Protocol for the determination of network topology
First Claim
1. A method of operating a network, the network comprising:
- a plurality of nodes connected by a plurality of optical links, comprising provisioning a virtual path between a first node and a second node of said plurality of nodes, wherein provisioning comprises;
identifying said first node and said second node of said plurality of nodes, discovering a physical path from said node to said second node by automatically identifying any intermediary nodes of said physical path, and establishing said virtual path by configuring a set of connections between said nodes of said physical path.
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Abstract
A method of operating an optical network is described. The network includes a number of nodes connected by a number of links. A method according to the present invention provisions a virtual path between a first and a second one of the plurality of nodes by: identifying the first and the second nodes, discovering a physical path from the first node to the second node, and establishing the virtual path. The method discovers a physical path from the first node to the second node by automatically identifying nodes forming the physical path. The method establishes the virtual path by configuring a set of connections between the nodes forming the physical path.
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Citations
37 Claims
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1. A method of operating a network, the network comprising:
a plurality of nodes connected by a plurality of optical links, comprising provisioning a virtual path between a first node and a second node of said plurality of nodes, wherein provisioning comprises;
identifying said first node and said second node of said plurality of nodes, discovering a physical path from said node to said second node by automatically identifying any intermediary nodes of said physical path, and establishing said virtual path by configuring a set of connections between said nodes of said physical path. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A method of restoring a virtual path in an optical network, said virtual path being provisioned on a physical path between a first and a second node of the optical network, the optical network comprising a plurality of nodes connected by a plurality of links, the method comprising:
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discovering an alternate physical path from said first node to said second node by automatically identifying nodes of said alternate physical path, and re-establishing said virtual path by configuring a set of connections between said nodes of said alternate physical path. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 31)
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23. A method of operating an optical network, the optical network comprising a plurality of nodes connected by a plurality of links, wherein each one of said plurality of nodes obtains information on neighboring ones of said plurality of nodes such that each one of said plurality of nodes is able to maintain a database representing a topology of the optical network.
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24. A method of operating an optical network, the optical network comprising a plurality of nodes connected by a plurality of links, comprising:
for each one of said plurality of nodes;
obtaining information from neighboring nodes, said information regarding a state of at least one of said plurality of links, and using said information to maintain a database representing a topology of the optical network.
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25. A method of testing a virtual path in an optical network, said virtual path provisioned on a physical path between a first and a second node of said optical network, said network comprising a plurality of nodes connected by a plurality of links, comprising:
testing said virtual path by testing each one of a plurality of nodes and a plurality of links in said physical path as a single circuit.
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26. A computer program product encoded in computer readable media, the computer program product comprising:
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first instructions, executable by a first processor, for identifying a first node and a second node of a plurality of nodes, said plurality of nodes being coupled by a plurality of links to form an optical network;
second instructions, executable by said first processor, for discovering a physical path from said first node to said second node by automatically identifying intermediary nodes of said physical path; and
third instructions, executable by said first processor, for establishing said virtual path by causing a second processor to configure a set of connections between said nodes of said physical path. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29, 30)
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32. A computer system comprising:
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a display device;
a processor coupled to the display device;
computer readable medium coupled to the processor; and
computer code, encoded in the computer readable medium, for generating a graphical user interface, wherein the graphical user interface includes a first plurality of screen objects representing nodes of an optical network, a second plurality of screen objects representing optical links between said nodes, wherein;
a first one and a second one of said first plurality of screen objects are highlighted to indicate a source node and a destination node, respectively, and certain ones of said first plurality of screen objects and certain ones of said second plurality of screen objects are highlighted by said computer code to indicate a virtual path selected by said computer code.
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33. An optical network comprising:
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a plurality of optical links;
a plurality of nodes, each one of said plurality of nodes coupled to at least one other of said plurality of nodes by at least one of said plurality of optical links, wherein said nodes are configured to provision a virtual path between a first node and a second node of said plurality of nodes by virtue of being configured to;
identify said first node and said second node of said plurality of nodes, discover a physical path from said node to said second node by virtue of being configured to automatically identify any intermediary nodes of said physical path, and establish said virtual path by virtue of being configured to configure a set of connections between said nodes of said physical path.
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34. An optical network comprising:
a plurality of optical links;
a plurality of nodes, each one of said plurality of nodes coupled to at least one other of said plurality of nodes by at least one of said plurality of optical links, wherein said nodes are configured to restore a virtual path in said optical network, said virtual path being provisioned on a physical path between a first and a second node of said plurality of nodes by virtue of being configured to;
discover an alternate physical path from said first node to said second node by virtue of being configured to automatically identify nodes of said alternate physical path, and re-establish said virtual path by virtue of being configured to configure a set of connections between said nodes of said alternate physical path.
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35. A network comprising:
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a plurality of nodes connected by a plurality of optical links, wherein said plurality of nodes are configured to provision a virtual path between a first node and a second node of said plurality of nodes, wherein each of said plurality of nodes comprises;
identifying means for identifying said first node and said second node of said plurality of nodes, discovering means for discovering a physical path from said node to said second node by automatically identifying any intermediary nodes of said physical path, and establishing means for establishing said virtual path by configuring a set of connections between said nodes of said physical path. - View Dependent Claims (36)
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37. An optical network comprising:
a plurality of nodes connected by a plurality of optical links, wherein said plurality of nodes are configured to restore a virtual path in an optical network, said virtual path being provisioned on a physical path between a first and a second node of said plurality of nodes, wherein each one of said plurality of nodes comprises;
discovering means for discovering an alternate physical path from said first node to said second node by automatically identifying nodes of said alternate physical path, and re-establishing means for re-establishing said virtual path by configuring a set of connections between said nodes of said alternate physical path.
Specification