Multiwavelength lightwave networks for computer communication

  • Authors:
  • R. Ramaswami

  • Affiliations:
  • IBM Thomas J. Watson Res. Center, Yorktown Heights, NY

  • Venue:
  • IEEE Communications Magazine
  • Year:
  • 1993

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Abstract

The different approaches being considered to build high-capacity lightwave networks are described. Two kinds of lightwave network architectures are examined: broadcast-and-select networks and wavelength-routing networks. A comparison of the two shows that broadcast-and-select networks may be more suitable for local area networks (LANs) and metropolitan area networks (MANs), while wavelength-routing networks are suitable for wide area networks (WANs). The overall network may then be a combination of broadcast subnets interconnected by a point-to-point wavelength-routing network