Routing pre-configuration for fast and scalable path restoration in DWDM networks

In high-speed WDM optical networks, failure recovery is a critical issue as a single element failure in the network will result in the interruption of multiple services. Distributed path restoration is preferable for its high flexibility and efficient resource utilization. However, with the development and maturity of Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) technology, the resource contention problem arises when simultaneously restoring a large amount of services initiated from many uncoordinated source nodes. This will degrade network performance and result in long service recovery latency. In this paper, we present the Routing Pre-Configuration (RPC) scheme for fast and scalable path restoration in DWDM networks, where pre-failure configuration and post-failure signaling are demonstrated. We compare it with the previous contention resolution approaches and the simulation results prove its improvement in restoration blocking probability and average restoration time.