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We describe an all-optical network testbed deployed in the Boston area, and research surrounding the allocation of optical resources -- frequencies and time slots -- within the network. The network was developed by a consortium of AT&T Bell Laboratories, Digital Equipment Corporation, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology under a grant from ARPA. The network is organized as a hierarchy consisting of local, metropolitan, and wide area nodes tea support optical broadcast and routing modes. Frequencies are shared and reused to enhance network scalability. Electronic access is provided through optical terminals that support multiple services having data rates between 10 Mbps/user and 10 Gbps/user. Of particular interest for this work is the 'B-service,' which simultaneously hops frequency and time slots on each optical terminal to allow frequency sharing within the AON. B-service provides 1.244 Gbps per optical terminal, with bandwidth for individual connections divided in increments as small as 10 Mbps. We have created interfaces between the AON and commercially available electronic circuit-switched and packet-switched networks. The packet switches provide FDDI (datacomm), T3 (telecomm), and ATM/SONET switching at backplane rates of over 3 Gbps. We show results on network applications that dynamically allocate optical bandwidth between electronic packet-switches based on the offered load presented by users. Bandwidth allocation granularity is proportional to B-Service slots (10-1244 Mbps), and switching times are on the order of one second. We have also studied the effects of wavelength changers upon the network capacity and blocking probabilities in wide area all-optical networks. Wavelength changers allow a change in the carrier frequency (within the network) without disturbing the data modulation. The study includes both a theoretical model of blocking probabilities based on network design parameters, and a computer simulation of blocking in networks with and without wavelength changers. Theory and simulation are in good agreement, and the results allow classification of those optical networks where wavelength changers provide benefit.
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