Elastic optical networks allow for a division of the optical spectrum into frequency slots, which can be combined to create channels with bandwidth defined by demand. Their flexibility provides greater spectral efficiency when compared with traditional optical networks with fixed grids. Traffic grooming strategies allow for even more efficiency in the use of network resources, reducing the number of guard bands and the utilization of transmitters and receivers. This work proposes a mechanism that influences the RMLSA algorithms causing a controlled level of spacing between the lightpaths. This makes it possible to expand lightpaths in the future to fulfill new customer requests through traffic grooming. The proposed mechanism does not require the use of specific traffic grooming or RMLSA algorithms, and it can be used in conjunction with existing solutions or future solutions. The experiments carried out show that the proposed mechanism reduces the bandwidth blocking ratio and the number of necessary transceivers, and also increases the request–lightpath ratio and energy efficiency in the network.

弹性光网络允许将光谱划分为频率槽，这些频率槽可以组合起来创建带宽由需求定义的信道。与具有固定网格的传统光网络相比，它们的灵活性提供了更高的频谱效率。流量疏导策略可以提高网络资源的使用效率，减少保护带的数量以及发射机和接收机的利用率。这项工作提出了一种影响 RMLSA 算法的机制，导致光路之间的间距受到控制。这使得将来可以扩展光路，通过交通疏导来满足新客户的要求。提议的机制不需要使用特定的流量疏导或 RMLSA 算法，它可以与现有解决方案或未来解决方案结合使用。进行的实验表明，所提出的机制降低了带宽阻塞率和必要的收发器数量，还增加了网络中的请求光路比和能量效率。