Method and apparatus to double LAN service unit bandwidth

• US 20050147121A1
• Filed: 12/29/2003
• Published: 07/07/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Burrell, Gary, McNeil, Roy Charles Jr.
• Granted Patent: US 7,573,898 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/468
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 2203/0046 User Network Interface
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 2203/0064 Admission Control
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 2203/0085 Support of Ethernet
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 2203/0094 Virtual Concatenation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/46 Interconnection of networks
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 370/901 Wide area network
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 370/907 Synchronous optical network, SONET

Abstract

A LAN Service Unit (LANSU) backplane extender provides an inexpensive way to increase LANSU backplane bandwidth so that the performance degradation that may otherwise result can be avoided. A system having increased LANSU bandwidth comprises a backplane including a plurality of data traffic communications connections operable to communicate data traffic, a Line Unit including a WAN interface and a data traffic communications interface to the data traffic communications connections, a LANSU including a LAN interface, a data traffic communications interface to a Bandwidth Extender, and a data traffic communications interface to the data traffic communications connections, and the Bandwidth Extender including a data traffic communications interface to the LANSU and a data traffic communications interface to the data traffic communications connections, the Bandwidth Extender operable to communicate data traffic between the data traffic communications interface to the LANSU and the data traffic communications interface to the data traffic communications connections.

Claims

1. A system having increased LAN Service Unit bandwidth comprising:

a backplane including a plurality of data traffic communications connections operable to communicate data traffic;

a Line Unit including a WAN interface and a data traffic communications interface to the data traffic communications connections, the Line Unit operable to communicate data traffic between the WAN interface and the data traffic communications interface;

a LAN Service Unit including a LAN interface, a data traffic communications interface to a Bandwidth Extender, and a data traffic communications interface to the data traffic communications connections, the LAN Service Unit operable to communicate data between the LAN interface and the data traffic communications interface to the Bandwidth Extender and to communicate data between the LAN interface and the data traffic communications interface to the data traffic communications connections; and

the Bandwidth Extender including a data traffic communications interface to the LAN Service Unit and a data traffic communications interface to the data traffic communications connections, the Bandwidth Extender operable to communicate data traffic between the data traffic communications interface to the LAN Service Unit and the data traffic communications interface to the data traffic communications connections.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the LAN Service Unit is further operable to receive data on the LAN interface, split the received data into two data streams, and transmit the data over the data traffic communications interface to the Bandwidth Extender and the data traffic communications interface to the data traffic communications connections.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the LAN Service Unit is further operable to receive data in two data streams, one data stream received over the data traffic communications interface to the Bandwidth Extender and one data stream received over the data traffic communications interface to the data traffic communications connections, to reassemble the two received data streams into traffic data, and to transmit the reassembled traffic data over the LAN interface.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the LAN Service Unit is further operable to split the data received over the LAN interface into multiple data streams using Virtual Concatenation or Link Aggregation, and wherein the LAN Service Unit is further operable to reassemble the multiple data streams received over the data traffic communications interface to the Bandwidth Extender and over the data traffic communications interface to the data traffic communications connections using Virtual Concatenation or Link Aggregation.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the LAN interface supports Ethernet.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the WAN interface supports Synchronous Optical Network or Synchronous Digital Hierarchy.

7. Apparatus for increasing LAN Service Unit bandwidth comprising:

a Bandwidth Extender including a data traffic communications interface to a LAN Service Unit and a data traffic communications interface to backplane data traffic communications connections, the Bandwidth Extender operable to communicate data traffic between the data traffic communications interface to the LAN Service Unit and the data traffic communications interface to the data traffic communications connections.

8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the data traffic communications interface to a LAN Service Unit is operable to communicate data with the LAN Service Unit.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the data traffic communications interface to the backplane data traffic communications connections is operable to communicate data with a Line Unit having a WAN interface.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein data traffic received from the LAN Service Unit comprises one of a plurality of data streams formed by the LAN Service Unit by splitting data received over a LAN interface into two data streams.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein data traffic transmitted to the LAN Service Unit comprises one of a plurality of data streams that are reassembled at the LAN Service Unit to form traffic data and transmitted over the LAN interface.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the data traffic received from the LAN Service Unit has been split using Virtual Concatenation or Link Aggregation, and wherein data traffic transmitted to the LAN Service Unit is reassembled using Virtual Concatenation or Link Aggregation.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the LAN interface of the LAN Service Unit supports an interface type selected from a group of interface types comprising Ethernet, 100 BaseT Ethernet, 1000 BaseT Ethernet, Fiber channel, FICON, and ESCON.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the WAN interface of the Line Unit supports an interface type selected from a group of interface types comprising Synchronous Optical Network, Synchronous Digital Hierarchy, Ethernet, and Resilient Packet Ring.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein the data traffic is encapsulated using an encapsulation mode selected from a group of encapsulation modes comprising Point-to-Point Protocol, X86, Frame Mapped Generic Framing Procedure, Transparent Generic Framing Procedure, Asynchronous Transfer Mode, Resilient Packet Ring, Ethernet, and Multiprotocol Label Switching.

16. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the LAN interface of the LAN Service Unit supports an interface type selected from a group of interface types comprising 100 BaseT Ethernet, 1000 BaseT Ethernet, Fiber channel, Fiber Connection/Connectivity, and Enterprise Systems Connection/Connectivity.

17. The apparatus of claim 12 where the backplane data traffic communications connection is implemented using one of Low-Voltage Differential Signaling, Low Voltage Positive Emitter Coupled Logic, or Current-Mode Logic.