System and method for photonic facility and line protection switching using wavelength translation
First Claim
Patent Images
1. An optical network comprising:
- an optical transmission line;
a space division switch coupled to said optical transmission line;
a protect optical transmission line coupled to said space division switch;
an optical transmitter coupled to said space division switch;
an optical receiver coupled to said space division switch;
a controller coupled to said space division switch, said optical transmitter, and said optical receiver, wherein said controller routes optical signals through said space division switch to said protect optical transmission line when said controller determines that said optical transmission line has failed;
a digital cross-connect switch coupled to said optical transmitter and said optical receiver; and
a protect tunable optical transmitter coupled between said space division switch and said digital cross-connect switch, wherein, when said controller determines that said optical transmitter has failed, said controller routes an electrical input signal through said digital cross-connect switch to said protect tunable optical transmitter such that electrical input signals originally destined for said optical transmitter are sent to said protect tunable transmitter and routes a corresponding optical signal output from said protect optical transmitter through said space division switch to said optical transmission line;
whereby, a facility protect ratio can be set independent of a line protect ratio.
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Abstract
A system and method for photonic facility and line protection switching in an optical network to permit fault tolerant operation. The optical network comprises components whose operation is monitored by a controller. If the controller determines an optical transmission line in a signal path has failed, the controller will re-route the signal path through a spare, or protect component. Alternatively, the controller can re-route the signal path through a frequency translator and another optical transmission line.
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Citations
15 Claims
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1. An optical network comprising:
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an optical transmission line; a space division switch coupled to said optical transmission line; a protect optical transmission line coupled to said space division switch; an optical transmitter coupled to said space division switch; an optical receiver coupled to said space division switch; a controller coupled to said space division switch, said optical transmitter, and said optical receiver, wherein said controller routes optical signals through said space division switch to said protect optical transmission line when said controller determines that said optical transmission line has failed; a digital cross-connect switch coupled to said optical transmitter and said optical receiver; and a protect tunable optical transmitter coupled between said space division switch and said digital cross-connect switch, wherein, when said controller determines that said optical transmitter has failed, said controller routes an electrical input signal through said digital cross-connect switch to said protect tunable optical transmitter such that electrical input signals originally destined for said optical transmitter are sent to said protect tunable transmitter and routes a corresponding optical signal output from said protect optical transmitter through said space division switch to said optical transmission line;
whereby, a facility protect ratio can be set independent of a line protect ratio. - View Dependent Claims (2, 4)
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3. An optical network comprising:
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an optical transmission line; a space division switch coupled to said optical transmission line; a protect optical transmission line coupled to said space division switch; an optical transmitter coupled to said space division switch; an optical receiver coupled to said space division switch; a controller coupled to said space division switch, said optical transmitter, and said optical receiver, wherein said controller routes optical signals through said space division switch to said protect optical transmission line when said controller determines that said optical transmission line has failed; a digital cross-connect switch coupled to said optical transmitter and said optical receiver; and a protect tunable optical receiver coupled to said space division switch and said digital cross-connect switch, wherein, when said controller determines that said optical receiver has failed, said controller routes electrical output signals from said protect tunable optical receiver through said digital cross-connect switch such that said electrical output signals from said protect optical receiver replaces electrical output signals output from said optical receiver;
whereby, a facility protect ratio can be set independent of a line protect ratio.
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5. An optical network comprising:
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an optical transmission line; a space division switch coupled to said optical transmission line; an optical transmitter coupled to said space division switch; an optical receiver coupled to said space division switch; a frequency translator coupled to said space division switch; and a controller coupled to said space division switch, said frequency translator, said optical transmitter, and said optical receiver, wherein said controller routes optical signals through said space division switch to said frequency translator when said controller determines that said optical transmission line has failed. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method of operating a fault tolerant optical network comprising the steps of:
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(1) determining if an optical transmission line has failed; (2) re-routing signals bound for said optical transmission line through a space division switch to a frequency translator if said optical transmission line has failed; (3) modifying a carrier frequency of said signals in said frequency translator; and (4) routing said signals from said frequency translator through said space division switch to a working optical transmission line. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
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13. An optical network comprising:
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a digital cross-connect switch; a facility coupled to said digital cross-connect switch; a protect facility coupled to said digital cross-connect switch; a space division switch coupled to said facility and said protect facility; an optical transmission line coupled to said space division switch; a protect optical transmission line coupled to said space division switch; a frequency translator coupled to said space division switch; and a controller coupled to said frequency translator, said digital cross-connect switch, said facility, said protect facility, and said space division switch. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
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Specification