Passive Optical Network (PON) elements such as Optical Line Terminal (OLT) and Optical Network Units (ONUs) are currently managed by legacy, non-flexible network management systems. Software-Defined Networking (SDN) is a new networking paradigm that improves the operation and management of networks. In this paper, we propose a novel architecture, based on the SDN concept, for Ethernet Passive Optical Networks (EPON) that includes the Service Interoperability (SIEPON) standard. In our proposal the OLT is partially virtualized and some of its functionalities are allocated to the core network management system, while the OLT itself is replaced by an OpenFlow (OF) switch. A new MultiPoint MAC Control sublayer extension based on the OpenFlow protocol is presented. The controller is designed to effectively manage and enhance the resource utilization, flow monitoring, bandwidth assignment, quality-of-service (QoS) guarantees, and energy management of the optical network access. The OpenFlow switch is extended with synchronous ports to keep the time-critical nature of the EPON network. OpenFlow messages are also extended with new functionalities to implement the concept of EPON Service Paths (ESPs). Our simulation-based results demonstrate the effectiveness of the new architecture, while keeping similar or improved performance compared to legacy PONs, in terms of delay and throughput.

The rapid deployment of passive optical access networks (PONs) increases the global energy consumption of networking infrastructure. This paper focuses on the minimization of energy consumption in Ethernet PONs (EPONs). We present an energy-efficient, distributed dynamic bandwidth allocation (DBA) algorithm able to power off the transmitter and receiver of an optical network unit (ONU) when there is no upstream or downstream traffic. Our main contribution is combining the advantages of a distributed DBA (namely, a smaller packet delay compared to centralized DBAs, due to less time being needed to allocate the transmission slot) with energy saving features (that come at a price of longer delays due to the longer queue waiting times when transmitters are switched off). The proposed algorithm analyzes the queue size of the ONUs in order to switch them to doze/sleep mode when there is no upstream/downstream traffic in the network, respectively. Our results show that we minimized the ONU energy consumption across a wide range of network loads while keeping delay bounded.Keywords: passive optical network (PON); ethernet passive optical network (EPON); energy management; energy saving; dynamic bandwidth allocation (DBA)

No abstract

No abstract

In the evolution of telecommunication industry towards 5G, Ethernet Passive Optical Networks (EPON) technology, with some unique features such as high capacity, low latency, and minimum cost per bit, positions itself as an interesting option for backhauling solution in the Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) scenarios. It is expected to see the converged optical-radio nodes play a crucial role in future networks. To maximize the benefits of the 5G EPON networks, besides all other challenges, it is essential to address two main issues, namely softwarization and energy efficiency. To this end, in this paper, initially we introduce a framework to have an open control layer based on SDN (Software-Defined Networks), able to prepare the EPON backhaul to deal with the 5G applications and services. Then we introduce a solution that minimizes the energy consumption of EPON networks without imposing additional packet delay.