Performance evaluation of an optical packet switch under self-similar traffic

The increasing volume of Internet packet traffic in the telecommunications network has instigated a revolution in traffic modelling techniques, where self-similar instead of Markovian traffic models are now used to produce a realistic representation of data traffic. This paper presents a brief introduction to self-similar traffic and its impact on the performance of an optical node, in terms of packet loss probability and delay. It is demonstrated from simulation results that by employing multiple wavelength channels within the switch and incorporating void-filling, a packet loss probability of 10(-6) can be attained. The generated traffic was subjected to statistical tests, and its Hurst parameter was determined using parameter estimation to verify the theoretical assumptions inherent in using infinite variance ON/OFF sources to capture self-similarity.