Analytical approximation of the energy-efficiency of protection mechanisms in WDMoptical network planning: Dedicated Protection vs. Shared Backup Path Protection

摘要

Environmental constraints, such as the climate change and the depletion of non-renewable resources, pose new challenges to the use of technology to ensure stability and sustainable development. Since the energy consumption of the ICT sector is provably contributing significantly to total power dissipation of the planet, it is of high priority to (re-)engineer communication networks with energy-efficiency in mind. In this context, this paper extends the analytical network dimensioning model presented by Labourdette et al. [1] to address power consumption in resilient core WDM optical networks. Approximate analytical expressions for average power consumption of a planned network are derived for dedicated path and shared backup path protection, as well as for the unprotected case. These expressions are then used in conjunction with a pragmatic energy model to study various aspects of power consumption in a real network topology, manifesting among others the significant energy saving potential of sharing protection resources.