Enterprise physical layer switch

• US 20070058641A1
• Filed: 04/03/2006
• Published: 03/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2005
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Finisar Corporation (II-VI Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Finisar Corporation (II-VI Incorporated)
• Inventors: Cicchetti, Christopher, Jew, Richard
• Application Number:
  US11/397,021
• Publication Number:
  US 20070058641A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/400
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/101 using crossbar or matrix
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/357 Fibre channel switches

Abstract

A physical layer switch is provided that includes a switch cross bar for changeably interconnecting selected ports within a physical layer switch such that an optical signal can be changeably routed between selected ports, a first port in communication with the switch cross bar, and a second port in communication with the first port, wherein a signal entering the physical layer switch at the first port is routed to the switch cross bar and a mirror copy of the signal entering the physical layer switch at the first port is routed to the second port such that it does not reach the switch cross bar.

Claims

1. A physical layer switch, comprising:

a switch cross bar for changeably interconnecting selected ports within a physical layer switch such that an optical signal can be changeably routed between selected ports;

a first port in communication with the switch cross bar; and

a second port in communication with the first port, wherein a signal entering the physical layer switch at the first port is routed to the switch cross bar and a mirror copy of the signal entering the physical layer switch at the first port is routed to the second port such that it does not reach the switch cross bar.

2. The physical layer switch of claim 1, wherein the first port and the second port comprise a traffic access port (TAP).

3. The physical layer switch of claim 2, wherein the traffic access port comprises an active traffic access port.

4. The physical layer switch of claim 3, wherein the active traffic access port comprises an active optical traffic access port.

5. The physical layer switch of claim 3, wherein the active traffic access port comprises an active copper traffic access port.

6. The physical layer switch of claim 2, wherein the traffic access port comprises a switching traffic access port.

7. The physical layer switch of claim 1, wherein the switch cross bar is coupled to external switching control.

8. The physical layer switch of claim 2, wherein the traffic access port comprises a passive optical traffic access port.

9. The physical layer switch of claim 1, wherein the first portion of the optical signal is routed by the switch cross bar to a third port.

10. The physical layer switch of claim 1, wherein an optical signal entering the physical layer switch at the second port is routed to the switch cross bar and a mirror copy of the optical signal entering the physical layer switch at the second port is routed to the first port such that it does not reach the switch cross bar.

11. A physical layer switch, comprising:

at least one traffic access port configured to be located in at least one network link, said traffic access port including first and second network ports and at least one monitor port; and

a switch;

cross bar coupled to said monitor port wherein a signal entering the physical layer switch at the first network port is routed to the switch cross bar and a mirror copy of the signal entering the physical layer switch at the first network port is routed to the second network port such that it does not reach the switch cross bar.

12. The physical layer switch of claim 11, wherein said traffic access port comprises an optical traffic access port.

13. The physical layer switch of claim 12, wherein said optical traffic access port comprise at least one of an active optical traffic access port or a passive optical traffic access port.

14. The physical layer switch of claim 11, wherein said traffic access port comprises an active copper traffic access port.

15. The physical layer switch of claim 11, wherein said traffic access port comprises a switching traffic access port.

16. The physical layer switch of claim 11, wherein said traffic access port comprises an aggregator traffic access port.

17. The physical layer switch of claim 11, further comprising a plurality of traffic access ports coupled to said switch cross bar.

18. A network monitoring system, comprising:

a physical layer switch including at least one traffic access port configured to be located in at least one network link, said traffic access port including first and second network ports and at least one monitor port, and a switch cross bar coupled to said monitor port wherein a signal entering the physical layer switch at the first network port is routed to the switch cross bar and a mirror copy of the signal entering the physical layer switch at the first network port is routed to the second network port such that it does not reach the switch cross bar;

at least one port coupled to said switch cross bar; and

at least one of a monitoring device and an analyzer selectively coupled to said port.

19. The network monitoring system of claim 18, wherein said traffic access port comprises an optical traffic access port.

20. The network monitoring system of claim 18, and further comprising a plurality of traffic access ports.