Energy-Efficient WDM Network Planning with Dedicated Protection Resources in Sleep Mode

Abstract

Energy-efficient optical networks are gaining momentum as environmental-friendly solutions with reduced operational costs. Energy-efficiency can be achieved by using devices in sleep mode, i.e., a low-power, inactive state in which devices can be suddenly waken-up upon occurrence of triggering events. This paper advocates a sleep mode option for the optical devices (e.g., amplifiers, optical switches) installed for protection purposes only. These devices can be put in sleep mode to reduce the network power consumption, but they can be promptly waken up (if necessary) upon a failure occurrence. This principle is proposed and applied in Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) networks with dedicated-path protection to ensure survivability against single-link failures. The main contribution of the paper is the definition of the energy-efficient network planning problem for resilient WDM networks where optical devices can be configured in sleep mode. Optimal results of the integer linear programming (ILP) problem show savings of up to 25% in the overall power consumption.