Hybrid electronic/optical switch system
First Claim
1. A data network comprising:
- a core network of hybrid switch circuits interconnected by WDM optical fibers, optical data signals at a first dedicated wavelength from fibers being converted to electrical signals and switched through an electronic switch in the hybrid switch circuits and data signals at other wavelengths from the fiber being switched through an electronically controlled optical switch, each hybrid switch circuit monitoring traffic through the electronic switch to initiate communication among upstream and downstream circuits to establish flow paths through the optical switches of multiple hybrid switch circuits of the core network; and
peripheral electronic switches converting electrical signals to WDM signals transmitted over fibers to the hybrid switch circuits, the peripheral electronic switches responding to communication from the core network to forward data over the established flow paths.
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Abstract
A high speed optical communication and data transfer network comprises fiber optic links interconnecting a plurality of hybrid electronic-optical switch devices, each hybrid switch circuit including an electronic switch, electronic switch controller and optical switch. The hybrid switch circuits and nodes on the periphery of the core network communicate amongst each other over a first dedicated wavelength. Optical signals on the first dedicated wavelength are converted to electronic signals which are monitored by the electronic controller in each hybrid switch circuit. Routing in the network is optimized by transmitting lower volume data traffic on the first dedicated wavelength which is typically slower due to optical/electronic signal conversions and which uses more resources. Higher capacity data transfers are achieved by transmitting data on an assigned carrier wavelength over an established flow path among the optical switches of multiple hybrid switch circuits. Based on high and low volume data traffic, the method and apparatus discussed herein advantageously supports direct and indirect optical data transmissions with as few overall intermediate optical-to-electrical or electrical-to-optical conversions as possible.
51 Citations
73 Claims
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1. A data network comprising:
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a core network of hybrid switch circuits interconnected by WDM optical fibers, optical data signals at a first dedicated wavelength from fibers being converted to electrical signals and switched through an electronic switch in the hybrid switch circuits and data signals at other wavelengths from the fiber being switched through an electronically controlled optical switch, each hybrid switch circuit monitoring traffic through the electronic switch to initiate communication among upstream and downstream circuits to establish flow paths through the optical switches of multiple hybrid switch circuits of the core network; and
peripheral electronic switches converting electrical signals to WDM signals transmitted over fibers to the hybrid switch circuits, the peripheral electronic switches responding to communication from the core network to forward data over the established flow paths. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 40, 41)
a regenerator for regenerating a wavelength division multiplex signal in an established flow path.
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33. A data network as in claim 1 further comprising:
a wavelength converter disposed in an established optical flow path for converting a wavelength division multiplex signal to a different wavelength.
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34. A data network as in claim 1 wherein diagnostics distributed among the hybrid switches support continuous testing of selected flow paths.
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35. A data network as in claim 1 wherein certain flow paths are reserved for future use based on historical usage.
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36. A data network as in claim 1 wherein selected flow paths are reserved based on expected usage.
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40. A method as in claim 31 wherein optical data signals on the first dedicated wavelength are converted to electronic signals which are monitored therein by an electronic controller, the electronic controller re-transmitting at least part of the received optical data signals to other hybrid switch circuits.
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41. A method as in claim 40 wherein the electronic controller additionally creates and transmits messages to other hybrid switch circuits and peripheral nodes on the core network over the first dedicated wavelength.
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37. A method of communicating in a data network comprising the steps of:
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interconnecting a core network of hybrid switch circuits using WDM optical fibers, wherein optical data signals at a first dedicated wavelength from fibers are converted to electrical signals and switched through an electronic switch in the hybrid switch circuits and data signals at other wavelengths from the fiber are switched through an electronically controlled optical switch;
monitoring traffic through the electronic switch in each hybrid switch circuit to initiate communication among upstream and downstream circuits to establish flow paths through the optical switches of multiple hybrid switch circuits of the core network; and
converting electrical signals at peripheral switches to WDM signals which are transmitted over fibers to the hybrid switch circuits, the peripheral switches responding to communication from the core network to forward data over the established flow paths. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72)
regenerating a wavelength division multiplex signal in an established flow path.
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69. A method of communicating in a data network as in claim 37 further comprising the step of:
converting a wavelength division multiplex signal in an established optical flow path to a different wavelength.
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70. A method of communicating in a data network as in claim 37 further comprising the step of:
occasionally testing selected flow paths to assure their reliability.
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71. A method of communicating in a data network as in claim 37 further comprising the step of:
reserving flow paths for future use based on historical usage.
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72. A method of communicating in a data network as in claim 37 further comprising the step of:
reserving flow paths based on expected usage.
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73. A data network comprising:
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means for interconnecting a core network of hybrid switch circuits, wherein selected signals from interconnecting means are converted to electrical signals and switched through an electronic switch means and other data signals from the interconnecting means are switched through an optical switch means in a hybrid switch circuit;
means for monitoring traffic through the electronic switch means in each hybrid switch circuit to initiate communication among hybrid switch circuits and to establish flow paths through the optical switch means of multiple hybrid switch circuits of the core network; and
means for converting electrical signals at peripheral switch means to signals which are transmitted over interconnecting means to the hybrid switch circuits, the peripheral switch means responding to communication from the core network to forward data over the established flow paths.
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Specification