Multi-service switch for a telecommunications network

• US 5,526,344 A
• Filed: 04/15/1994
• Issued: 06/11/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Alcatel-Lucent USA, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: DSC Communications Corp. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Hogg, Raymond L., Brewer, W. Keith, Thompson, Kathy Ann, Diaz, Felix V., Raz, Daniel J., Langdon, Gregory L.
• Primary Examiner(s): Olms, Douglas W.
• Assistant Examiner(s): BLUM, RUSSELL
• Application Number:
  US08/228,304
• Time in Patent Office: 788 Days
• Field of Search: 370/16, 370/58.1, 370/58.2, 370/59, 370/60, 370/60.1, 370/67, 370/79, 370/85.1, 370/85.2, 370/85.7, 370/85.9, 370/85.13, 370/94.1, 370/94.2, 371/8.1, 371/8.2, 371/11.1, 371/11.2
• US Class Current: 370/364
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 2203/0089 Multiplexing, e.g. coding, scrambling, SONET
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 3/1611 Synchronous digital hierarchy [SDH] or SONET H04J3/1664 takes precedence for interactions with OTN
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/5601 Transfer mode dependent, e.g. ATM
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/64 Hybrid switching systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/6402 Hybrid switching fabrics
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5613 Bus (including DQDB)
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5658 using the AAL5
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5665 Interaction of ATM with other protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5672 Multiplexing, e.g. coding, scrambling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2012/5679 Arbitration or scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0478 Provisions for broadband connections

Abstract

A multi-service switch for a telecommunications network (10) is provided. A system bus (13) has an ingress portion (14) and an egress portion (16). The system bus (13) is operable to carry data in a plurality of time slots. A system bus control (11) comprises a head-of-bus control (12) having an output. The output of the head-of-bus control is coupled to the ingress portion (14) of the system bus (13). The system bus control (11) also comprises a tail-of-bus control (15) coupled to the head-of-bus control (12). The tail-of-bus control (15) has an input coupled to the egress portion (16) of the system bus (13). A plurality of interface modules (28₁ through 28_n) each have an input and an output. The input of each interface module (28₁ through 28_n) is coupled to the egress portion (16) of the system bus (13), and the output of each interface module is coupled to the ingress portion (14) of the system bus (13). An ingress/egress bridge (18) has an input and an output. The input of the ingress/egress bridge (18) is coupled to the ingress portion (14) of the system bus (13), and the output of the ingress/egress bridge (18) is coupled to the egress portion (16) of the system bus (13).

Claims

1. A multi-service switch for a telecommunications network, comprising:

a system bus having an ingress portion and an egress portion, the system bus operable to carry data in a plurality of time slots;

a system bus control, comprising;

a head-of-bus control having an output, the output of the head-of-bus control coupled to the ingress portion of the system bus, wherein the head-of-bus control is operable to configure and control the plurality of time slots; and

a tail-of-bus control coupled to the head-of-bus control, the tail-of-bus control having an input coupled to the egress portion of the system bus, wherein the tail-of-bus control is operable to receive data from the egress portion of the system bus;

a plurality of interface modules each having an input and an output, the input of each interface module coupled to the egress portion of the system bus and the output of each interface module coupled to the ingress portion of the system bus, wherein each interface module is operable to perform distributed switching to communicate telecommunications information on the system bus;

an ingress/egress bridge having an input and an output, the input of the ingress/egress bridge coupled to the ingress portion of the system bus and the output of the ingress/egress bridge coupled to the egress portion of the system bus, wherein the ingress/egress bridge is operable to bridge the ingress portion to the egress portion of the system bus; and

a bus arbiter coupled to each of the plurality of interface modules, the bus arbiter receiving requests for access to the system bus from each of the plurality of interface modules, the bus arbiter granting access to the system bus for each of the plurality of interface modules on an equitable basis.

2. The multi-service switch of claim 1, wherein the head-of-bus control is further operable to maintain a plurality of bus overlays, each bus overlay associated with one of a plurality of unique data formats and supporting one of a plurality of switching services.

3. The multi-service switch of claim 2, wherein the plurality of bus overlays comprises an isochronous narrowband bus overlay, an isochronous wideband bus overlay, and an asynchronous packet bus overlay.

