<s>
Fractional	B-Protocol
lambda	I-Protocol
switching	I-Protocol
(	O
FλS	O
)	O
leverages	O
on	O
time-driven	B-Protocol
switching	I-Protocol
(	O
TDS	B-Protocol
)	O
to	O
realize	O
sub-lambda	O
switching	O
in	O
highly	O
scalable	O
dynamic	O
optical	O
networking	O
,	O
which	O
requires	O
minimum	O
(	O
possibly	O
optical	O
)	O
buffers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Fractional	B-Protocol
lambda	I-Protocol
switching	I-Protocol
implies	O
switching	O
fractions	O
of	O
optical	O
channels	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
whole	O
lambda	O
switching	O
where	O
whole	O
optical	O
channels	O
are	O
the	O
switching	O
unit	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
context	O
,	O
TDS	B-Protocol
has	O
the	O
same	O
general	O
objectives	O
as	O
optical	B-Protocol
burst	I-Protocol
switching	I-Protocol
and	O
optical	O
packet	O
switching	O
:	O
realizing	O
all-optical	O
networks	O
with	O
high	O
wavelength	O
utilization	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
TDS	B-Protocol
operation	O
is	O
based	O
on	O
time	O
frames	O
(	O
TFs	O
)	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
viewed	O
as	O
virtual	O
containers	O
for	O
multiple	O
IP	B-Protocol
packets	I-Protocol
that	O
are	O
switched	O
at	O
every	O
TDS	B-Protocol
switch	O
based	O
on	O
and	O
coordinated	O
by	O
the	O
UTC	O
(	O
coordinated	O
universal	O
time	O
)	O
signal	O
implementing	O
pipeline	B-Protocol
forwarding	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
context	O
of	O
optical	O
networks	O
,	O
synchronous	B-Protocol
virtual	I-Protocol
pipes	I-Protocol
SVPs	B-Protocol
typical	O
of	O
pipeline	B-Protocol
forwarding	I-Protocol
are	O
called	O
fractional	O
lambda	O
pipes	O
(	O
FλPs	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
FλS	O
,	O
likewise	O
in	O
TDS	B-Protocol
,	O
all	O
packets	O
in	O
the	O
same	O
time	O
frame	O
are	O
switched	O
in	O
the	O
same	O
way	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
TF	O
is	O
the	O
basic	O
SVP	B-Protocol
capacity	O
allocation	O
unit	O
;	O
hence	O
,	O
the	O
allocation	O
granularity	O
depends	O
on	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
TFs	O
per	O
time	O
cycle	O
.	O
</s>
