Abstract
All-optical networks (AON) provide large bandwidth, high-speed switching, and quality of service (QoS). However, the emergence of recent applications generating flexible traffic demands affects AON resource utilization and QoS management. These concerns are handled by AON using core nodes with large wavelength converters (WC) and fiber delay line (FDL) spaces, resulting in a high cost of implementation and operation. This paper proposes a hybrid core node architecture, upgrading existing nodes with limited effective modification to minimize physical topology costs. This hybrid architecture increases WC and FDL availability and reduces wavelength utilization according to traffic behavior. These new node functions are enabled using an advanced algorithm integrating a novel cost formulation merging WC and FDL with lightpath deflection (LD). This algorithm activates resource availabilities using a flexible QoS scheme considering the required and real-time traffic loss and blocking delay. The experimental results indicate that the proposed approach optimizes AON resources while guaranteeing required traffic demands compared to the existing techniques.