Transparent optical packet switching: The European ACTS KEOPS project approach

This paper reviews the work carried out under the European ACTS KEOPS (KEys to Optical Packet Switching) project, centering on the definition, develop ment and assessment of optical packet switching and routing networks capabl e of providing transparency to the payload bit rate. The adopted approach u ses optical packets of fixed duration with low bit rate headers to facilita te processing at the network/node interfaces. The paper concentrates on the networking concepts developed in the KEOPS project through a description o f the implementation issues pertinent to optical packet switching nodes and network/node interfacing blocks, and consideration of the network function alities provided within the optical packet layer. The implementation, from necessity, relies on advanced optoelectronic components specifically develo ped within the project, which are also briefly described.