Routing and wavelength assignment in all-optical networks based on the bee colony optimization

Routing and Wavelength Assignment (RWA) problem in all-optical networks assumes determining the routes and wavelengths to be used to create the lightpaths for connection requests. The RWA problem belongs to a class of difficult combinatorial optimization problems. We propose the Bee Colony Optimization (BCO) heuristic algorithm tailored for the RWA problem (BCO-RWA) in all-optical networks without wavelength conversion in intermediate nodes. The BCO represents a new metaheuristic capable to solve difficult combinatorial optimization problems. The artificial bee colony behaves partially alike, and partially differently from bee colonies in nature. The proposed BCO-RWA algorithm has been performed for static case in which lightpath requests are known in advance. We proved that BCO-RWA is able to produce optimal or near-optimal solutions in a reasonable amount of computer time.