Mariusz ZAL
Poznan University of Technology, Chair of Communication and Computer Networks, Poznań, Poland
The article presents methods for estimating energy consumption in optical and electrical switching nodes with respect to the control plane of switching fabrics. Measuring the energy consumption of the control plane, which is not implemented using ASIC chips, is quite a challenging task. The paper proposes a method for estimating electrical energy consumption that can be used to study the control plane implemented even by general-purpose processors. A simulation program based on the OMNET++ simulator was prepared to estimate energy consumption in the control plane using various path searching algorithms in Clos-type switching fabrics. The results show that when the offered traffic volume at the input of the switching nodes is known, it is possible to reduce electrical energy consumption by selecting the appropriate path searching algorithm.