Strategy for Resource Allocation in Elastic Optical Networks Considering Physical Layer Impairments and Spectrum Fragmentation

− Resource allocation strategies in optical networks are fundamental due to bandwidth limitations, increasing data demand, and the consequent need for spectral efficiency. They allow for improving optical spectrum usage and ensure flexibility in the face of the dynamic nature of traffic and the coexistence of different services, reducing costs and contributing to the system’s reliability. In this context, this work proposes a resource allocation strategy that combines power assignment with spectrum allocation. Power assignment is done by launching the minimum required power plus a margin according to the route’s state. Meanwhile, spectrum allocation is performed through a modified version of the Min Slot Continuity Capacity Loss (MSCL) heuristic, capable of finding a set of frequency slots in a route, which results in minor allocation capacity loss. The choice of the MSCL algorithm was motivated by the possibility of increasing spectral efficiency through the reduction of physical layer penalties and the reduction of spectrum fragmentation by combining freedom degrees: launch power of light, modulation, route, and spectrum. The developed heuristic was tested on two networks with distinct characteristics and compared with two reference approaches. The results demonstrated a significant superiority in terms of reducing the blocking probability. © 2024 SBMO/SBMag.