The variant cycle-cover problem in fault detection and localization for mesh all-optical networks

With the soaring channel speed and density in all-optical networks (AONs), the risk of high data loss upon network faults increases quickly. To manage network faults efficiently, an m-cycle based fault detection and localization (MFDL) scheme has been introduced recently. This paper verifies the necessary and sufficient condition for achieving the complete fault localization (CFL) in MFDL, which is defined as the case that every single network fault can be located to a unique link. We model the m-cycle construction as a new mathematical problem: the variant version of the constrained cycle-cover problem (vCCCP) and explore its formal expression. The model includes the consideration of the cycle-length limit, cycle number, and wavelength cost, while also keeps the CFL achievable. A two-phase branch-and-bound (B&B) algorithm was developed for solving the vCCCP, which guarantees to find near-optimal solutions. This algorithm is then applied to four typical and four random network examples to validate and assess the performance. The results are analyzed and compared with some previously reported algorithms, in terms of fault localization degree, cycle number, wavelength overhead, and cost reduction. The performance evaluation and comparison reveal that the new model and algorithm could significantly reduce the MFDL cost, including both the cost of monitoring devices and reserved wavelengths.