PACKET-FLOW INTERCONNECT FABRIC

• US 20140314099A1
• Filed: 03/21/2013
• Published: 10/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brooke Hanson, Lightfleet Corporation
• Original Assignee: Lightfleet Corporation
• Inventors: Dress, William
• Granted Patent: US 9,674,116 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/422
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/04 Interdomain routing, e.g. hierarchical routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/62 Wavelength based optical switching H04Q11/0062
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 49/15 Interconnection of switching modules

Abstract

A method includes operating a packet flow module including a plurality of ports, each of the plurality of ports including at least a pair of bidirectional and logically independent communications channels. An apparatus includes a packet flow module including a plurality of ports, each of the plurality of ports including at least a pair of bidirectional and logically independent communications channels.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

operating a packet flow module including a plurality of ports, each of the plurality of ports including at least a pair of bidirectional and logically independent communications channels.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein operating the packet flow module includes operating a direct-broadcast, optical interconnect and operating an electro-optic network interface controller coupled to the direct-broadcast, optical interconnect.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein operating the electro-optic network interface controller includes receiving data via a plurality of optical inputs and transmitting data via a plurality of optical outputs.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein transmitting via each of the plurality optical inputs includes transmitting via a single mode optical fiber.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein receiving via each of the plurality of optical outputs includes receiving via a single mode optical fiber.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising transferring data between the packet flow module and an f-node.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising transferring data between the packet flow module and a c-node.

8. An apparatus, comprising:

a packet flow module including a plurality of ports, each of the plurality of ports including at least a pair of bidirectional and logically independent communications channels.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the packet flow module includes a direct-broadcast, optical interconnect and an electro-optic network interface controller coupled to the direct-broadcast, optical interconnect.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the electro-optic network interface includes a plurality of optical inputs and a plurality of optical outputs.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein i) each of the plurality optical inputs and ii) each of the plurality of optical outputs includes a single mode optical fiber.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising an f-node coupled to the packet flow module.

13. The apparatus of claim 8, further comprising a c-node coupled to the packet flow module.

14. A packet flow pod, comprising a plurality of the apparatus of claim 8.

15. A communications network interconnect fabric, comprising a plurality of the packet flow pod of claim 14.