Methods and apparatuses for path selection in a packet network
First Claim
1. A switching domain, comprising:
- a switch fabric; and
first and second ingress line cards each configured to (i) send path quality words to each other via the switch fabric, (ii) compare the path quality words against path quality words received from the other of the first and second ingress line cards, and (iii) determine whether to transmit traffic to a third line card via the switch fabric based on the comparison of the path quality words;
wherein the switching domain is configured to have either of the first or second line cards transmit traffic for a protected path, and wherein the first and second line cards are each further configured to determine independently whether to transmit traffic based on whether the path quality word it sent represents a higher path quality than the path quality word sent by the other of the first and second line cards.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Embodiments including methods, systems, and apparatuses for distributing, processing, and reacting to path information distributed via a service-agnostic packet fabric for the purpose of enabling path selection are disclosed. By configuring two ingress line cards to send path quality words to each other via the switch fabric, compare the path quality words, and determine whether to transmit traffic to an egress line card via the switch fabric based on the comparison of the path quality words, the embodiments enable a central switch fabric to be unaware of the paths that it carries, and enable both ingress and egress bandwidth of the switch fabric to be sized according to the facilities for which it is terminating. The switch fabric does not need to support working and protection paths simultaneously in some embodiments, allowing it to be scaled appropriately to termination facilities.
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Citations
8 Claims
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1. A switching domain, comprising:
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a switch fabric; and first and second ingress line cards each configured to (i) send path quality words to each other via the switch fabric, (ii) compare the path quality words against path quality words received from the other of the first and second ingress line cards, and (iii) determine whether to transmit traffic to a third line card via the switch fabric based on the comparison of the path quality words; wherein the switching domain is configured to have either of the first or second line cards transmit traffic for a protected path, and wherein the first and second line cards are each further configured to determine independently whether to transmit traffic based on whether the path quality word it sent represents a higher path quality than the path quality word sent by the other of the first and second line cards. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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Specification