ABSTRACT
SUMMARY By adopting a network architecture in which not only a calling but also a called terminal can select a wavelength, a novel WDM network becomes possible. This we call Wavelength Assignment Photonic Network (WAPN). In this network wavelengths are a kind of network resources and according to requests from terminals, wavelengths are allocated or assigned to calls. In the system a wavelength used for a call is to be used for another call after the call is terminated. By supplying wavelengths to the home, a bitrate-free, protocol free or even transmission method free network can be realized. In this paper, from a viewpoint of S/N or Q factor, WAPN is evaluated with special focus on the node architecture—i.e., from the viewpoint of node size, number of switching stages, crosstalk level,and losses, because the allowable node size is the crucial issue to decide the whole network capacity. After brief explanations of this proposed system, the model for system evaluations will be established and a node system is to be evaluated for some practical parameter values considering especially traffic characteristics of a node. As a result of this study a node system with capacity more than 100 thousands erl (about 20 Tbps throughput) can be constructed using present available technologies, which will enable us to construct large WAPN network with radius of 2,000 km and subscribers of about 50 millions.
