Abstract:One of the key problems to hinder the realization of optical burst switching (OBS) technology in the core networks is the losses due to the contention among the bursts at the core nodes. Burst segmentation is an effective contention resolution technique used to reduce the number of packets lost due to the burst losses. In our work, a burst segmentation-deflection routing contention resolution mechanism in OBS networks is proposed. When the contention occurs, the bursts are segmented according to the lowest packet loss probability of networks firstly, and then the segmented burst is deflected on the optimum routing. An analytical model is proposed to evaluate the contention resolution mechanism. Simulation results show that high-priority bursts have significantly lower packet loss probability and transmission delay than the low-priority. And the performance of the burst lengths, in which the number of segments per burst distributes geometrically, is more effective than that of the deterministically distributed burst lengths.