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  DOI 10.1515/joc-2013-0050   J. Opt. Commun. 2013; 34(4): 331 – 350
Shree Prakash Singh*, Sujata Sengar, Rochak Bajpai and Sridhar Iyer
Next-Generation Variable-Line-Rate Optical WDM
Networks: Issues and Challenges
Abstract: With the ever-increasing traffic demands, the in-
frastructure of current 10 Gbit/s optical network needs to
be enhanced. The legacy infrastructure can be enhanced
not only by increasing the capacity, but also by adapting
advance modulation format, having increased spectral ef-
ficiency at higher data rate. In all-optical mixed line rate
(MLR) network, feasibility of a lightpath is determined by
physical layer impairment (PLI) accumulation. Contrary
to physical layer impairment-aware routing and wave-
length assignment (PLIA-RWA) algorithm applicable for
a  10 Gbit/s WDM network, that selects a feasible route-­
keeping the signal to noise ratio value at the receiver
above the threshold limit, a new Routing, Wavelength,
Modulation format assignment (RWMFA) algorithm is re-
quired for a MLR optical network. This article reviews the
major PLIs present in an optical fiber, emphasizing those
that result in performance degradation of an MLR system.
The article also surveys the advance modulation formats
that are spectrally efficient and noise resistant. The article
further presents a survey of different RWMFA (PLIA-RWA)
algorithms for MLR networks and finally identifies several
open problems for future research.
Keywords: physical layer impairments, mixed line rate
network, routing wavelength modulation format assign-
ment algorithm, coherent optical orthogonal frequency
division mulliplexing, wavelength division multiplexing
PACS® (2010). 42.15.Eq, 42.81.Uv, 42.79.Sz
*Corresponding author: Shree Prakash Singh: Division of ECE,
Netaji Subhas Institute of Technology, New Delhi 110078, India.
E-mail: sps_nsit@yahoo.co.uk
Sujata Sengar, Rochak Bajpai: Division of ECE, Netaji Subhas
Institute of Technology, New Delhi 110078, India
Sridhar Iyer: Department of ECE, NIIT University, Rajasthan 301705,
India
1 Introduction
With the development of telecommunication network, the
network traffic has grown significantly. This has led to the
rapid increase in bandwidth required in access, metro and
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long haul network. Meeting this demand of increased
traffic in an efficient manner is a challenge for network
designer. The need for large bandwidth in the transport
network fabric has led to the acceptance of optical fiber as
the medium of choice for the core transport function.
Simply increasing the bandwidth of the access medium
will not be sufficient; rather, the overall utilization of
bandwidth needs to be improved. The large bandwidth of
optical fiber can be efficiently utilized using wavelength
division multiplexing (WDM) [1, 2]. In WDM, the entire
optical bandwidth is divided into a number of channels
centered at different wavelengths [3]. Further, the recent
advances in optical technologies have fostered an evolu-
tion towards large scale and ubiquitous deployment of
high capacity, low cost and denser optical WDM transmis-
sion systems, operating at higher line rates with coarser
granularities at switching level.
The traffic flow in the backbone network is increas-
ingly becoming heterogeneous, hence supporting diverse
service requirements. In order to satisfy the demands of
different services, the current commercial transport net­
work of 10 Gbit/s, has to be increased to 40 Gbit/s and/or
100 Gbit/s or even 400 Gbit/s. This increase of data rate
from 10 Gbit/s to 40 Gbit/s and/or 100 Gbit/s will be done
by increasing the number of bits per symbol and state of
polarization. In other words spectrally efficient modula-
tion is required. All these processes require significant
capital investment. Further, it may not be necessary that
every service requires a transmission rate of 40 Gbit/s
and/or 100 Gbit/s or more, and in such situation, this
transformation of entire transport network from 10 Gbit/s
to 40 Gbit/s and/or 100 Gbit/s will result in wastage
of  network resources. Ideally, these different line rates
should coexist over legacy channel grids and transmis-
sion systems i.e. as the technology of higher data
rates  matures and becomes more efficient, the 40 and
100 Gbit/s connections will have to be incorporated in ex-
isting 10G networks. Hence, transmission performance,
price (CapEx and OpEx) and power dissipation per bit
have to be improved in order to justify the use of 40 and
100 Gbit/s WDM transport over 10 Gbit/s transport and
thus, a transport network will end up managing a variety
of channel rates. Therefore, a next-generation WDM
system will be necessitated to accommodate and sup­
332   S. P. Singh et al., Next-Generation Variable-Line-Rate Optical WDM
Fig. 1: Optical multiline rate network
port  mixed line rates (MLRs) over different wavelength
channels [4, 5]. A MLR network supports 10 Gbit/s,
40  Gbit/s, 100 Gbit/s on different wavelengths on same
fiber [6–8] as shown in Fig. 1. Resorting to MLR net­
works has the advantages of (1) avoiding the provisioning
of low-bandwidth connections over high-capacity light-
paths, (2) supporting multi-rate transport protocols and,
hence, avoiding complex multiplexing schemes, and (3)
using the optimal combination (number/rate) of wave-
lengths on each link which addresses both traffic and
network asymmetry. Further, planning a network so as
to use MLR (e.g. 10/40/100 Gbit/s with possibly different
modulation techniques), can reduce the cost of the net­
work by exploiting the heterogeneity in MLR transmis-
sions. For example, some long-distance low-bit-rate con-
nections could be served with inexpensive low-rate and
long reach (10 Gbit/s) transponders, while short-distance
high-bit-rate connections could be served with more ex-
pensive but fewer in number high-rate connections using
improved modulation format transponders, so as to have
the lowest possible total cost.
As the signal propagates from the transmitter, its
quality degrades due to the physical layer impairments
(PLIs) present in the network. These impairments are self
phase modulation (SPM), cross phase modulation (XPM),
four wave mixing (FWM) and stimulated Raman scattering
(SRS), amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) noise gen­
erated by EDFAs, polarization mode dispersion (PMD),
chromatic dispersion (CD) of fiber which are linear as
shown in Fig. 2.
The impact of non-linear impairments on quality of
transmission (QoT) is strongly dependent on the accu­
mulated power and on the individual power of the other
optical channels transported in parallel on the same fiber,
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Fig. 2: Physical layer impairments
whereas, the impact of linear impairments is independent
of the power of each of the optical channels transported
on the same fiber. In case of linear impairments, QoT
can  be evaluated individually for the different optical
channels sharing the same fiber, whereas, when non­
linear impairments are considered, QoT of each optical
channel transported on the fiber depends on the number
and the power of other channels transported simultane-
ously on the same fiber.
Due to both, non-linear and linear impairments, QOT
of given line rate at some intermediate node may degrade
beyond recognition. In a MLR scenario, the co-­propagating
signal at different rate introduces non-linear impairment
on adjacent channel (e.g., a 10 Gbit/s OOK signal can
­introduce XPM on 40 Gbit/s DQPSK signal or 100 Gbit/s
DP-QPSK signal [9]); further affecting the QOT, and thus
the transmission reach (TR) of that channel, which is de­
fined as the maximum distance that an opti­cal signal can
travel before its quality degrades beyond recognition. In
such cases, 3R (re-amplify + re-shape + re-time) regenera-
tors have to be placed at intermediate nodes. Since regen-
erators are expensive devices, placing them at every node
will increase the overall cost of the network.
  S. P. Singh et al., Next-Generation Variable-Line-Rate Optical WDM   333
In order to decrease the cost of network, regenerators
are used only at selective nodes so that the signal to noise
ratio can be maintained at acceptable levels. Such a net­
work is called translucent network. With the advent of
EDFAs and nodes capable of routing and switching in
optical domain, it is now possible to transport the signal
between the source and destination in optical domain
without Optical-Electrical-Optical (OEO) conversion(s) at
intermediate nodes. This is called all-optical or trans­
parent network [10, 11]. The advantage of such network is
that it accommodates wide range of applications, services,
protocol and signal formats while minimizing the cost and
complexity of intermediate nodes. In such a network, in
order to establish a connection, first a common free wave-
length is searched on all the links between the source and
destination. This is termed as the wavelength continuity
constraint [12].
As the numbers of free wavelengths are limited, it may
not always be possible to find a common free wavelength
on all the links while establishing the connection. In such
cases, connection request will be blocked and the per­
formance in terms of blocking probability will degrade. To
overcome this problem, wavelength converters are placed
at intermediate nodes. Placement of either wavelength
converters or regenerators increases the overall cost of
network. In MLR network, the Routing and Wavelength
assignment (RWA) algorithm should be capable of select-
ing a route, assigning wavelength, choosing proper modu-
lation format and data rate so that the overall cost is
­minimized for a given performance (i.e., blocking proba-
bility) keeping in view the non-linear and linear im­
pairments. This article overviews the current trends in
the design of MLR systems for WDM networks and identi-
fies the outstanding research issues and challenges that
have to be addressed in such networks, so as to enable
future progress in the development of next-generation
MLR supporting WDM optical networks. Hence, the main
motivation behind this work is to present a comprehen-
sive survey on studies in the area of MLR networks, which
will help in the design of state-of-the-art of optical WDM
networks.
The paper is organized as follows: In Section 2,
we  review different non-linear impairments and the
methods to overcome these limitations. Section 3, re­
views  different  linear impairments observed in optical
networks. In section 4 different modulation format used
to  meet the current demand are reviewed. In section 5,
we  review different RWA algorithms. In the last section,
we conclude with a summary and a discussion of out-
standing research issues in the MLR WDM network
area.
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2 Non-linear impairments
Fiber nonlinearities present a new realm of obstacles in
optical WDM networks that must be overcome. Effects of
non-linear impairments become crucial as data transmis-
sion rates, transmission lengths, number of wavelengths,
and optical power levels increase, in addition to reduction
in channel spacing [13]. Although, the individual power in
each channel may be below the one needed to produce
non-linearities, the total power summed over all channels
in a multi-wavelength WDM system can become signifi-
cant. The combination of high total optical power and a
large number of channels at closely spaced wavelengths is
ideal for many kinds of non-linear effects.
The non-linear effects in an optical fiber occurs either,
due to change in the refractive index of the medium with
optical intensity (power) or, due to inelastic-scattering
phenomenon. The dependence of refractive index on
power is responsible for the Kerr effect which produces
three different kinds of effects: SPM, XPM, and FWM, de-
pending on the type of input signal. At high power levels,
the optical signals interact with the phonons of the fiber
medium resulting in scattering phenomenon. The inten-
sity of scattered light grows exponentially if the incident
power exceeds a certain threshold value. The inelastic
scattering phenomenon can induce stimulated effects
such as, stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) and SRS.
The Brillouin generated phonons (acoustic) are coherent
and give rise to a macroscopic acoustic wave in the fiber,
whereas, in Raman scattering, the phonons (optical) are
incoherent and no macroscopic wave is generated. All
nonlinear effects, except SPM and XPM, provide gains to
some channel at the expense of depleting power from
other channels. SPM and XPM affect only the phase of the
optical signal and can cause spectral broadening, which
leads to increased dispersion. A comparison of various
non-linear effects in fiber medium is presented in Table 1.
Out of these, XPM, FWM and SRS are the dominant effects,
which severely degrade the performance of single line rate
(SLR) WDM networks [14]. These non-linear effects are
briefly explained below.
2.1 Four Wave Mixing (FWM)
In a WDM system, due to the non-linear nature of the re-
fractive index, when signals at frequencies fi, fj and fk
propagate in the fiber, non-linear interaction will generate
new components [15] at frequencies ( fi ± fj ∓ fk). Thus,
fijk = fi ± fj ∓ fk  (i, j ≠ k). (1)
334   S. P. Singh et al., Next-Generation Variable-Line-Rate Optical WDM

