OPTICAL PROTECTION SWITCH WITH BROADCAST MULTI-DIRECTIONAL CAPABILITY

• US 20190103934A1
• Filed: 09/30/2017
• Published: 04/04/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Juniper Networks Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Juniper Networks Incorporated
• Inventors: JONES, Kevan Peter
• Granted Patent: US 10,511,401 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/29395 configurable, e.g. tunable or reconfigurable switching G02B6/35
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/35 having switching means by changing the optical properties of the medium G02F1/00
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3552 1x1 switch, e.g. on/off switch
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/27 Arrangements for networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0202 Arrangements therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/021 Reconfigurable arrangements, e.g. reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers [ROADM] or tunable optical add/drop multiplexers [TOADM]
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0212 using optical switches or wavelength selective switches [WSS]
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0227 Operation, administration, maintenance or provisioning [OAMP] of WDM networks, e.g. media access, routing or wavelength allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0289 Optical multiplex section protection
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0293 Optical channel protection
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0005 Switch and router aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 11/0062 Network aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2011/0035 using miscellaneous components, e.g. circulator, polarisation, acousto/thermo optical
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2011/0039 Electrical control
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2011/0043 Fault tolerance
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2011/0047 Broadcast; Multicast
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 2011/0081 Fault tolerance; Redundancy; Recovery; Reconfigurability

Abstract

An apparatus includes a first reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer (ROADM) to receive a first optical signal and a second ROADM to receive a second optical signal. The apparatus also includes a reconfigurable optical switch that includes a first switch, switchable between a first state and a second state, to transmit the first optical signal at the first state and block the first optical signal at the second state. The reconfigurable optical switch also includes a second switch, switchable between the first state and the second state, to transmit the second optical signal at the first state and block the second optical signal at the second state. The reconfigurable optical switch also includes an output port to transmit an output signal that is a sum of possible optical signals transmitted through the first switch and the second switch.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a first reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer (ROADM) configured to receive a first optical signal on a first optical channel;

a second ROADM configured to receive a second optical signal on a second optical channel; and

a reconfigurable optical switch including;

a first switch, configured to be in optical communication with the first ROADM and switchable between a first state and a second state, to transmit the first optical signal at the first state and block the first optical signal at the second state;

a second switch, configured to be in optical communication with the second ROADM and switchable between the first state and the second state, to transmit the second optical signal at the first state and block the second optical signal at the second state; and

an output port, in optical communication with the first switch and the second switch, to transmit an output signal that is a sum of possible optical signals transmitted through the first switch and the second switch.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first switch and the second switch includes a variable optical attenuator (VOA).

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first switch and the second switch includes a 1×

1 opto-mechanical switch.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the first ROADM is configured to transmit a first spectral component at a first wavelength and block spectral components at other wavelengths,

the second ROADM is configured to transmit a second spectral component at a second wavelength and block spectral components at other wavelengths, and

the output signal includes the first spectral component and the second spectral component.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein:

the first ROADM is configured to transmit a first spectral component at a first wavelength and block spectral components at other wavelengths,

the second ROADM is configured to transmit a second spectral component at a second wavelength and block spectral components at other wavelengths,

the output signal includes the first spectral component and the second spectral component, and

the apparatus further comprising a demultiplexer, in optical communication with the output port, to direct the first spectral component to a first receiver and the second spectral component into a second receiver.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a first detector, operatively coupled to the first optical channel, to detect an amplitude of the first optical signal, in response to the amplitude of the first optical signal less than a threshold value, the first switch being turned to the second state to block the first optical signal and the second switch being turned to the first state to transmit the second optical signal to the output port. (Original) The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising;

a controller, operatively coupled to the first switch and the second switch, to control the apparatus between a first operation mode, a second operation mode, and a third operation mode,

in the first operation mode, the first switch being configured in the first state and the second switch is configured in the second state,

in the second operation mode, both the first switch and the second switch being configured in the first state, and

in the third operation mode, both the first switch and the second switch being configured in the second state.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a third ROADM configured to receive a third optical signal from a third optical channel; and

a third switch, in optical communication with the third ROADM and switchable between the first state and the second state, to transmit the third optical signal at the first state and block and third optical signal at the second state,

the output port being in optical communication with the third switch and the output signal being a sum of possible optical signals transmitted through the first switch, the second switch, and the third switch.

