Passive Optical Network Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation Algorithms for Converged Fronthaul

The research presented in this thesis is focused on the use of passive optical network (PON) dynamic bandwidth allocation (DBA) algorithms for converged fronthaul. This work adapts and extends an existing model for use with a status reporting DBA that incorporates a colorless grant. This thesis also proposes a hybrid DBA that operates with the status reporting DBA and cooperative DBA.

The models for the status reporting DBA and the proposed hybrid DBA are implemented in the OMNeT++ network simulator. The performance of both DBAs is evaluated using four simulation experiments in two deployment scenarios for a 10 Gbit/s symmetric PON (XGS-PON) system with an emphasis on the average optical network unit (ONU) upstream queueing delay and the proportion of frames meeting the latency requirement for fronthaul traffic. This is achieved by allocating bandwidth to the different types of traffic in a converged network based on their priority and latency requirement.

The key findings from the simulation experiments show that, when the delay distribution of frames is analysed, a status reporting DBA that incorporates a colorless grant is suitable for meeting the latency requirement in a converged network, provided an adequate allocation of bandwidth is made available for fronthaul traffic. More than 99% of the fronthaul traffic at 80% traffic load in all scenarios meet the fronthaul latency requirement in the status reporting DBA. Furthermore, when the two DBAs are compared, the hybrid DBA provides zero frame loss for fronthaul traffic in all scenarios which is not achievable using the status reporting DBA.