy the lasing mode at the low level of injection current increases.

An application of wavelength conversion laser diodes (WCLDs) to a photonic cross-connect system using wavelength-division (WD) technology is presented. We propose a novel WD photonic cross-connect node architecture with multiwavelength selective filters. By using the filters, we can construct a nonblocking cross-connect switch by 2-stage connection. Next we describe the requirements to the optical devices in our switch, especially to the wavelength conversion devices in configuring a multistage connection of our switch. Finally, we have conducted the wavelength switching experiments using our wavelength conversion laser diode at a bit rate of 125Mb/s and shown its applicability to a WD photonic cross-connect system with over 3,000 channels.