Interconnecting nodes in an optical communication system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A sub-network of an optical communication network, the sub-network comprising:
- four nodes each having two input ports and two output ports;
a first one of the nodes having the input ports and one of the output ports coupled to other ones of the nodes, and wherein the other output port of the first node is operable to send signals outside of the sub-network;
a second one of the nodes having the output ports and one of the input ports coupled to other ones of the nodes, and wherein the other input port of the second node is operable to receive signals from outside of the sub-network;
a third one of the nodes having the output ports and one of the input ports coupled to other ones of the nodes, and wherein the other input port of the third node is operable to receive signals from outside of the sub-network; and
a fourth one of the nodes having the input ports and one of the output ports coupled to other ones of the nodes, and wherein the other output port of the fourth node is operable to send signals outside of the sub-network;
wherein each of the nodes is operable to;
receive a packet comprising a destination address;
determine an output port from the sub-network based on the destination address; and
route the packet to one of the first node and the fourth node corresponding to the determined output port.
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Abstract
A sub-network of a communication network includes four nodes, with each node having two input ports and two output ports. The first node and the fourth node each link both of their input ports and one of their output ports to other nodes of the sub-network, with each of their remaining output ports operable to send signals outside of the sub-network. The second and third nodes link both of their output ports and one of their input ports to other nodes of the sub-network while each of their remaining input ports is operable to receive signals from outside of the sub-network.
31 Citations
16 Claims
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1. A sub-network of an optical communication network, the sub-network comprising:
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four nodes each having two input ports and two output ports; a first one of the nodes having the input ports and one of the output ports coupled to other ones of the nodes, and wherein the other output port of the first node is operable to send signals outside of the sub-network; a second one of the nodes having the output ports and one of the input ports coupled to other ones of the nodes, and wherein the other input port of the second node is operable to receive signals from outside of the sub-network; a third one of the nodes having the output ports and one of the input ports coupled to other ones of the nodes, and wherein the other input port of the third node is operable to receive signals from outside of the sub-network; and a fourth one of the nodes having the input ports and one of the output ports coupled to other ones of the nodes, and wherein the other output port of the fourth node is operable to send signals outside of the sub-network;
wherein each of the nodes is operable to;receive a packet comprising a destination address; determine an output port from the sub-network based on the destination address; and route the packet to one of the first node and the fourth node corresponding to the determined output port. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A communication network comprising a plurality of sub-networks, each sub-network comprising:
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four nodes each having two input ports and two output ports; a first one of the nodes having the input ports and one of the output ports coupled to other ones of the nodes in the sub-network, and wherein the other output port of the first node couples to another one of the sub-networks; a second one of the nodes having the output ports and one of the input ports coupled to other ones of the nodes in the sub-network, and wherein the other input port of the second node couples to another one of the sub-networks; a third one of the nodes having the output ports and one of the input ports coupled to other ones of the nodes in the sub-network, and wherein the other input port of the third node couples to another one of the sub-networks; and a fourth one of the nodes having the input ports and one of the output ports coupled to other ones of the nodes in the sub-network, and wherein the other output port of the fourth node couples to another one of the sub-networks;
wherein each of the nodes is operable to;receive a packet comprising a destination address; determine an output port from the sub-network based on the destination address; and route the packet to one of the first node and the fourth node corresponding to the determined output port. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A sub-network of an optical communication network, the sub-network comprising:
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a first node, a second node, a third node, and a fourth node interconnected to form a first unidirectional communication ring with direct communications links from the fourth node to the third node, the third node to the second node, the second node to the first node, and the first node to the fourth node; the second node further connected to the fourth node to form a second unidirectional communication ring with direct communications links from the second node to the fourth node, the fourth node to the third node, and the third node to the second node; and the third node further connected to the first node to form a third unidirectional communication ring with direct communications links from the third node to the first node, the first node to the fourth node, and the fourth node to the third node;
wherein;an output port of the first node couples to an input port of a node in a second sub-network, an input port of the second node couples to an output port of a node in the second sub-network, an input port of the third node couples to an output port of a node in a third sub-network, and an output port of the fourth node couples to an input port of a node in the third sub-network, and wherein; each of the first node, the second node, the third node, and the fourth node is operable to receive a packet with a destination address indicating a node external to the sub-network and to determine a selected output port chosen from the output port of the first node and the output port of the fourth node, the selected output port chosen to minimize the number of intermediate sub-networks between the selected output port and the external node indicated by the destination address. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16)
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Specification