Resource Assignment Based on Dynamic Fuzzy Clustering in Elastic Optical Networks With Multi-Core Fibers

Abstract

Space-division multiplexing elastic optical networks (SDM-EONs) will play an important role in addressing the increasing Internet traffic, thanks to their spectrum utilization flexibility and superior capacity. However, besides traditional physical layer impairments (PLIs), newly introduced crosstalk (XT) coupled with the unpredictability of future services makes transmission quality assurance more challenging. Therefore, it is urgent to design more intelligent and effective resource assignment (RA) algorithms in SDM-EONs. The rise of artificial intelligence provides a clear solution to such problems. This paper proposes a novel RA scheme based on dynamic unsupervised fuzzy clustering considering both XT and PLIs. All resource combinations meeting services' transmission needs will be found to form an available resources set. If the sample scale is relatively large, we will exploit fuzzy C-means clustering for higher accuracy. To reduce the costs and complexity of clustering and also obtain better clustering results, a direct clustering method will be used for a small sample scale. The resource combination most suitable for the services' transmission needs will be assigned to different levels of services. Simulation results disclose that the cluster centers present a regional distribution which is consistent with resource occupation, and it can also effectively reduce blocking probability by an average of 59.68% while greatly improving resource utilization by 12.5% on average in the measured network load range.