FiWi Access Networks Based on Next-Generation PON and Gigabit-Class WLAN Technologies: A Capacity and Delay Analysis (Extended Version)

TL;DR

This paper presents an analytical framework to evaluate capacity and delay in converged fiber-wireless networks using next-generation PONs and WLANs, demonstrating optimized routing algorithms outperform traditional methods.

Contribution

It introduces a flexible probabilistic analysis framework for FiWi networks incorporating diverse parameters and validates it through simulations, highlighting the effectiveness of the proposed OFRA routing algorithm.

Findings

OFRA outperforms minimum hop and delay routing in throughput.

The framework accurately predicts performance across various scenarios.

OFRA slightly increases delay at low to medium traffic loads.

Abstract

Current Gigabit-class passive optical networks (PONs) evolve into next-generation PONs, whereby high-speed 10+ Gb/s time division multiplexing (TDM) and long-reach wavelength-broadcasting/routing wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) PONs are promising near-term candidates. On the other hand, next-generation wireless local area networks (WLANs) based on frame aggregation techniques will leverage physical layer enhancements, giving rise to Gigabit-class very high throughput (VHT) WLANs. In this paper, we develop an analytical framework for evaluating the capacity and delay performance of a wide range of routing algorithms in converged fiber-wireless (FiWi) broadband access networks based on different next-generation PONs and a Gigabit-class multi-radio multi-channel WLAN-mesh front-end. Our framework is very flexible and incorporates arbitrary frame size distributions, traffic matrices, optical/wireless propagation delays, data rates, and fiber faults. We verify the accuracy of our probabilistic analysis by means of simulation for the wireless and wireless-optical-wireless operation modes of various FiWi network architectures under peer-to-peer, upstream, uniform, and nonuniform traffic scenarios. The results indicate that our proposed optimized FiWi routing algorithm (OFRA) outperforms minimum (wireless) hop and delay routing in terms of throughput for balanced and unbalanced traffic loads, at the expense of a slightly increased mean delay at small to medium traffic loads.