Table 1: Comparison of nonlinear effects in an optical fiber medium

Characteristic SPM XPM FWM

Bit-rate Dependent Dependent Dependent

Origin Nonlinear susceptibility c3 Nonlinear susceptibility c3 Nonlinear susceptibility c3
Effects of c3 Phase shift due to pulse itself Phase shift due to co-propagating signal New waves are generated
Shape of broadening Symmetrical Asymmetrical No shape change
Effect of channel spacing No effect Decreases as channel spacing increases Decreases as channel spacing
increases

Some of these generated FWM components lie on the
transmitted carrier causing interference [16]. The gener-
ated signal power is expressed as [17]
2 DB =
d 2  Leff  dt
Pijk h(1024π 6 c 111
2 )
  Pi Pj Pk exp[ −a N L ]
n 4 l 2 c 2  Aeff 
where l is the optical wavelength, c the speed of light in
vacuum, h the mixing efficiency, Leff the effective length of
fiber, aN is an equivalent representation for fiber loss coef-
ficient in neper/km, d the degeneracy factor (d = 3 if i = j
and d = 6 if i ≠ j), Aeff the effective cross-sectional area of
fiber core in square meter, c111 the third order non-linear
susceptibility and Pi, Pj and Pk are signal powers launched
at frequencies fi, fj and fk respectively. If all the channels
have equal power i.e., Pi = Pj = Pk = P0, then Eq. (2) results
in
d 2  Leff
Pijk h(1024π 6 c 111
2 )
  P03 exp[ −a N L ]
n l 2 c 2  Aeff
4
The total FWM power generated at frequency fx is
given by
Ptotal ( f x ) = ∑ ∑∑ Pijk
f k = fi + f j − f x f j
The crosstalk due to FWM is the dominant non-linear
effect in long-haul dispersion shifted fiber (DSF) based
WDM systems [18].
2.2 Self-Phase Modulation (SPM)
SPM occurs due to non-linear phase modulation of an
optical pulse caused by its own intensity in an optical
medium. As an optical pulse travels down the fiber, the
leading edge of the pulse causes the refractive index of the
fiber to increase, causing a blue shift; while the falling
edge of the pulse decreases the refractive index, causing a
red shift. These shifts introduce a frequency chirp on each
edge and the signal is broadened in the frequency domain
by an amount given by [14]
dP
g Leff (5)
(2)
where dP dt
is the time derivative of the pulse power, g
the non-linear coefficient and Leff the effective length. The
primary effect of SPM is to broaden the pulse in the fre-
quency domain, keeping the temporal shape unaltered.
In  contrast, dispersion causes broadening of the pulse
in time domain keeping the spectral contents unaltered.
Hence, broadening of the pulse occurs only when the
shifts introduced by the frequency chirp interact with
fiber dispersion. Hence, the effects produced by SPM and
dispersion are opposite in nature, and by choosing proper
pulse shape and input power, one effect will compensate
for another, leading to undistorted pulse in both time and
2
 frequency domains.
(3)

The authors in [19] proposed a model to investigate
the effects of dispersion and SPM using an Intensity
­Modulation/Direct Detection (IM/DD) system. They ob-
served that, for any Super Gaussian order m, when both,
SPM and dispersion are present, the power penalty is
(4)
lesser compared to when only dispersion is present. This
fi
implies that the co-existence of both the effects leads to
better performance in terms of power penalty. It was also
observed that, for any Super Gaussian order m, to a certain
point, power penalty decreases as input power increases
since both, dispersion and SPM compensate each other
till this point. However, from this point onwards, power
penalty increases dramatically due to the dominant effect
of SPM, which is proportional to the signal power trans-
mitted into the fiber.
2.3 Cross Phase Modulation (XPM)
XPM originates from the intensity dependence of the re-
fractive index which results in intensity dependent phase-

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  S. P. Singh et al., Next-Generation Variable-Line-Rate Optical WDM   335

shift as signal propagates through the fiber segment.

