Power consumption modeling in optical multilayer networks

The evaluation of and reduction in energy consumption of backbone telecommunication networks has been a popular subject of academic research for the last decade. A critical parameter in these studies is the power consumption of the individual network devices. It appears that across different studies, a wide range of power values for similar equipment is used. This is a result of the scattered and limited availability of power values for optical multilayer network equipment. We propose reference power consumption values for Internet protocol/multiprotocol label switching, Ethernet, optical transport networking and wavelength division multiplexing equipment. In addition we present a simplified analytical power consumption model that can be used for large networks where simulation is computationally expensive or unfeasible. For illustration and evaluation purpose, we apply both calculation approaches to a case study, which includes an optical bypass scenario. Our results show that the analytical model approximates the simulation result to over 90% or higher and that optical bypass potentially can save up to 50% of power over a non-bypass scenario.