4. The multi-service switch of claim 1, wherein the head-of-bus control is further operable to allocate dynamically the plurality of time slots between isochronous services and asynchronous services.

5. The multi-service switch of claim 4, wherein the isochronous services utilize a narrowband data format and a wideband data format, and wherein the asynchronous services utilize a packet data format.

8. The multi-service switch of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of interface modules comprises a subscriber/network interface module, the subscriber/network interface module further operable to receive telecommunications information through an external media interface, to interwork between a format of the telecommunications information and a plurality of bus overlay data formats, and to transmit the telecommunications information in one of the plurality of bus overlay data formats on the ingress portion of the system bus.

9. The multi-service switch of claim 8, wherein the format of the telecommunications information comprises an asynchronous transfer mode cell.

10. The multi-service switch of claim 8, wherein the format of the telecommunications information comprises voice information from a telephone line.

11. The multi-service switch of claim 8, wherein the plurality of bus overlay data formats comprises an isochronous narrowband bus overlay data format, an isochronous wideband bus overlay data format, and an asynchronous packet bus overlay data format.

12. The multi-service switch of claim 1, wherein the plurality of interface modules each have a second input and a second output, the multi-service switch further comprising:

a second bus having an ingress portion and an egress portion, the second bus operable to carry data in a second plurality of time slots, wherein the second input of each interface module is coupled to the egress portion of the second bus and the second output of each interface module is coupled to the ingress portion of the second bus;

a second bus control, comprising;

a second head-of-bus control having an output, the output of the second head-of-bus control coupled to the ingress portion of the second bus, wherein the second head-of-bus control is operable to configure and control the second plurality of time slots; and

a second tail-of-bus control coupled to the second head-of-bus control, the second tail-of-bus control having an input coupled to the egress portion of the second bus, wherein the second tail-of-bus control is operable to receive data from the egress portion of the second bus; and

a second ingress/egress bridge having an input and an output, the input of the second ingress/egress bridge coupled to the ingress portion of the second bus and the output of the second ingress/egress bridge coupled to the egress portion of the second bus, wherein the second ingress/egress bridge is operable to bridge the ingress portion to the egress portion of the second bus.

13. The multi-service switch of claim 12, wherein the second head-of-bus control is further operable to maintain a second plurality of bus overlays, each of said second plurality of bus overlays associated with one of a plurality of unique data formats and supporting one of a plurality of switching services.

14. The multi-service switch of claim 13, wherein the second plurality of bus overlays comprises an isochronous narrowband bus overlay, an isochronous wideband bus overlay, and an asynchronous packet bus overlay.

15. The multi-service switch of claim 12, wherein the second head-of-bus control is further operable to allocate dynamically the second plurality of time slots between isochronous services and asynchronous services.

16. The multi-service switch of claim 15, wherein the isochronous services utilize a narrowband data format and a wideband data format, and wherein the asynchronous services utilize a packet data format.

6. A multi-service switch for a telecommunications network, comprising:

a system bus having an ingress portion and an egress portion, the system bus operable to carry data in a plurality of time slots;

a system bus control, comprising;

a head-of-bus control having an output, the output of the head-of-bus control coupled to the ingress portion of the system bus, wherein the head-of-bus control is operable to configure and control the plurality of time slots; and

a tail-of-bus control coupled to the head-of-bus control, the tail-of-bus control having an input coupled to the egress portion of the system bus, wherein the tail-of-bus control is operable to receive data from the egress portion of the system bus;

a plurality of interface modules each having an input and an output, the input of each interface module coupled to the egress portion of the system bus and the output of each interface module coupled to the ingress portion of the system bus, wherein each interface module is operable to perform distributed switching to communicate telecommunications information on the system bus; and

an ingress/egress bridge having an input and an output, the input of the ingress/egress bridge coupled to the ingress portion of the system bus and the output of the ingress/egress bridge coupled to the egress portion of the system bus, wherein the ingress/egress bridge is operable to bridge the ingress portion to the egress portion of the system bus, wherein at least one of the plurality of interface modules comprises a server interface module, the server interface module further operable to receive information from the egress portion of the system bus in a first bus overlay data format, to interwork between the first bus overlay data format and a second bus overlay data format, and to transmit the information in the second bus overlay data format on the ingress portion of the system bus.