When there are more than one optical signal propagating
through the fiber as in WDM, the non-linear phase shift of
a signal not only depends upon its own power but also on
the power of other signals [20]. For example, if there are
four channels, the phase shift of the first channel [21] is
given by

f1 = g Leff (P1 + 2P2 + 2P3 + 2P4) (6)

where Pi i = 1 to 4 are the powers of the four channel and

Leff the effective length of the fiber. The first term in above
equation is due to SPM while, other terms are due to XPM
that represents the phase-modulation (PM) process. The
spectral characteristic of XPM is strongly dependent on
channel spacing and dispersion coefficient [22]. Also the
crosstalk due to XPM induced phase shift is proportional
to bit rate and inversely proportional to walkoff parameter
[23].
The performance limitation of WDM system imposed
by crosstalk due to XPM was evaluated in [24] and the
­influence of channel spacing for various types of fiber
(i.e., single-mode fiber, dispersion compensating fiber,
non-zero dispersion fiber and non-zero dispersion shifted
fiber) was evaluated. It was observed that in all the fibers
the crosstalk due to XPM increases if the channel spacing
is reduced.
Singh and Mori [25] have investigated the combined
effect of FWM and XPM on the performance of WDM all
optical star network. The network performance is com-
pared in terms of Q-factor. It was observed that XPM
becomes significant at high transmitted power and acts as
crosstalk between the channels that degrades the perfor-
mance of the WDM network (as shown in Fig. 3).
Iyer and Singh [18] have investigated the Q-factor
­deterioration due to individual effects of SRS, XPM and
FWM, and their collective impact on system Q-factor in
presence of ASE noise, for various ITU-T compliant fibers
(G.652, G.652D, G.653, G.654 and G.655), considering the
optical frequency grid based on ITU-T Recommendation
G.692. The results obtained through the developed mathe-
matical model shows very clearly that the performance of
G.653 fiber is worst compared to other fiber types, thus jus-
tifying the preferred use of fibers with high dispersion and
effective area values (G.652, G.652D, G.654 and G.655) over
G.653, in view of combating the deleterious effects of non-
linearities. The obtained results suggest that with the use
of a fiber having low dispersion and effective area values,
and under the simultaneous impact of all the impairment
effects, it may not be possible to obtain the desired error
rate of 10−9 (Q = 6). The simulation results further make it
Fig. 3: Variation of Q-factor with transmitted power for 8 and
16 channels
evident that deterioration due to nonlinearities is not the
same for different fiber types which suggest the nature of
limitations due to different nonlinearities and fiber types.
2.4 Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS)
SRS occurs due to the interaction of incident light wave
with vibrational modes of a silica molecule, as a result of
which, energy is transferred from the incident wave to
wave at longer wavelength [26]. The threshold power in
case of SRS can be estimated by [21]
Pth ≈ 16Aeff /gR Leff (7)
where gR is the Raman gain and Leff the effective length of
the fiber. If the fiber is sufficiently long then Leff ≃ 1/a. The
authors in [27, 28] have investigated the Q-factor deteriora-
tion due to combined nonlinear effects and ASE noise for
all-optical WDM network based on G.653 fibers and system
parameters based on ITU-T Recommendation G.692. The
investigation (a) emphasizes on SRS and FWM effects, and
(b) accounts for beating between nonlinearities and
beating between ASE noise and nonlinearities. It was ob-
served that the worst affected channel due to SRS per-
forms better and hence must be preferred for reliable and
efficient transmission over the worst affected channel due
to FWM. Further, the results suggest that to achieve a
desired error rate (Q-factor); there exists an optimal value
of channel spacing for a given number of channels.
Fig. 4 shows the power representation due to the com-
bined effect of FWM, SRS and XPM, as it appears at the

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336   S. P. Singh et al., Next-Generation Variable-Line-Rate Optical WDM

Fig. 4: Effect of FWM, SRS and XPM impairments in an optical WDM network

output of fiber when 3 channels with equal powers at for cumulated CD [30, 31]. These fibers have negative chro-
wavelengths l 1, l 2 and l 3 respectively are transmitted matic dispersion of about −90 ps/(nm.km).
through an optical fiber in WDM system.

3.2 Polarization mode dispersion

3 Linear impairments
Linear impairments are independent of the signal power
and affect each of the wavelengths (optical channels) indi-
vidually. The important linear impairments are CD, PMD,
and ASE Noise. These linear impairments are briefly ex-
plained below.
3.1 Chromatic dispersion (CD)
A light source generates signal with closely spaced wave-
lengths, and since the refractive index of fiber is a func-
tion of wavelength, these wavelengths travel through the
fiber at different speed. It gives rise to pulse broadening
at the receiver which results in inter symbol interference
(ISI). CD is a measure of change of refractive index with
wavelength and is expressed as ps/nm.km. For non-­
dispersion shifted SMF (G.652), the CD value is 16.88 ps/
(nm.km) at 1.55 µm of Corning SMF-28e [29]. In WDM
systems, operating at 40 Gbit/s and above, dispersion
compensating fibers (DCF) are being used to compensate
PMD occurs due to asymmetries in fiber core geometry.
Due to this asymmetry, in a SMF, the two orthogonal
­polarization modes travel with different speed resulting
in  differential group delay. Maximum dispersion occurs
when the two modes are equally excited [32]. At a high bit
rate, it may result in pulse spreading into one another,
phenomena similar to ISI occurring at the destination.
Hence it imposes a limitation on the performance of long
distance optical network using single mode fiber [33].
PMD is expressed as ps per square root of kilometer. The
ITU-T recommends that the maximum level of allowable
PMD for 40 Gbit/s is 0.2 ps/km [34].
3.3 Amplified Spontaneous Emission (ASE)
Noise
Optical amplifiers play an important role in the design
of  long haul optical communication networks. EDFA is
the commonly used optical amplifier in a long-haul WDM
network. It has the capability of amplifying multiple wave-