9. A method, comprising:

receiving a first optical signal from a first reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer (ROADM);

transmitting the first optical signal to a first switch, in optical communication with the first ROADM and switchable between a first state and a second state, the first switch configured to transmit the first optical signal at the first state and block the first optical signal at the second state;

receiving a second optical signal from a second ROADM;

transmitting the second optical signal to a second switch, in optical communication with the second ROADM and switchable between the first state and the second state, the second switch configured to transmit the second optical signal at the first state and block and second optical signal at the second state; and

generating an output signal that is a sum of possible optical signals transmitted through the first switch and the second switch.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein at least one of the first switch and the second switch includes a variable optical attenuator (VOA).

11. The method of claim 9, wherein:

the first ROADM is configured to transmit a first spectral component at a first wavelength and block spectral components at other wavelengths,

the second ROADM is configured to transmit a second spectral component at a second wavelength and block spectral components at other wavelengths, and

generating the output signal includes configuring the first switch and the second switch at the first state and combining the first spectral component and the second spectral component.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein:

the first ROADM is configured to transmit a first spectral component at a first wavelength and block spectral components at other wavelengths,

the second ROADM is configured to transmit a second spectral component at a second wavelength and block spectral components at other wavelengths,

the output signal includes the first spectral component and the second spectral component, and

the method further comprises demultiplexing the output signal and directing the first spectral component to a first receiver and the second spectral component into a second receiver.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein:

receiving the first optical signal comprises receiving the first optical signal from a first transceiver, and

receiving the second optical signal comprises receiving the second optical signal from a second transceiver.

14. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

detecting an amplitude of the first optical signal;

in response to the amplitude of the first optical signal less than a threshold value, configuring the first switch to the second state to block the first optical signal; and

configuring the second switch to the first state to transmit the second optical signal and the output signal includes the second optical signal.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein:

receiving the first optical signal includes receiving the first optical signal from a first transceiver, and

receiving the second optical signal includes receiving the second optical signal from the first transceiver.

16. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

switching between a first operation mode and a second operation mode,

in the first operation mode, the first switch being configured in the first state and the second switch is configured in the second state, and

in the second operation mode, both the first switch and the second switch being configured in the first state.

17. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving a third optical signal from a third ROADM; and

transmitting the third optical signal to a third switch, in optical communication with the third ROADM and switchable between the first state and the second state, the third switch configured to transmit the third optical signal at the first state and block and third optical signal at the second state,

the generating the output signal includes combining possible signals transmitted through the first switch, the second switch, and the third switch.

18. An optical network, comprising:

a first node comprising;

a first transceiver to transmit a first optical signal;

a first reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer (ROADM) operatively coupled to the first transceiver;

a first switch disposed between the first ROADM and the first transceiver;

a second ROADM operatively coupled to the first transceiver; and

a second switch disposed between the second ROADM and the first transceiver;

a second node comprising;

a second transceiver to transmit a second optical signal;

a third ROADM operatively coupled to the second transceiver and configured to receive the first optical signal from the first node;

a third switch disposed between the third ROADM and the second transceiver;

a fourth ROADM operatively coupled to the second transceiver; and

a fourth switch disposed between the fourth ROADM and the second transceiver;

a third node comprising;

a third transceiver to transmit a third optical signal;

a fifth ROADM operatively coupled to the third transceiver and configured to receive the first optical signal from the first node;

a fifth switch disposed between the fifth ROADM and the third transceiver;

a sixth ROADM operatively coupled to the third transceiver and configured to receive the second optical signal from the second node; and

a sixth switch disposed between the sixth ROADM and the third transceiver; and

a controller, operatively coupled to the first node, the second node, and the third node, to control the first switch, the second switch, the third switch, the fourth switch, the fifth switch, and the sixth switch.

19. The optical network of claim 18, wherein:

the first transmitter is configured to transmit a first portion of the first optical signal to the second node via a first optical channel and transmit a second portion of the first optical signal to the second node via a second optical channel, the first optical signal comprising a first spectral component at a first wavelength and a second spectral component at a second wavelength, and

the controller opens the third switch in the second node to receive the first portion of the first optical signal via the first optical channel and closes the fourth switch in the second node to block the second portion of the first optical signal.

20. The optical network of claim 18, where

the first transmitter is configured to transmit the first optical signal to the third node via a first optical channel, the first optical signal comprising a first spectral component at a first wavelength and a second spectral component at a second wavelength,

the second ROADM in the first node is configured to transmit the second spectral component at the second wavelength and block the first spectral component at the first wavelength,

the second transmitter is configured to transmit the second optical signal to the third node via a second optical channel, the second optical signal comprising a third spectral component at a third wavelength and a fourth spectral component at the first wavelength,

the fourth ROADM in the second node is configured to transmit the third spectral component at the third wavelength and block the fourth spectral component at the first wavelength, and

the controllers opens the fifth switch and the sixth switch in the third node to receive the second spectral component from the first node and the third spectral component from the second node.