7. The multi-service switch of claim 6, wherein the first bus overlay data format is a data format selected from the group consisting of an isochronous narrowband bus overlay data format, an isochronous wideband bus overlay data format, and an asynchronous packet bus overlay data format, and wherein the second bus overlay data format is a data format selected from the group consisting of an isochronous narrowband bus overlay data format, an isochronous wideband bus overlay data format, and an asynchronous packet bus overlay data format.

17. A chassis for a multi-service switch for a telecommunications network, comprising:

a chassis frame having a plurality of card slots;

a bus control card disposed in a first card slot of the plurality of card slots, the bus control card comprising a system bus control, an output and an input, wherein the system bus control is operable to configure and control a plurality of time slots on a system bus;

an interface card disposed in a second card slot of the plurality of card slots, the interface card comprising an interface module, an input, and an output, wherein the input of the interface card is connected to the input of the bus control card through the system bus, and the output of the interface card is connected to the output of the bus control card through the system bus, and wherein the interface module is operable to perform distributed switching to communicate telecommunications information on the system bus;

a bus bridge card disposed in a third card slot of the plurality of card slots, the bus bridge card comprising an ingress/egress bridge, an input, and an output, wherein the input of the bus bridge card is connected to the output of the interface card through the system bus, and the output of the bus bridge card is connected to the input of the interface card through the system bus; and

a bus arbiter disposed in the bus control card, the bus arbiter receiving requests for access to the system bus from the interface module, the bus arbiter granting access to the system bus for the interface module on an equitable basis.

18. The chassis of claim 17, wherein the first card slot is located at one end of the chassis frame, and the third card slot is located at an opposite end of the chassis frame.

19. The chassis of claim 17, wherein the bus control of the bus control card is further operable to maintain a plurality of bus overlays, each bus overlay associated with one of a plurality of unique data formats and supporting one of a plurality of switching services.

20. The chassis of claim 17, wherein the bus control of the bus control card is further operable to allocate dynamically the plurality of time slots between isochronous services and asynchronous services.

22. The chassis of claim 17, wherein the interface module of the interface card comprises a subscriber/network interface module, the interface module further operable to receive telecommunications information through an external media interface, to interwork between a format of the telecommunications information and a plurality of bus overlay data formats, and to transmit the telecommunications information in one of the plurality of bus overlay data formats on the system bus.

21. A chassis for a multi-service switch for a telecommunications network, comprising:

a chassis frame having a plurality of card slots;

a bus control card disposed in a first card slot of the plurality of card slots, the bus control card comprising a system bus control, an output and an input, wherein the system bus control is operable to configure and control a plurality of time slots on a system bus;

an interface card disposed in a second card slot of the plurality of card slots, the interface card comprising an interface module, an input, and an output, wherein the input of the interface card is connected to the input of the bus control card through the system bus, and the output of the interface card is connected to the output of the bus control card through the system bus, and wherein the interface module is operable to perform distributed switching to communicate telecommunications information on the system bus; and

a bus bridge card disposed in a third card slot of the plurality of card slots, the bus bridge card comprising an ingress/egress bridge, an input, and an output, wherein the input of the bus bridge card is connected to the output of the interface card through the system bus, and the output of the bus bridge card is connected to the input of the interface card through the system bus, wherein the interface module of the interface card comprises a server interface module, the interface module further operable to receive information in a first bus overlay data format, to interwork between the first bus overlay data format and a second bus overlay data format, and to transmit the information in the second bus overlay data format.

