Secure Optical Burst Switching: Framework and Research Directions

Abstract

Optical burst switching has been positioned as a viable means of implementing optical communication efficiently. This article identifies potential threats to security in OBS networks. To alleviate the security threats in OBS networks, a secure Optical Burst Switching (S-OBS) framework is proposed. The S-OBS framework provides two levels of security measures: authentication of burst headers and confidentiality of data bursts. Candidate solutions in each category are examined, and research directions are presented.