CSMA/CD-Based Ethernet Passive Optical Network With Optical Internetworking Capability Among Users

Abstract

The integration of data services with bandwidth-consuming broadcast services in the access network segment is anticipated in the foreseeable future. The Ethernet passive optical network (EPON) is actively being developed to meet the ever-increasing bandwidth demand in a cost-effective and future-proof manner, with internetworking among connected users to emulate shared local area network (LAN) capability being an important feature. In this work, we propose a novel EPON that utilizes an N/spl times/N star coupler to facilitate shared LAN capability in addition to conventional access services. It features high upstream channel utilization with reasonable delay, relieves the processing burden at the central office, and offers significant savings in the downstream bandwidth for data transmission.