Performance Analysis of Optical WDM Networks Using Matplan WDM

Abstract

An optical network system provides a common structure over which a large variety of services can be delivered. The communication between any two end nodes over a WDM network is carried out through a path, called as a lightpath. These lightpaths utilizes a singlewavelength through optical nodes with the help of optical add-drop multiplexers or optical cross-connects withoutconversion on intermediate nodes. These are capable of delivering flexible bandwidth in order to match with the electronic bottle neck of the network. Optical networks exploit wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) to meet the ever growing bandwidth demands of upcoming communication applications, by dividing the enormous transmission bandwidth of fiber into smaller communication channels that can meet the electronic processing speeds of the users. The major problem with WDM network design is to find an optimal path between two end users and allocate an available wavelength to this chosen path for the successful transmission of data. This communication over a WDM network is carried out through lightpath.