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• Introduction 
• TDM and WDM 
• Types of WDM 
• Comparisons of CWDM and DWDM 
• Light Path & Light Tree 
• Architecture of Light Tree 
• Unicast, Broadcast & Multicast Traffic 
• Combining Unicast & Multicast Traffic 
• Applications 
• Advantages and Disadvantages 
• Conclusion 
• References
IInnttrroodduuccttiioonn 
• The concept of light tree is introduced in a 
wavelength routed optical network which 
employs wavelength -division multiplexing 
(WDM). 
• Point to multipoint 
• Enables single-hop communication 
• Increases the network throughput.
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• Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing (CWDM)
• Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM)
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Feature CWDM DWDM 
Wavelength 
per fibre 
8 – 16 40 – 80 
Wavelength 
spacing 
2500GHz 
(20nm) 
100 GHz 
(0.8nm) 
Wavelength 
capacity 
Up to 2.5 
Gbps 
Up to 10 Gbps 
Aggregate 
fibre capacity 
20–40 Gbps 100–1000 
Gbps 
Overall cost Low Medium
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• A light path is an all-optical channel, which may 
be used to carry circuit switched traffic and it may 
span multiple fiber links. Assigning a particular 
wavelength to it sets these up. 
• A major objective of light path communication is 
to reduce the number of hops a packet has to 
traverse.
Architecture Of Light Tree
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These are the types of transmissions 
used in Light Tree: 
• Unicast Traffic 
• Broadcast Traffic 
• Multicast Traffic
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 Teleconferencing 
 Videoconferencing 
 Internet NEWS distribution 
 Internet television etc..
AAddvvaannttaaggeess 
• Data Security 
• Ease of installation 
• Eliminating Spark Hazards 
• High Bandwidth over Long Distances
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• Price 
• Fragility 
• Opaqueness 
• Requires special skills
CCoonncclluussiioonn 
• WDM WAN architecture based on light trees is 
capable of supporting broadcasting and 
multicasting over a wide-area network by 
employing a minimum number of opto-electronic 
devices. 
• WDMWAN can provide a very high bandwidth 
optical layer, which efficiently routes unicast, 
broadcast and multicast packet-switch traffic.
• http://studentstable.com/light-tree/ 
• http://www.ietf.org/proceedings/50/slides/ipo- 
7/sld006.htm 
• http://www.scribd.com/doc/7149001/Light-Tree 
• http://www.scribd.com/doc/52583313/light-tree 
• http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp? 
tp=&arnumber=747251 
• http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F0- 
387-29188-1_12
Light tree
Light tree

Light tree