On the basis of profound understanding of data center (DC) traffic demands and optical
switching technologies, we present a hybrid optical network design for future data center
network (DCN). Such design integrates optical circuit switching (OCS) and optical packet
switching (OPS) schemes via hybrid Top-of-the-Rack (ToR) switches which provide flexible
function-switchover between different traffic patterns in the DCN. Simulations of network
behaviors under such DC traffic loads indicate that the proposed OPS/OCS DCN can …