Method for providing path signal overhead in the 64B/66B character stream of an itu-t metro transport network using micro-packets
AssigneeMicrochip Technology Incorporated
InventorsWinston Mok, Steven Scott Gorshe
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for extracting path overhead (POH) data blocks from a data stream in a 64B/66B-block communication link, the method includes receiving at a sink node a data stream in a 64B/66B-block communication link, detecting within the data stream at a PCS sublayer a micro-packet starting with an /S/ control block, including K POH data blocks, and ending with a /T/ control block, extracting the micro-packet from the data stream, and extracting the POH data blocks from the micro-packet.
Claims15
A method for extracting path overhead (POH) data blocks from a data stream in a 64B/66B-block communication link, the method comprising:
- receiving at a sink node a data stream in a 64B/66B-block communication link;
- detecting within the data stream at a Physical Coding Sublayer (PCS) sublayer a micro-packet starting with an /S/ control block, including K POH data blocks, and ending with a /T/ control block, the micro-packet having a length shorter than a minimum length for an Ethernet packet, wherein K is less than 6;
- extracting the micro-packet from the data stream;
- and
- extracting the POH data blocks from the micro-packet.
A method for inserting path overhead (POH) data blocks into a data stream in a source node of a 64B/66B-block communication link, the method comprising:
- generating an /S/ control block including assembling first POH data into the generated /S/control block;
- generating second POH data and assembling the second POH data into K POH data blocks;
- generating a /T/ control block including assembling third POH data into the generated /T/control block;
- assembling the /S/ control block, the K POH data blocks and the /T/ control block into a micro-packet, the micro-packet starting with the /S/ control block and ending with the /T/ control block, the K POH data blocks between the /S/ control block and the /T/ control block, wherein K is less than 6;
- inserting the assembled micro-packet into an inter-packet gap in the data stream in the 64B/66B-block communication link.
An apparatus for extracting path overhead (POH) data blocks from a data stream in a 64B/66B-block communication link, comprising:
- a circuit for receiving at a sink node a data stream in a 64B/66B-block communication link;
- a circuit for detecting within the data stream at a Physical Coding Sublayer (PCS). sublayer a micro-packet starting with an /S/ control block, including K POH data blocks, and ending with a /T/ control block, the micro-packet having a length shorter than a minimum length for an Ethernet packet, wherein K is less than 6;
- circuitry for extracting the micro-packet from the data stream;
- and
- circuitry for extracting the POH data blocks from the micro-packet.
An apparatus for inserting path overhead (POH) data blocks into a data stream in a source node of a 64B/66B-block communication link, comprising:
- circuitry arranged to:
- generate an /S/ control block including first POH data;
- generate a /T/ control block including generating second POH data;
- assemble third POH data into K 64B/66B blocks;
- and
- assemble the K POH data blocks between the /S/ control block and the /T/ control block into a micro-packet, where K is less than 6;
- and
- a circuit arranged to insert the assembled micro-packet into an inter-packet gap in the data stream in the 64B/66B-block communication link.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.