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  S. P. Singh et al., Next-Generation Variable-Line-Rate Optical WDM   337
lengths simultaneously. Amplifier produces ASE noise.
The average total power of amplified spontaneous emis-
sion (PASE) is given by
PASE = 2nsphn (G − 1)B0 (8)
where hn is the photon energy, G the amplifier gain, B0 the
optical bandwidth of the fiber. In the above equation, the
parameter nsp represents the population inversion factor
and is equal to N2 /(N2 − N1) where N2 and N1 are population
at the excited levels and lower level respectively. The
typical value of nsp ranges from 1.4 to 4. While designing
optical WDM networks, it becomes important to find the
optimal locations of optical amplifiers as it not only in-
creases the cost of network, but also results in accumula-
tion of ASE noise resulting in a reduction in the SNR and
hence a degradation in performance.
Several researchers have proposed approaches to
minimize the number of amplifiers and also tried to find
its optimal placement [17, 35–37]. In [17], the authors have
tried to find the optimal location of amplifier in optical
star network considering the effect of both ASE and FWM
noise. It was observed that in presence of ASE and FWM
noise, placement of amplifier as inline amplifier is not
only cost effective but also requires less transmitted power
(Pt).
4 Advance modulation formats
In traditional WDM optical network, the International
Telecommunication Union-Telecommunication Standard­
ization Sector (ITU-T) grid has defined the channel spacing
of 200 GHz, 100 GHz or 50 GHz. In a typical optical com-
munication system operating at 10 Gbit/s using ON-OFF
keying (OOK), the modulated signal requires a spectrum
of less than 15 GHz. If the channel spacing is 50 GHz, then
the spectral efficiency of this modulation scheme will be
0.2 bit/s/Hz as shown in Fig. 5(a). Since transmission is in
C band between 1535 nm and 1563 nm [5, 38], the 1000 GHz
bandwidth of C band can support 100 channels with
50 GHz spacing. With the advancement of optical technol-
ogies, the data rate is increased to 40 Gbit/s or 100 Gbit/s
or beyond. If the data rate is increased beyond 100 Gbit/s
say 400 Gbit/s using the OOK modulation scheme, then
the spectral width of the modulated signal will be too
broad to fit in 50 GHz as shown in Fig. 5(b). Hence fix grid
assignment does not support 400 Gbit/s. It means, spec-
trally efficient modulation format is required which can
increase transmission rate in bits per second without in-
creasing spectral width.
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Fig. 5: Spectral arrangement of (a) 10 Gbit/s NRZ system
(b) 400 Gbit/s in a fixed grid of spacing 50 GHz
In digital communication, to cope up with the in-
crease in traffic demand, advance modulation technique
have been used which have the capability of transmitting
more number of bits per symbol without increasing the
bandwidth requirement. If in a modulation scheme, there
are M constellation symbols, then each symbol of contel-
lation represents log2 M bits. For example, in BPSK whose
constellation diagram is shown in Fig. 6(a) each symbol
represents one bit. Thus in BPSK the symbol or baud rate
is equal to bit rate. In QPSK scheme (constellation diagram
is shown in Fig. 6(b)), each symbol represents two bits.
The bit rate in QPSK is twice the symbol rate. Similarly in
8-PSK, the bit rate is thrice the symbol rate (constellation
diagram shown in Fig. 6(c)). In 16QAM and 64QAM (shown
in Fig. 6(d) and (e)), the bit rates are four and six times the
symbol rate. It means the bit rate can be doubled if QPSK
is replaced by 16QAM. In other words 16QAM requires half
the bandwidth compared to QPSK to deliver same number
of bits. Further, increasing the bits per symbol improves
the spectral efficiency expressed in bit/s/Hz. But as we
move to higher order modulation scheme, the constella-
tion points move closer and hence higher signal to noise
ratio (SNR) is required to maintain the same bit error rate
(BER). Compared to QPSK, square 16QAM constellation
provides excellent SNR performance and is easy to imple-
ment. In [39], the authors have shown that other 16-ary
QAM constellation exist which provide more phase noise
tolerance compared to 16QAM square constellations.
Hence other 16-ary QAM might achieve longer transmis-
sion distances.
In optical networks, the 40 Gbit/s system uses differ-
ential phase shift keying (DPSK) or differential quardra-
ture phase shift keying DQPSK [40]. If the channel spacing
remains 50 GHz, then the spectral efficiency of 40 Gbit/s
increased to 0.8 bit/s/Hz. At 100 Gbit/s, modulation
338   S. P. Singh et al., Next-Generation Variable-Line-Rate Optical WDM

Fig. 6: Constellation diagram of (a) BPSK, (b) QPSK, (c) 8PSK, (d) 16QAM and (e) 64QAM

t­echnique used is PM-QPSK [41], which requires 40 GHz
spectrum and if the channel spacing remains fixed to
50  GHz as per ITU-T grid, then the spectral efficiency
of  this m
­ odulation techniques is 2 bit/s/Hz. In [42], the
authors have demonstrated an experimental setup in
which 26.4 Tbit/s mode division multiplexed signals were
successfully transmitted over 50 km using few mode fiber
(FMF). The 264 channels were evenly distributed in three
spatial modes each carrying 88 WDM channels. Each
channel has spacing of 50 GHz and carried 112 Gbit/s
DPQPSK. The total optical bandwidth is 4.4 THz and the
spectral efficiency per mode will be 2 bit/s/Hz.
Polarization of optical signal is another physical attri-
bute that can be used to increase the data rate. Initially
only one polarization was used to transfer data. Since
both the polarization are orthogonal hence it can be used
to transfer data. The two data streams having orthogonal
polarization can be multiplexed using polarization divi-
sion multiplexing (PDM) hence doubling the data rate [43,
44]. The combined signal is said to have dual polarization.
The fixed grid defined by ITU-T (shown in Fig. 7(a))
leads to poor spectrum utilization. If this fixed grid con-
straint of ITU-T is relaxed, also known as gridless configu-
ration, then the channel can be more tightly packed. This
will increase the transmission rate through the fiber by
efficiently utilizing the optical spectrum resources. In
gridless configuration, as shown in Fig. 7(b), the channels
do not have to conform to ITU-T standards. The channels
occupy the bandwidth just equal to the spectrum of the
signal separated by guard band. Thus the problem of poor
spectrum utilization of fixed grid assignment can be re-
solved if we resort to gridless configuration. In [45], the
authors have performed a field experiment by moving the
channel closer together and proved that closely packed
channels provide higher channel capacity and higher
spectral efficiency than the existing 100-Gbit/s system
without sacrificing the required long haul distance.
In order to implement gridless configuration, optical
components such as tunable laser source, wavelength se-
lective switches (WSS) with tunable central frequency and
passbands etc. are required. The current state of art in
optical technology does not permit fully gridless tunable
optical components. For example the available WSS have
passband with several GHz resolution. In order to deal
with this situation, the authors in [46] have proposed a
mini-grid assignment in which there are certain discrete
set of wavelengths. A lightpath can have any wavelength
from this discrete set. The spectrum of lightpath can span
multiple mini-grid. Compared to fixed grid assignment
the mini-grid assignment will thus have much smaller fre-
quency granularity. It has been observed that blocking
performance of mini-grid assignment is better than fixed

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  S. P. Singh et al., Next-Generation Variable-Line-Rate Optical WDM   339

Fig. 7: Spectral arrangement in (a) fixed grid system and (b) gridless system (c) COOFDM system with Δf subcarrier frequency separation and
ΔfG frequency separation between CO-OFDM band

grid assignment of ITU-T. Further the performance of mini-
grid assignment with frequency separation of 3 GHz has
been found to be similar to gridless assignment.
The major issue while tightly packing the channels
lies in minimizing the interaction between the channels.
Several techniques such as orthogonal frequency division
mulliplexing (OFDM) [47, 48], Nyquist WDM [49] have
been proposed in literature to minimize the effect of in­
terference. Using the concept of OFDM in optical com­
munication led to coherent optical OFDM (CO-OFDM)
[50] in which transmission is accomplished by the use of
multiple optical subcarrier with frequency separation of
Df as shown in Fig. 7(c). The orthogonality of the optical
sub­carriers is ensured when Df is integral multiple of
symbol rate. The advantage of CO-OFDM is that now the
spectrum of subcarriers are overlapping each other and
there is no need to limit the bandwidth of subcarriers
to prevent this overlapping. These closely packed optical
carriers form a single superchannel. Hence multiple data
streams are transported through the fiber as a single su-
perchannel. The filtering of these superchannel is done at
the edge.
CO-OFDM thus proves to be a promising candidate
for  high speed network. The OFDM based network thus
provides finer granularity compared to traditional WDM
network by elastic allocation of subcarriers according to
traffic demand. This concept is also known as SLICE [51].
In SLICE architecture each lightpath is allocated appro­
priate bandwidth as per the requirement of the user or de-
manded by the traffic. Thus unlike the rigid bandwidth
constraint of fixed grid, in SLICE the entire optical spec-
trum is sliced off depending upon the requirement of
traffic and allocated to end-to-end optical path. It means
in SLICE architecture the allocation of bandwidth can con-
tract or expand depending upon the requirement of end
user. This unique feature of SLICE architecture (i.e., elastic
variation of optical resources) leads to efficient accom­
modation of multiple data rates as shown in Fig. 8. The
network using variable bandwidth OFDM configuration
is called elastic optical network (EON). In such networks

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340   S. P. Singh et al., Next-Generation Variable-Line-Rate Optical WDM

