Protected ethernet ring with small form-factor pluggable devices

• US 9,998,225 B2
• Filed: 08/06/2016
• Issued: 06/12/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Oe Solutions Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Oe Solutions Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Yi, Gwangyong
• Primary Examiner(s): Vanderpuye, Ken N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lee, Jai
• Application Number:
  US15/230,398
• Publication Number:
  US 20180041277A1
• Time in Patent Office: 675 Days
• Field of Search: 398 3
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/032 using working and protection systems H04J14/0287 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/27 Arrangements for networking
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 10/40 Transceivers
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 14/0268 Restoration of optical paths, e.g. p-cycles
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 2203/0042 Ring

Abstract

An optical transceiver for use in network device in a packet network is provided. The network device may not be capable of providing a ring topology without use of the apparatus. The network device is configured to support at least two optical interfaces and an electrical interface, and coupled to an optical link. The optical transceiver includes a memory, a processor coupled to the memory, and a scheduler coupled to the processor. The scheduler of the optical transceiver is configured to perform as an information base for forwarding and transferring of packets and to use an optical link as a packet buffer.

Claims

1. An optical transceiver for use in a network device in a packet network comprising a ring topology, the network device being configured to support at least two optical interfaces and an electrical interface and to couple to an optical link, the optical transceiver comprising:

a memory;

a processor coupled to the memory; and

a scheduler coupled to the processor,

wherein the scheduler is configured to;

perform as an information base for forwarding and transferring packets; and

use the optical link as a packet buffer, and

wherein a length of the packet buffer is determined based on one or more measurements of a propagation delay on the optical link divided by an operating frequency of the packet network having a ring topology.

2. The optical transceiver of claim 1, wherein the optical transceiver comprises a smart small form-factor pluggable (SFP) or a smart compact SFP (CSFP) module.

3. The optical transceiver of claim 1, wherein the optical transceiver comprises a smart bi-directional (BiDi) small form-factor pluggable (SFP).

4. The optical transceiver of claim 1, wherein the packet network comprises an Ethernet network.

5. The optical transceiver of claim 1, wherein the packet network comprises a Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), Synchronous Optical Network (SONET), Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH), or Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy (PDH) network.

6. The optical transceiver of claim 1, wherein the network device comprises an access point (AP), a femto AP, a security gateway, or a small cell gateway.

7. A network arrangement for digital communications in a packet network, comprising:

an access point (AP) device;

one or more network elements each provisioned with a single network port and coupled to an optical link for optical communications; and

one or more smart optical transceivers each including at least two optical interfaces and an electrical interface,

wherein, when the one or more smart optical transceivers are plugged into the one or more network elements and the access point device, the network arrangement forms a ring topology,

wherein the one or more smart optical transceivers include a scheduler configured to perform as an information base for forwarding and transferring packets and to use an optical link as a packet buffer, and

wherein a length of the packet buffer is determined based on a propagation delay measured on the optical link divided by an operating frequency of the packet network having the ring topology.

8. The network arrangement of claim 7, wherein the one or more smart optical transceivers comprise small form-factor pluggable (SFPs), or smart compact small form-factor pluggables (CSFPs).

9. The network arrangement of claim 7, wherein the packet network comprises an Ethernet network.

10. The network arrangement of claim 7, wherein the packet network comprises a Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), Synchronous Optical Network (SONET), Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH), or Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy (PDH) network.

11. The network arrangement of claim 7, wherein the access point comprises a femto access point, a security gateway, or a small cell gateway.