Time division multiplexing (TDM) has been the fundamental basis for adding capacity to digital telecommunications networks for decades. However, within the past two years, wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) has been emerging as an important and widely deployed complement to TDM. Sales of systems based on the new technology have risen at breathtaking speed. The driving force behind this sales explosion was the unexpected rapid exhaustion of long distance fiber network capacity. This fiber exhaust, combined with favorable economics for WDM, led to the use of this technology over other alternatives.

The WDM deployment raises fundamental and challenging problems that require novel and innovative solutions. This volume presents papers from an interdisciplinary workshop held at DIMACS on multichannel optical networks. Leading computer science theorists and practitioners discussed admissions control, routing and channel assignment, multicasting and protection, and fault-tolerance. The book features application of theoretical and/or algorithmical results to practical problems and addresses the influence of practical problems to theoretical/algorithmic studies. The volume can serve as a text for an advanced course in computer science, networking, and operations research.