Fig. 8: Elastic optical network

reconfigurable optical add drop multiplexer (ROADM) is
required to switch the input port to output port.
Traditional routing and wavelength assignment used
in WDM network will not be applicable to these network
since in these networks bandwidth of different lightpaths
varies with traffic demand. Hence apart from Routing,
wavelength assignment with physical layer impairment
constraint, spectrum allocation constaint for each light-
path needs to be addressed. The next section reviews the
routing and wavelength assignment techniques starting
from traditional WDM network to that applicable to MLR
network.
i.e., for a particular input wavelength, conversion to some
output wavelength results in an output signal that is sig-
nificantly degraded [53].
Hence, particularly for longer hop connections in
large core transparent networks the consideration of PLIs
within the RWA algorithms is necessary, in order to guar-
antee that the optical signal reaches the receiver with the
desirable signal quality. Therefore, apart from insufficient
capacity, blocking may also occur due to poor received
signal quality which points towards the important issue of
choosing an optimal route so that the number of wave-
length conversions and also the difference between the
input and output signal wavelengths is minimized. Also,
given a physical topology, number of wavelengths, re-

5 Routing and wavelength
assignment
The problem of routing an optical path and assigning
wavelength to it is called the Routing and Wavelength As-
signment (RWA). A wide area network (WAN) can support
a large number of users with a small number of wave-
lengths. This is possible by the placement of wavelength
routers and converters at each intermediate node. The
connections between large numbers of users are possible
by reusing the same wavelength at different nodes. How­
ever, traditional RWA assumes that the physical medium
is ideal and that the wavelength converter at intermediate
nodes has full range wavelength translation capability
[52]. But no wavelength converter has such a capability,
which implies that, for such wavelength converters, their
performance is a strong function of the difference between
the wavelength converter’s input and output wavelengths
source constraints and long-term average traffic flow
between node pairs, optimally placing wavelength con-
verters within the network so as to optimize a certain
metric such as blocking probability, link utilization, net­
work congestion or message delay is of paramount impor-
tance. Hence, the RWA algorithm must be capable of se-
lecting a route with optimal number of converters in order
to reduce the overall cost for the given performance while
taking into consideration the various PLIs.
In reality, presence of PLIs (due to fiber non-linearity,
amplifier noise, wavelength converter noise etc.) renders
the system performance unacceptable for certain light-
paths. In this regard, in recent years, a cross layer design-
ing methodology has been adopted for WDM network
design which has stirred a new trend by accounting for the
impact of PLIs on optical reach of the signal(s) in the so
called PLI aware-RWA (PLIA-RWA) techniques. The PLIA-
RWA approaches delineate rules and strategies for light-
path establishment and primarily aim at minimizing the

