2025/12/17 by Hai, Dao Thanh, Li, Shuo, Woungang, Isaac
Computer Science · Engineering · #Advanced Optical Network Technologies #FOS: Computer and information sciences #Networking and Internet Architecture (cs.NI) #Neural Networks and Reservoir Computing #Optical Network Technologies
paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2512.15190
openalex publication_date 2025/12/17 · openalex created_date 2025/12/19 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Driven by massive investments and consequently significant progresses in optical computing and all-optical signal processing technologies lately, this paper presents a new architectural paradigm for next-generation optical transport network, entitled optical computing-communication integrated network, which is capable of providing dual services at the optical layer, namely, computing and communication. This approach seeks to exploit the potential for performing optical computing operations among lightpaths that traverse the same intermediate node. Optical-layer intelligence concept is thus introduced as the capability to perform computing / processing at the lightpath scale to achieve greater spectral and/or computing efficiency. A case study focusing on optical aggregation operation is introduced, highlighting the key differences between optical computing-communication integrated network and its current counterpart, optical-bypass ones. A mathematical formulation for optimal designs of optical-aggregation-enabled network is then provided and performance comparison with traditional optical-bypass model is drawn on the realistic NSFNET topology.