WDM Optical Multicasting: Architectural Design Considerations

Relevant for computer systems and communications engineers as well as networking vendors. Explores the optical multicast wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) technology and the media access control (MAC) protocols that supports multicast traffic in local WDM networks. Presents a comprehensive and comparative study of different challenges faced in the design of multicast technique and schemes. Investigates design issues and considerations for flexible and scalable network architecture such as multicast wavelength assignment problem, transceivers tuning limitations, multicast scheduling algorithms, reconfiguration techniques, and survivability strategies. Provides a thorough analysis of the single-hop WDM optical network based on the broadcast-and-select with passive star coupler (PSC) system.