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  S. P. Singh et al., Next-Generation Variable-Line-Rate Optical WDM   341
number of rejected requests due to either capacity or QoT
limitations. Authors in [54] have shown that considering
PLIs in the RWA decisions leads to better performance
than using an impairment unaware approach. Further,
the establishment of non-feasibility of both, opaque and
transparent WDM networks has led to the emergence of
sparse regeneration based translucent WDM networks,
for  which, the PLIA-RWA approaches mainly focus on
(a)  the regenerator placement (RP) problem and/or
(b)  the  regenerator allocation (RA) problem [55, 56]. In
[57–63], the authors have addressed the issues related to
RP in the  network without compromising over network
performance.
As the objective of PLIA-RWA is to assign routes and
wavelengths to the demands satisfying the impairment
constraints and minimizing the number of wavelengths
used at the same time, such algorithms introduce addi-
tional complexity into the RWA problem. In order to obtain
a computationally tractable solution, the RWA problem is
often solved sequentially as separate R and WA problems.
In order to solve the R problem, most PLIA-RWA proposals
use the single-path (SP) routing and follow the minimum
hop SP approach or the multi-path (k-SP) routing, in
which the cost metric is related to the hop count [56]. The
link cost in k-SP routing can also be represented using
PLIs, or using Q-factor that takes into account the PLIs
[64]. The selection of an appropriate path from the candi-
date paths is then performed either sequentially or in
­parallel. The WA problem operates on an ordered or un­
ordered set of candidate wavelengths that are given on a
previously selected routing path(s). Some of the WA algo-
rithms used by PLIA-RWA are: First-Fit (FF) assignment,
Best-Fit (BF) Assignment, Random-Fit (RF) assignment,
Most Used (MU) and Least Used (LU) assignment and PLI
aware assignment, in which a decision is based on the
PLIs. Researchers have also tried to solve the RWA problem
jointly [56, 64].
The authors in [65] proposed a RP and constraint-based
routing (RP-CBR) approach considering both, linear as
well as nonlinear signal quality degrading effects in a
­heterogeneous network infrastructure, which aims at lim-
iting re-generation to some network nodes while consider-
ing the impact of PLIs on QoT. The proposed algorithm
relies on a topology driven strategy and the result clearly
show that RP-CBR is suitable for on-the-fly network oper-
ations and significantly decreases the blocking probabil-
ity. Authors in [66] proposed an improved version of the
RP-CBR algorithm [65]. In the amended algorithm, termed
as RP-CBR+, different RP combinations are investigated
and the first QoT admissible combination providing least
number of regenerators is retained as the solution. Results
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show that for all traffic load values, RP-CBR+ presents
non-zero blocking while using the same number of re-­
generators as RP-CBR algorithm.
The Lightpath Establishment with RP (LERP) algo-
rithm [67] finds k-alternate shortest paths (k-SPs) in its
first phase and performs RP in the second phase, after
­estimating bit error rate (BER) of lightpaths comprising of
solution of the first phase. LERP simultaneously mini-
mizes the amount of rejected traffic demands and required
regenerators. The results clearly underline the efficiency
of LERP and indicate that the benefits obtained in terms of
demand rejection and number of regenerators is due to a
larger combinatoric in lightpath RWA and RP.
Various methods based on optimization theory have
been proposed for PLIA-RWA. PLIARWA algorithms based
on meta-heuristic methods that make use of successive
­iterations to converge to an optimum solution and do not
involve complex mathematical formulations have been
proposed [68, 69]. To concurrently deal with PLIA-RWA
and wavelength conversion, translucent networks are a
viable solution and have been shown to achieve perfor-
mances close to those obtained in fully opaque networks,
at a much lower cost [70]. With the translucent network
scenario, the major problem that evolves concerns with
the optimization of placement of wavelength conversion
capable regenerators, with the objective of minimizing the
connection blocking probability resulting from PLIs. Such
a problem is addressed in [71, 72] by using traffic predic-
tion based heuristics.
Different RA issues are proposed in [73, 74]. The effi-
cient regeneration-aware algorithms have been proposed
in [73]. It minimizes the number of used regenerators
along the selected lightpath as well as the PLI constraints.
In [74] an online multicost algorithm for transparent net-
works is extended to obtain a PLIA-RWA algorithm that
works in translucent networks and makes use, when re-
quired, of the regenerators present at certain locations
of the network. Given a new connection request and the
current utilization state of the network, the algorithm cal-
culates a set of non-dominated candidate paths which
consists of all the cost-effective and feasible lightpaths for
the given source-destination pair, including all the possi-
ble combinations for the utilization of available regenera-
tors of the network. An optimization function or policy
is  then applied to this set in order to select the optimal
lightpath.
As OEO regenerators are expensive, operators are
forced to reduce the number of regenerators in the net­
work, and hence the CapEx/OpEx, without compromising
on the network performance. To address these issues, re-
cently there is a lot of interest in cost efficient translucent
342   S. P. Singh et al., Next-Generation Variable-Line-Rate Optical WDM
network design and operation [75]. Also, an optimized
network design, minimizing the number of regenerators,
strongly depends on the traffic requests. Recent studies
have focused on translucent network design considering
scheduled lightpath demand (SLD) [76] and Ad-hoc light-
path demands (ALD) traffic [77]. In regard to cost efficient
translucent network design and operation, the authors
in [78] proposed the Cross-Optimization for RWA and RP
(COR2P) heuristic which minimizes both, the number of
required regenerators and regeneration sites. The authors
also introduced an original cost function contributing to
CapEx/OpEx optimization and further, compared COR2P
to RP-CBR+ [66] and LERP [67]. The results show that for
low traffic loads, COR2P does not reject any demands
while  RP-CBR+ presents non-zero blocking; whereas for
high traffic loads, COR2P presents a blocking which is
100  times lower than that shown by RP-CBR+. Further,
for  identical scenarios at low or moderate traffic loads,
in  comparison to LERP, COR2P reduces both, the total
number of regenerators and regeneration sites.
The authors in [79] formulated a framework that
­substantiates the offline version of PLI-RWA problem in
translucent WDM networks where, given a network topol-
ogy and the estimate of traffic demands, both, the static
PLI-RWA and the RP problems are solved jointly. The in-
troduced PLI-Signal Quality Aware RWA (PLI-SQARWA)
algorithm (a) guarantees zero blocking due to signal deg-
radation and wavelength contention and (b) aims at mini-
mizing the total required number of network components
i.e. regenerators and all-optical wavelength converters
(AOWCs). Further, in view of reducing the time delay due
to OEO conversions, the authors also proposed a novel
electro-optical hybrid translucent node architecture. The
results of the study show that PLI-SQARWA outperforms
COR2P in terms of CapEx and time delay; while demon-
strating superior blocking performance at all traffic loads.
In addition, at high traffic loads, PLI-SQARWA also starts
to provision savings on OpEx. Further, the hybrid node is
shown to incur less time delay at a similar blocking perfor-
mance shown by nodes which use OEO conversion for
both, regeneration and/or wavelength conversion.
The authors in [64] extended the work presented in
[79] by (1) introducing the PLI-signal quality and delay
aware RWA (PLI-SQDARWA) algorithm that (a) considers
both, signal quality and end-to-end delay for candidate
route computation and (b) minimizes the total required
network components, and (2) proposing a delay analysis
in order to justify the concept of latency awareness in
translucent WDM networks.
The results show that for all traffic load values, PLI-
SQDARWA outperforms COR2P in terms of connection
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blocking and number of network components. Further, it
is shown that for any network configuration, there exists a
trade-off between delay incurred for obtaining and main-
taining the desired QoT. In addition, for network equipped
with the novel hybrid translucent node, optimum delay
value for obtaining the desired QoT is found to be lower
compared to when the network is equipped with node
­architectures existing in literature. Considering that the
aforementioned studies assumed the use of full range
wavelength converters (FRWCs), the authors in [80] ex-
tended their previous works by implementing the PLI-­
SQARWA algorithm for network design, considering the
deployment of the practical limited range wavelength
converters (LRWCs) within the network. For network
equipped with hybrid nodes and employing PLI-SQARWA,
performance results, in presence of both, FRWCs and
LRWCs respectively are presented.
The results clearly show that in the presence of
FRWCs, PLI-SQARWA is able to accept all the demands at
low traffic loads, and presents negligible blocking at mod-
erate and high loads. However, the introduction of LRWCs
within the network results in higher blocking owing to the
presence of wavelength converter noise. Further, higher
translation range LRWCs only decreases the wavelength-­
related blocking whereas; regenerators only reduce the
BER-related blocking. Thus, both, AOWCs and regenera-
tors are requisited in order to reduce the overall network
blocking probability. A detailed survey on various PLIA-
RWA algorithms can be found in [55, 56].
In recent years, with the optical communications in-
dustry and research community having identified the
need to support heterogeneous networks that accommo-
dates mixed 10/40/100 Gbit/s traffic i.e., MLR WDM net-
works, the major requirement is that the different line
rates should co-exist over the legacy channel grids and
transmission systems [81]. Hence, transmission perfor-
mance, price (CapEx and OpEx) and power dissipation
per bit have to be improved in order to justify the use of 40
and 100 Gbit/s WDM transport over 10 Gbit/s transport
network. Further, in a MLR network, a low-bit-rate service
may need minimal or no grooming (i.e., less multiplexing
with other low-bit-rate services onto high capacity wave-
lengths), while a high-bit-rate service can be set up over a
single wavelength [5]. For provisioning high data rate
throughout the backbone network will requisite either ex-
pensive transmission equipments or more CapEx, as the
number of regenerators deployed in the network will in-
crease and moreover, traffic demands across the network
may not require high capacity everywhere [7]. Apart from
this the MLR network supports different modulation
format, hence for a given traffic the RWA strategy should
  S. P. Singh et al., Next-Generation Variable-Line-Rate Optical WDM   343
be intelligent enough to decide not only the best route