23. A cluster for a multi-service switch for a telecommunications network, comprising:

a first chassis frame having a first plurality of card slots;

a first bus control card disposed in a first card slot of the first plurality of card slots, the bus control card comprising a system bus control, an output and an input, wherein the system bus control is operable to configure and control a plurality of time slots on a system bus;

a first interface card disposed in a second card slot of the first plurality of card slots, the first interface card comprising an interface module, an input, and an output, wherein the input of the first interface card is connected to the input of the bus control card through the system bus, and the output of the first interface card is connected to the output of the bus control card through the system bus, and wherein the interface module is operable to perform distributed switching to communicate telecommunications information on the system bus;

a first bus extension card disposed in a third card slot of the first plurality of card slots for establishing an extended bus of the system bus, the first bus extension card comprising a bus extender, an input, and an output, wherein the input of the first bus extension card is connected to output of the first interface card through the system bus, and the output of the first bus extension card is connected to the input of the first interface card through the system bus;

a second chassis frame having a second plurality of card slots;

a second bus extension card disposed in a first card slot of the second plurality of card slots for establishing the extended bus of the system bus, the second bus extension card comprising a bus extender, an input, and an output, wherein the input of the second bus extension card is connected to output of the first bus extension card through the extended bus, and the output of the second bus extension card is connected to the input of the first bus extension card through the extended bus;

a second interface card disposed in a second card slot of the second plurality of card slots, the second interface card comprising an interface module, an input, and an output, wherein the input of the second interface card is connected to the input of the second bus extension card and through the extended bus, and the output of the second interface terminal is connected to the output of the second bus extension card through the extended bus, and wherein the interface module is operable to perform distributed switching to communicate telecommunications information on the extended bus; and

a bus bridge card disposed in a third card slot of the second plurality of card slots, the bus bridge card comprising an ingress/egress bridge, an input, and an output, wherein the input of the bus bridge card is connected to the output of the second interface card through the extended bus, and the output of the bus bridge card is connected to the input of the second interface card through the extended bus, wherein the first bus control card includes a bus arbiter, the bus arbiter providing access to the system bus for the interface module on the first and second interface cards on an equitable basis.

24. The chassis of claim 23, wherein the first card slot of the first plurality of card slots is located at one end of the first chassis frame, and the third card slot of the first plurality of card slots is located at an opposite end of the first chassis frame.

25. The chassis of claim 23, wherein the first card slot of the second plurality of card slots is located at one end of the second chassis frame, and the third card slot of the second plurality of card slots is located at an opposite end of the second chassis frame.

26. An interface card for providing access to a premises network, comprising:

an outside communication interface operable to transmit telecommunications information to and receive telecommunications information from an external entity outside the premises network;

a premises communication interface operable to transmit telecommunications information to and receive telecommunications information from a system bus interconnecting a plurality of internal entities on the premises network;

an interface module control coupled to the outside communication interface and to the premises communication interface, the interface module control operable to perform distributed switching to communicate telecommunications information on the system bus by providing the internal and external entities access to the system bus; and

a bus arbiter coupled to the interface module control, the bus arbiter providing access to the system bus for the internal and external entities on an equitable basis.

29. The interface card of claim 26, wherein the interface module control is further operable to receive telecommunications information from the outside communication interface, to interwork between a format of the telecommunications information and a plurality of bus overlay data formats, and to provide the telecommunications information in one of the plurality of bus overlay data formats to the premises communication interface for transmission on the system bus.

30. The interface card of claim 29, wherein the format of the telecommunications information comprises voice information from a telephone line.

31. The interface card of claim 29, wherein the plurality of bus overlay data formats comprises an isochronous narrowband bus overlay data format, an isochronous wideband bus overlay data format, and an asynchronous packet bus overlay data format.

27. An interface card for providing access to a premises network, comprising:

an outside communication interface operable to transmit telecommunications information to and receive telecommunications information from an entity outside the premises network;

a premises communication interface operable to transmit telecommunications information to and receive telecommunications information from a system bus interconnecting a plurality of entities on the premises network; and

an interface module control coupled to the outside communication interface and to the premises communication interface, the interface module control operable to perform distributed switching to communicate telecommunications information on a system bus, wherein the interface module control is further operable to receive telecommunications information from the premises communication interface in a first bus overlay data format, to interwork between the first bus overlay data format and a second bus overlay data format, and to provide the telecommunications information in the second bus overlay data format to the premises communication interface for transmission on the system bus.

