Optical fiber ring communication system
First Claim
1. A configuration for an optical fiber ring network, comprising:
- two or more nodes, each node including,a multiplexing device,a client device, andredundant signal connections between the multiplexing device and the client device;
redundant signal paths connecting the nodes, each of the redundant signal paths including an optical fiber link operable to transmit data bi-directionally between each pair of connected nodes,wherein the multiplexing device is configured to selectively transmit outgoing data from the client device, and selectively receive incoming data destined for the client device, over each of the redundant signal paths, the multiplexing device being selectively linked to the client device for data communications by each of the redundant signal connections;
wherein the redundant signal connections include,first and second link cards, each operable to communicate data between the multiplexing device and the client device, anda switching apparatus operable to activate one of the first and second link cards, whereinthe activated link card conveys the outgoing data from the client device to the multiplexing device, and conveys the incoming data from the multiplexing device to the client device; and
whereinthe redundant data paths include a first and second data path,the multiplexing device includes a first and a second multiplexing unit configured to transmit the outgoing data and receive the incoming data over the first and second signal path, respectively, andthe activated link card selectively links the client device to each of the first and second multiplexing units for data communications.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An optical fiber ring network includes a plurality of interconnected nodes, each pair of neighboring nodes being interconnected by a pair of optical links. Using coarse wavelength division multiplexing, data is transmitted in both directions over each link, using a first wavelength λ1 to transmit data in a first direction over the link and a second wavelength λ2 to transmit data in a second, opposite direction over the link. The two wavelengths λ1 and λ2 differ by at least 10 nm. Each of the data streams transmitted over the optical link has a bandwidth of at least 2.5 Gbps. Further, each data stream has at least two logical streams embedded therein. A link multiplexer at each node of the network includes one or more link cards for coupling the link multiplexer to client devices, and one or more multiplexer units for coupling the link multiplexer to the optical links. Each link card includes frame buffers capable of storing numerous Fiber Channel frames that are being transmitted to and from the client device(s) coupled to that link card. The link card also includes flow control logic for pre-filling the frame buffers with frames of data before the receiving client devices send flow control messages to request their transmission. The combined effect of the frame buffers and flow control logic is that the full bandwidth of the links can be utilized even when the network nodes are very far apart and the client devices have small input data buffers.
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Citations
13 Claims
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1. A configuration for an optical fiber ring network, comprising:
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two or more nodes, each node including, a multiplexing device, a client device, and redundant signal connections between the multiplexing device and the client device; redundant signal paths connecting the nodes, each of the redundant signal paths including an optical fiber link operable to transmit data bi-directionally between each pair of connected nodes, wherein the multiplexing device is configured to selectively transmit outgoing data from the client device, and selectively receive incoming data destined for the client device, over each of the redundant signal paths, the multiplexing device being selectively linked to the client device for data communications by each of the redundant signal connections; wherein the redundant signal connections include, first and second link cards, each operable to communicate data between the multiplexing device and the client device, and a switching apparatus operable to activate one of the first and second link cards, wherein the activated link card conveys the outgoing data from the client device to the multiplexing device, and conveys the incoming data from the multiplexing device to the client device; and wherein the redundant data paths include a first and second data path, the multiplexing device includes a first and a second multiplexing unit configured to transmit the outgoing data and receive the incoming data over the first and second signal path, respectively, and the activated link card selectively links the client device to each of the first and second multiplexing units for data communications. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. An apparatus for use at a node of an optical fiber ring network, comprising:
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redundant data paths each including an optical fiber link operable to transmit data bi-directionally between the node and another node in the network; a multiplexing device configured to selectively transmit outgoing data from a client device, and selectively receive incoming data destined for the client device, over each of the redundant data paths, the multiplexing device being selectively linked to the client device for data communications by redundant signal connections, wherein the multiplexing device is operable to selectively transmit and receive the incoming and outgoing data, respectively, according to Fibre Channel (FC) protocol;
wherein the redundant data signals connections include first and second link card, each operable to communicate data between the multiplexing device and the client device; and
a switching apparatus operable to activate one of the first and second link cards, wherein the activated link card conveys the outgoing data from the client device to the multiplexing device, and conveys the incoming data from the multiplexing device to the client device; and
wherein the redundant data paths include a first and a second data path, the multiplexing device includes a first and second multiplexing unit configured to transmit the outgoing data and receive the incoming data over the first and second signal path, respectively, and the activated link card selectively links the client device to each of the first and second multiplexing units for data communications. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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Specification