(considering the QoT and overall cost) but also the modu-
lation format.
The authors in [4], proposed a novel and cost-effective
approach to design a MLR network with transmission-­
range (TR) constraint. The authors have shown that by
intelligent assignment of channel rates to lightpaths,
based on their TR constraint, the need for signal regenera-
tion can be minimized, and a transparent optical network
can be designed to support all-optical end-to-end light-
paths. The design problem is formulated as an integer
linear programming (ILP), and the results show that, with
MLRs and maximum TR constraints, one can design a
cost-effective network. The study also showed how the
MLR network’s cost evolved with increasing traffic, com-
pared to SLR networks.
In [82], the authors have proposed new design models
for MLR optical networks with no regeneration (i.e. trans-
parent network) and selective regeneration (i.e. translu-
cent network). The proposed model is applied to a specific
setting, i.e., a case-study network with realistic cost pa-
rameters and under this scenario; the authors have dis-
cussed the transponder vs. regenerator tradeoffs in de-
signing a cost-effective MLR network. The results of the
study show the interplay between transponder cost and
regenerator card cost using MLRs. It is seen that higher-­
rate transponders provide volume discount and that the
network cost savings achievable by using regenerators is
significantly dependent on the type of traffic matrix.
The authors in [8] have investigated the case of finding
optimal value of channel spacing that leads to minimum
network cost, by evaluating the cost of a MLR network for
different channel spacings. The design problem formula-
tion is an ILP, which minimizes the overall network cost in
terms of transponders. The results show that as channel
spacing increases, the network cost (in terms of tran­
sponders) comes down up to a certain optimum channel
spacing, and beyond the optimum channel spacing, the
cost increases. The authors also state that the behavior of
network cost with channel spacing may vary with network
topologies, wherein, larger topologies may exhibit more
sensitivity of the cost with channel spacing. Further, the
results show that, even under the assumption of uniform
channel spacing for a MLR network, it is possible to iden-
tify optimal values of channel spacing for a minimum-cost
MLR network design.
In [6], the authors have proposed a design method for
MLR optical networks with transceivers employing differ-
ent modulation formats. The MLR multiple modulation
formats (MMFs) problem is designed as an ILP with the
objective of minimizing the network cost consisting of the
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total cost of the transceivers of various bit rates and differ-
ent modulation format. The results show that MLR net-
works are more cost effective than an SLR network, and
depending on the traffic volume that a typical backbone
network has to carry, one can save quite a bit of CapEx
by  deploying a heterogeneous transmission system with
MMFs. The results also demonstrate the tradeoff between
a transceiver’s cost and its optical reach in overall network
design.
The authors in [7] have studied the migration scenario
from a networking point of view and optimizing the mi-
gration strategy in terms of CapEx. For a lower and an
upper cost bound, two multiperiod planning approaches
are applied viz., all-periods planning and incremental
planning, respectively. The migration optimization shows
considerable impact from forecast knowledge to cost
­optimality, channel mix, and aggregation decisions. The
authors concluded that for long-term migration under
traffic growth, optimal network cost is achieved by early
investments in 40G-only equipment. The results indicate
that network size and varying cost decreasing factors
have only limited impact on the main results of the migra-
tion study: early investments in 40G-only transmission
systems lead to reductions in overall costs and optimiza-
tion of equipment utilization. Furthermore, the highly
loaded network and the ongoing occurrence of 10G
demands results in continuous use of infrastructure for
10G and mixed 40G optical channels. Further, including a
demand forecast for the bitrate services can be recom-
mended especially for low cost decreasing factors, since
the main impact in terms of routing and aggregation deci-
sions occurs there and leads to an overall CapEx reduc-
tion. Furthermore, forecast knowledge in terms of demand
development enables feasible planning and more optimal
equipment utilization for highly loaded network.
In [83, 84], the authors have considered the problem
of planning a MLR WDM transport optical network. RWA
algorithms are presented that take into account the adap-
tation of the TR of each connection according to the use of
the modulation formats/line rates in the network. The pro-
posed algorithms are able to plan the network so as to al-
leviate interference effects, enabling the establishment of
connections of acceptable quality over paths that would
otherwise be prohibited. The interference due to the dif-
ferent modulation formats/rates used in a MLR system is
modeled by defining an effective length metric that helps
in the adaptation of the transmission reach of the connec-
tions according to the utilization state of the network. The
authors use effective length constraints in order to solve
the MLR adaptive planning problem. Initially, the study
presents an optimal ILP algorithm for the MLR planning
344   S. P. Singh et al., Next-Generation Variable-Line-Rate Optical WDM
problem, followed by a sequential heuristic algorithm.
Further, two ordering policies and a simulated annealing
variation is examined. The algorithms assign wavelengths
to the lightpaths so as to reduce or avoid cross-rate inter-
ference and yield solutions that have the same tran­
sponder cost and utilize the same number of wavelengths
as if no cross-rate interference was present in the network.
The obtained results indicate that the important cost ben-
efits can be obtained by planning the network using algo-
rithms that account for the adaptation of the transmission
reach, compared to planning the network under the worst
TR assumption. Further, the results indicate that the pro-
posed algorithms can efficiently utilize the wavelength
domain so as to absorb cross-rate interference effects.
Also, the performance of the proposed reach-adapting al-
gorithms is shown to be superior to that of other planning
algorithms that are based on the worst transmission reach
assumption.
In [85] the authors have studied the problem of cost-­
efficient routing of multi-bit-rate (1/10/40/100 Gbit/s)
­Ethernet tunnels using MLR over a carrier’s WDM optical
network with signal TR constraints. The effect of TR for
mixed-rate signals (10/40/100 Gbit/s) on the network’s
cost in order to determine the optimal TR of each bit rate
is  studied. An analytical model based on a mixed-ILP
(MILP) to determine the optimal TR of a small network is
analyzed. For scalability, graph-based solution that con-
structs a mixed-line-rate auxiliary (MLR-AUX) graph to
capture the network’s heterogeneity and a weight-­
assignment approach that allows the routing to be cost-­
efficient is proposed. The authors have studied the per­
formance of six routing algorithms that have different
traffic-centric and regeneration-centric approaches. The
findings of the study can be summarized as follows: The
optimal TR of a certain bit-rate signal depends on traffic
characteristics and on the TR values of different bit-rate
signals. Also, since signal regeneration can be combined
with grooming, routing algorithms that allow regenera-
tion and have the intelligence to exploit grooming achieve
significant cost savings compared to the algorithms that
try to achieve a regeneration-free solution. Hence, it is
possible that using short TR can reduce the network cost,
which is strongly correlated with traffic properties. When
network traffic is largely dominated by low-rate Ether-­
tunnels, short TR is preferred. The optimal TR value in-
creases as more high-rate traffic is introduced to the net­
work. The authors conclude that in order for the network
operator to determine the best TR value, a long-term anal-
ysis on the forecasted traffic growth and its characteristics
is important, which also involves using novel approaches
to achieve accurate traffic forecast.
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The authors in [86] considered the grooming RWA
(GRWA) problem so that the QoT for connections is satis-
fied, and the network-level performance metric of block-
ing probability is minimized. Cross-layer heuristics called
LG based on a logical graph, and SP based on shortest
paths, in order to effectively allocate the sparse regen­
erators have been developed, and extensive simulation
results are presented in order to demonstrate their ef­
fectiveness. The results show that the LG heuristic is
able to effectively allocate network resources and reduce
blocking, compared to other heuristics. Further, connec-
tion splitting is shown to yield significant performance
benefits.
The authors in [87] have firstly reviewed the QoT
­modeling for 10, 40, and 100 Gbit/s transmission accord-
ing to the adopted modulation format and detection type.
In addition, a Gaussian approximation to compute the
BER of differential quadrature phase-shift keying (DQPSK)
and QPSK signals is proposed, as well as closed formulas
to compute the nonlinear phase noise variance due to
XPM. Also, discussions on XPM cumulation over spans in
a WSON and how XPM can be considered in a dynamic
network are provided. Further, four lightpath provision-
ing schemes are proposed to effectively account for
QoT and, in particular, for XPM. The schemes differently
exploit: 1) augmented spectral separation among light-
paths at different bit rates; 2) XPM worst-case scenario;
and 3) current and novel generalized multiprotocol label
switching (GMPLS) extensions. The results show that the
proposed schemes provide effective network resource
­utilization while guaranteeing the adequate QoT to light-
paths at any bit rate. Three schemes, namely FF-GB, FF/
LF-GB, and FF-W, utilize already proposed QoT-aware
GMPLS extensions. Effective network resource utilization
is provided at low loads by the schemes operating with GB
(i.e., FF-GB, FF/LF-GB) and, at high loads, by the scheme
exploiting worst-case scenario approach (i.e., FF-W). The
fourth scheme (i.e., FF/LF-W-GB), by exploiting novel
GMPLS extensions and an effective combination of both
GB and worst-case scenario approaches, provides the best
performance at any network load and multibit-rate WSON
scenario.
The authors in [88] have investigated the planning of
10/40 Gbit/s MLR networks using the ITU 50 GHz grid,
considering non-linear interferences between 10 and
40 Gbit/s channels, which degrade the QoT. In addition, a
set of tests normalizing the length of fiber links are con-
ducted in order to observe the trends in MLR planning for
different network sizes. The multilayer network planning
problem is modeled through a MILP formulation. A heu-
ristic algorithm that can be easily adapted to any other
  S. P. Singh et al., Next-Generation Variable-Line-Rate Optical WDM   345
modulation formats scenario is also presented. The quality
of the algorithm has been confirmed by comparison with
performance bounds. Finally, several experiments are
