A Two-Step Scheduling Algorithm to Support Dual Bandwidth Allocation Policies in an Ethernet Passive Optical Network

In this paper, we design a two-step scheduling algorithm to support multiple bandwidth allocation policies for upstream channel access in an Ethernet passive optical network. The proposed scheduling algorithm allows us a simultaneous approach for multiple access control policies: static bandwidth allocation for guaranteed bandwidth service and dynamic bandwidth allocation for on-demand, dynamic traffic services. In order to reduce the scheduling complexity, we separate the process of the transmission start- time decision from the process of grant generation. This technique does not require the timing information of other bandwidth allocation modules, so respective modules are free from a heavy amount of timing information or complex processing.