Performance Comparison of Overlay and Peer Models in IP/MPLS over Optical Networks

We study the connection establishment of label switched paths (LSPs), and compare the LSP blocking performance of the overlay and peer models in IP/MPLS over optical networks. We consider two dynamic routing algorithms for the establishment of LSP connections, of which one is for the overlay model and the other is for the peer model. Our investigations on two typical network topologies, namely NSFNET and ARPA2 networks, show that the number of add/drop ports (or transceivers) on optical cross-connects (OXCs) has a significant impact on the LSP blocking performance for both models. We show by computer simulation that in each case, there is a threshold value for the add/drop ratio, which can achieve almost the best blocking performance. This threshold value remains virtually unchanged as the traffic load varies, but it does depend on the network topology and the number of wavelengths per fiber. This will then indicate the number of add/drop ports to be used so that one can achieve a near optimal blocking performance without incurring unnecessarily excessive network costs. Our investigations reveal that the peer model achieves a much better blocking performance than the overlay model when the number of add/drop ports is relatively high, but that this is not always true when the number of add/drop ports is small.