28. The interface card of claim 27, wherein the first bus overlay data format is a data format selected from the group consisting of an isochronous narrowband bus overlay data format, an isochronous wideband bus overlay data format, and an asynchronous packet bus overlay data format, and wherein the second bus overlay data format is a data format selected from the group consisting of an isochronous narrowband bus overlay data format, an isochronous wideband bus overlay data format, and an asynchronous packet bus overlay data format.

32. An interface card for providing access to a premises network, comprising:

an outside communication interface operable to transmit telecommunications information to and receive telecommunications information from an entity outside the premises network;

a premises communication interface operable to transmit telecommunications information to and receive telecommunications information from a system bus interconnecting a plurality of entities on the premises network; and

an interface module control coupled to the outside communication interface and to the premises communication interface, the interface module control operable to perform distributed switching to communicate telecommunications information on a system bus, wherein the interface module control is further operable to generate a backoff message for transmission to a congesting entity responsive to an asynchronous packet received while the interface module control is in a congested state, wherein the backoff message requests the congesting entity to wait a period of time before sending more telecommunications information.

33. The interface card of claim 32, wherein a destination address of the backoff message comprises a source address of the asynchronous packet received from the congesting entity.

34. The interface card of claim 32, wherein the period of time for which backoff message requests the congesting entity to wait comprises a maximum backoff time.

35. A telecommunications environment, comprising:

a plurality of premises entities;

a premises switch network coupled to the plurality of premises entities, the premises switch network operable to provide switching for communication between the plurality of premises entities, wherein the premises switch network comprises a multi-service switch comprising;

a system bus coupled to the plurality of premises entities and having an ingress portion and an egress portion, the system bus operable to carry data in a plurality of time slots;

a system bus control, comprising;

a head-of-bus control having an output, the output of the head-of-bus control coupled to the ingress portion of the system bus, wherein the head of bus control is operable to configure and control the plurality of time slots; and

a tail-of-bus control coupled to the head-of-bus control, the tail-of-bus control having an input coupled to the egress portion of the system bus, wherein the tail-of-bus control is operable to receive data from the egress portion of the system bus;

a plurality of interface modules each having an input and an output, the input of each interface module coupled to the egress portion of the system bus and the output of each interface module coupled to the ingress portion of the system bus, wherein each interface module is operable to perform distributed switching to communicate telecommunications information on the system bus; and

an ingress/egress bridge having an input and an output, the input coupled to the ingress portion of the system bus and the output coupled to the egress portion of the system bus, wherein the ingress/egress bridge is operable to bridge the ingress portion to the egress portion of the system bus;

a plurality of outside entities; and

an edge services distribution network coupled to the premises switch network and coupled to the plurality of outside entities, the edge services distribution network operable to provide switching for communication between the premises switch network and the plurality of outside entities, wherein the edge services distribution network comprises a multi-service switch comprising;

an edge bus coupled to the premises switch network and to the plurality of outside entities and having an ingress portion and an egress portion, the edge bus operable to carry data in a plurality of time slots;

an edge bus control, comprising;

a head-of-bus control having an output, the output of the head-of-bus control coupled to the ingress portion of the edge bus, wherein the head of bus control is operable to configure and control the plurality of time slots on the edge bus; and

a tail-of-bus control coupled to the head-of-bus control, the tail-of-bus control having an input coupled to the egress portion of the edge bus, wherein the tail-of-bus control is operable to receive data from the egress portion of the edge bus;

a plurality of interface modules each having an input and an output, the input of each interface module coupled to the egress portion of the edge bus and the output of each interface module coupled to the ingress portion of the edge bus, wherein each interface module is operable to perform distributed switching to communicate telecommunications information on the edge bus; and

an ingress/egress bridge having an input and an output, the input coupled to the ingress portion of the edge bus and the output coupled to the egress portion of the edge bus, wherein the ingress/egress bridge is operable to bridge the ingress portion to the egress portion of the edge bus.

36. The telecommunications environment of claim 35, wherein the communication between the plurality of premises entities comprises voice, data, video and local area network information.

37. The telecommunications environment of claim 35, wherein the plurality of outside entities comprises a public switched telephone network.

38. The telecommunications environment of claim 35, wherein the plurality of outside entities comprises an asynchronous transfer mode network.