Global Communications Ring Backbone

• US 20090310612A1
• Filed: 09/20/2007
• Published: 12/17/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (HP Inc.)
• Inventors: Froelich, Stephen F.
• Application Number:
  US11/917,606
• Publication Number:
  US 20090310612A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/400
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2854 Wide area networks, e.g. public data networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/42 Loop networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4637 Interconnected ring systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/125 based on throughput or bandwidth
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/24 Multipath
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/243 using M+N parallel active paths
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/245 Link aggregation, e.g. trunking

Abstract

Embodiments of a global communications ring backbone (102/104) that encircles Earth are provided.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a first node of a first global communications ring backbone that encircles Earth;

a first link of the first backbone connected to the first node and forming at least a portion of a first path that extends between the first node and a second node of the first backbone in a first direction in the first backbone; and

a second link of the first backbone connected to the first node and forming at least a portion of a second path that extends between the first node and the second node in a second direction in the first backbone that is substantially opposite of the first direction;

wherein the first node is configured to route first data to the second node using the first link, and wherein the first node is configured to route second data to the second node using the second link.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the first path extends across a first set of lines of longitude between the first and the second nodes, and wherein the second path extends across a second set of lines of longitude between the first and the second nodes that differs from the first set.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein a combination of the first and the second sets includes substantially all of the lines of longitude.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the first node is configured to route the first data to the second node using the first link in response to the first path being an optimal path between the first node and the second node, and wherein the first node is configured to route second data to the second node using the second link in response to the first path being unavailable.

5. The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a first media site configured to provide the first and the second data to the first node.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the first and the second data includes first and second audio/video (A/V) media data, respectively, from a video teleconference between at least the first media site and a second media site connected to the second node.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the first node is configured to receive the first and the second data from a third node of a second global communications ring backbone that encircles the Earth.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the first and the second backbones encircle the Earth in different hemispheres of the Earth.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the first backbone has a guaranteed average latency of less than 1 millisecond per degree of longitude of the Earth.

10. A method comprising:

routing first data from a first node of a first global communications ring backbone that encircles Earth to a second node of the backbone along a first path in the backbone that extends around the Earth between the first and the second nodes in a first direction in response to the first path being available; and

routing the first data from the first node to the second node along a second path in the backbone that extends around the Earth between the first and the second nodes in a second direction that is substantially opposite of the first direction in response to the first path being unavailable.

11. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

routing the first data from the first node to the second node along the first path in response to the first path being available and an optimal path between the first node and the second node.

12. The method of claim 10 wherein the first backbone has a guaranteed average latency of less than 1 millisecond per degree of longitude of the Earth

13. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

receiving the first data at the first node from a first media site;

wherein the first data is part of a video teleconference between the first media site and a second media site connected to the second hub.

14. The method of claim 13 further comprising:

receiving second data that is part of the video teleconference at the first node from the second node across the first backbone; and

providing the second data from the first node to the first media site.

15. The method of claim 10 further comprising:

receiving the data at the first node from a third path connected to a third node of a second global communications ring backbone that encircles the Earth.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the first and the second backbones encircle the Earth in different hemispheres of the Earth.

17. A system comprising:

a first node of a global communications ring backbone that encircles a pole of Earth;

a first link of the backbone connected to the first node and forming at least a portion of a first path that extends between the first node and a second node of the backbone and across a first set of degrees of longitude of the Earth; and

a second link of the backbone connected to the first node and forming at least a portion of a second path that extends between the first node and the second node and across a second set of degrees of longitude of the Earth that differs from the first set;

wherein each of the first and the second paths is configured to have a guaranteed average latency of less than 1 millisecond per degree of longitude of the Earth.

18. The system of claim 17 a combination of the first and the second sets includes substantially all of the lines of longitude.

19. The system of claim 17 wherein the first and the second sets are substantially mutually exclusive.

20. The system of claim 17 wherein the first node is configured to route data to the second node on a shortest of the first and the second path.