SixGman: An Open-Source Planner for Fixed 6G Hierarchical Optical Access-Core Networks

2026-05-07

AI Summary

This work addresses the lack of open-source tools capable of evaluating architectures and optimizing energy efficiency in 6G optical access–metro–core converged networks. To bridge this gap, we present SixGman, an open-source platform featuring a modular design and standardized interfaces, which enables the first end-to-end assessment of performance, cost, and energy consumption for novel architectures that bypass electrical-layer aggregation at HL3. The platform integrates key functionalities including dual-homing routing, quality-of-transmission estimation, joint spectrum–fiber allocation, total cost of ownership modeling, and energy consumption quantification, complemented by visualization capabilities. Experimental results on the Telefónica MAN157 topology demonstrate that the HL3-bypass architecture reduces total cost of ownership by up to 17.5% and cumulative energy consumption by 29.1%, while simultaneously improving traffic distribution and decreasing end-to-end latency.

Abstract

This paper introduces SixGman, an open-source optical network planning tool for evaluating access-metro-core aggregation network architectures. The framework integrates traffic generation, dual-homed routing, Quality of Transmission (QoT) estimation, spectrum and fiber assignment, techno-economic analysis, energy consumption evaluation, and visualization capabilities. Its modular design, based on standardized interfaces and clearly defined functions, enables flexible, transparent, and reproducible network simulations. SixGman is applied to the Telefónica MAN157 metro-urban topology, composed of 157 optical nodes, 220 links, and four hierarchical layers (HL1-HL4), to compare a conventional full hierarchical architecture with an HL3-bypassed architecture where electrical aggregation at HL3 nodes is removed. The analysis includes traffic distribution, IP router utilization, link congestion, latency, Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), and energy consumption. Results show that HL3 bypassing improves traffic distribution, reduces optical and electrical resource usage, lowers end-to-end latency, and decreases both capital and operational expenditures. Compared to the full hierarchical architecture, the HL3-bypassed scenario achieves reductions of up to 17.5% in TCO and 29.1% in cumulative energy consumption. These results demonstrate the potential of SixGman as a flexible planning platform for cost- and energy-efficient optical network design.

Problem

• 6G optical networks
• hierarchical network architecture
• cost-efficiency
• energy consumption
• network planning

Innovation

• SixGman
• hierarchical optical network
• HL3 bypassing
• techno-economic analysis
• energy-efficient planning