conducted to analyze under this new light the tradeoffs
between longer reach of 10 Gbit/s transceivers, versus
higher capacity and better cost per bps of 40 Gbit/s trans-
ceivers in MLR networks. The results suggest that MLR net-
works are promising solutions to reduce the transceiver
network cost in low loaded networks, where the intensity
in the cost reduction is very sensitive with the network
size. However, in heavy loaded networks, the interfer-
ences between 10 and 40 Gbit/s channels, dissuade to mix
them, despite the possible benefits of using longer-reach
10 Gbit/s lightpaths.
The authors in [89] have presented mathematical
models that can act as references for designing energy-
and cost-efficient MLR optical networks. Comparative
study of the energy efficiency of MLR and special cases of
MLR design, named as SLR networks (where all the links
have same line rates), is performed. The authors explore
the scenarios where the MLR networks minimize energy
consumption. Finally, they investigate the relationship
be­tween energy-minimized and cost-minimized MLR net­
work design. The results show that for different traffic
load scenarios, MLR networks can improve the energy ef-
ficiency of all the three types of optical network architec-
tures, whereas in a few other scenarios (such as longer
physical links where transmission reaches of line rates for
MLR design are not feasible or very high traffic load),
certain SLR networks can be better options.
In [90], the authors have compared the CapEx and
power consumption of MLR and adaptive networks for
two different topologies of an IP over DWDM network. The
results indicate that network optimization due to CapEx
and power consumption yield to no significant differ-
ences  for the IP-layer regarding different topologies (flat
or hierarchical) or network scenarios (MLR and adaptive
network). In contrast, the DWDM-layer showed benefits
for a hierarchical network with only slight differences
between a MLR and adaptive network approach. The
adaptive network shows only benefits regarding the total
number of transponder and used fibers, besides the gen­
eral advantage of higher flexibility for dynamic network
issues. In the limit of full utilization of the optical paths
the efficiency of both networks, MLR and adaptive, ap-
proaches each other.
The authors in [91] have investigated the energy-­
efficient and cost-efficient MLR network-upgrade problem.
In this context, they have also studied the effect of net­
work connection disruption on energy-efficient and cost-­
efficient MLR network upgrade. The authors state that, in
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general, the service provider’s aim would be to have as
few disruptions as possible during capacity upgrade, as
disruptions may induce service degradation. The results
of the study show that the amount of disruptions has a
conflicting effect on energy-efficient and cost-efficient
upgrade in MLR networks, and thus, the authors have de-
veloped an optimized upgrade strategy, so that both cost
and energy are kept within a certain limit. Finally, the
authors state that from their study, a network engineer
should be able to develop a benchmark for the amount of
disruption that can be allowed when upgrading a network,
depending on amount of traffic to support, in order to
balance cost and energy efficiency.
In [92], in order to handle the increased heterogeneity
of emerging optical links, the authors have developed
and  evaluated a new solution for p-cycle design in MLR
optical networks. An optimization formulation along with
a heuristic solution is presented. Simulation results show
increased protection efficiency over fixed line rate net-
works and indicate promising avenues for future exten-
sions, viz., considering multiple link/node failures and
using other kind of networks such as transparent optical
networks.
The authors in [93] have proposed to design transpar-
ent MLR networks with shared sub-connection protection
in order to achieve significant cost reduction. The study
confirms that MLR network with shared protection enables
a survivable, cost-efficient and flexible network design. As
the traffic grows, cost reduction between SLR and MLR
becomes more significant.
In [94], the authors have studied the important topic
of degraded services in MLR networks, where a service
can accept degradation in bandwidth to a certain extent in
case of a failure for lower cost, a concept called partial
protection. Network operators may wish to support de-
graded services to optimize network resources and reduce
cost. In this context, the authors have developed a mul-
tipath routing scheme to support degraded services in
MLR networks, and their illustrative examples show that
significant cost savings can be achieved vs. full protec-
tion. A mathematical formulation is developed for provi-
sioning degraded services in MLR networks using mul-
tipath routing, considering various partial-protection
models. The results show that the approach offers signifi-
cant cost savings vs. prior approaches on dedicated full
protection in MLR networks.
The authors in [95] have investigated the problem
of  protection in MLR optical networks: in particular, the
design of a cost-effective transparent MLR network that
provides dedicated protection at the lightpath level. Three
mechanisms are proposed: MLR-at-p-lightpath protection
346   S. P. Singh et al., Next-Generation Variable-Line-Rate Optical WDM
(MLR-p), MLR-at-lightpath protection (MLR-l), and MLR
with-backup-flow-grooming protection (MLR-g). The
design problem is solved by two different approaches:
(1) a two-step approach that formulates part of the problem
as an ILP and (2) a heuristic approach. The results show
that, by appropriate assignment of rates to lightpaths,
MLR networks can provide protection for diverse traffic
demands with much lower transponder cost compared to
single-line-rate networks. The results further showed how
the MLR network cost scales in a more efficient manner for
increasing traffic compared to SLR networks. The study
also showed that cost-effective MLR survivable networks
can be designed by intelligent assignment of bit rates to
the lightpaths while satisfying all the traffic demands.
6 Conclusions
In this paper we have reviewed the PLIs present in optical
fiber. We have emphasized those impairments which
affect the performance of MLR optical networks. The
paper also surveys different modulation format and RWA
techniques applicable to legacy WDM network and MLR
network. During our literature survey, we identified
several important and challenging issues within MLR net-
works which need to be considered by the research com-
munity. Some of these open issues are as follows:
1. In order to estimate the QoT of a lightpath and its
neighbours that run on mixed rates and multiple
modulation formats, new physical models need to
be  considered and studied. The QoT metrics calcu­
lation formulas, such as the BER/Q-factor for the
­advanced modulation formats ought to be properly
tailored.
2. In MLR networks, in order to serve a given traffic
demand, an educated decision about the route, the
channel, the bit-rate and the modulation format
needs  to be made. Thus, as opposed to traditional
RWA or PLIA-RWA process, novel Routing Wavelength
Bit-Rate and Format Assignment (RWBFA) algorithms
are necessitated to be formulated in order to solve
the  complex issue. Constrained by the QoT, the
­wavelength-continuity and the network transparency,
these algorithms will compute the optimum routes
and assign to them the optimum available resources.
3. Since determining the optimal TR in an MLR network
depends both, on traffic and TR, suitable MLR algo-
rithms must be formulated for the same. In order for
the network operator to determine the best TR value,
a long-term analysis on the forecasted traffic growth
and its characteristics is important, which also in-
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volves using novel approaches to achieve accurate
traffic forecast.
4. The ILP formulation of the MLR problem takes several
hours in order to return an optimum solution, and
hence, heuristic algorithms need to be devised in
future.
5. In terms of migration from 10 Gbit/s to higher bit
rates, apart from focus on only CapEx optimization,
future studies can also consider OpEx arising due to
the implementation of the 10G and 40G equipment
and due to the operation of this equipment, e.g.,
maintenance and power consumption. Further, next
steps are refinements of the migration model in terms
of WA, cost, and demand modelling. Especially, the
impact of demand variations, resulting in an incor-
rect demand forecast, on all-periods planning can be
studied in future.
6. The dynamic version of the lightpath establishment
problem in a MLR network with PLI awareness is a
largely unexplored research topic. The problem is
challenging because, when connection requests
arrive sequentially, it is difficult to decide which
line  rate should be assigned to a request since we
lack  knowledge of future traffic demands. Also, for
dynamic lightpath provisioning in a MLR network, we
need to consider more advanced PLI penalties, such
as those due to power oscillations induced by the pro-
visioning of a new lightpath: modeling and measur-
ing this effect is challenging in a SLR network, and
deserves careful study for MLR networks. Bounds
based on transmission power for various bit rates to
assure low interference need to be devised and in-
cluded in the provisioning decision. Future research
should also address other protection schemes (e.g.,
shared protection) and a dynamic version of the MLR
problem considering protection and restoration.
7. In MLR networks, it is important to have integrated
impairment-aware control plane architecture to ac­
count for the different performance levels of the dif-
ferent line rates depending on their reachability. The
set-up and tear-down of a lightpath affects the exist-
ing lightpaths in a more sensitive fashion in a vari-
able  line rate system depending on which line rate
the added/dropped lightpath is. Therefore, a flexible
control plane with impairment awareness is required
for simplified and agile network provisioning.
8. Optical OFDM will likely become a major building
block of the 100G networks and beyond, offering un-
matched spectrum-efficiency, scalability and cost-­
effectiveness. In this context, due to the finer gran­
ularity of an OFDM-based network compared to a
  S. P. Singh et al., Next-Generation Variable-Line-Rate Optical WDM   347
traditional WDM network just enough bandwidth can
be allocated to a given traffic demand, presenting
new constraints in network planning. Traditional
RWA and/or PLIA-RWA algorithms are no longer ap-
plicable or require significant tailoring work to satisfy
the new challenges, since bandwidth allocation is not
fixed but varies with the different traffic demands.
Therefore the RWA problem transforms to a Routing
and Spectrum Allocation problem where every con-
nection request is assigned a spectrum fraction. Novel
algorithms are required to handle this issue that along
with the wavelength-continuity constraint will have
to operate under the spectrum-continuity constraint.
To serve a given traffic matrix, the developed algo-
rithms will have to properly allocate the spectrum
avoiding any overlapping and at the same time mini-
mizing the total spectrum utilized.
Received: May 21, 2013. Accepted: August 1, 2013.
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