DC-LB-RSCA: a load-balanced framework for survivable routing of crosstalk-aware data center traffic in SDM-EONs

The rapid expansion of cloud services and data center (DC) traffic demands an optical network infrastructure that is both elastic and resilient. Elastic Optical Networks (EONs) based on Space Division Multiplexing (SDM) and multi-core fibers (MCFs) offer solutions to spectral limitations; however, challenges related to routing, spectrum, and core allocation (RSCA) arise due to inter-core crosstalk, resource fragmentation, and network disruptions. This paper proposes Data Center Load-Balanced Routing and Spectrum Core Allocation (DC-LB-RSCA), a crosstalk-aware heuristic for the survivable unicast routing of DC traffic in SDM-EONs. The suggested framework includes a multipath protection scheme to guarantee resilience against single failures at either the DC or edge level, a core segregation model to reduce inter-core crosstalk, and a label-based selection policy for DCs to optimize traffic distribution balance. In addition, spectrum allocation strategies like First-Fit (FF) and First-Exact-Fit (FEF) are used to enhance spectral efficiency and reduce fragmentation. Performance evaluation on COST239 and NSFNET topologies shows that DC-LB-RSCA outperforms other related existing RSCA techniques in terms of connection blocking ratio (CBR), fragmentation ratio (FR), and crosstalk ratio (CR), thus providing a flexible and fault-tolerant framework for SDM-EONs in future DC networks.