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AssigneeAkara Corporation
InventorsMarvin Jake Wiebe, Phuong Lethebinh, Stephen Kieran Anthony Adolph
Estimating the term…
Service path protection is provided for packet-based data services (e.g. GbE or FC) by making available to a protected service, as and when needed, preemptable (i.e. sharable) transport bandwidth (e.g. STS-1s for a SONET network) used, under normal conditions, to transport other data services. Each client-based service path is defined by a selectable working path when service protection has not been initiated for that service path and each working path comprises a selectable bandwidth, selectable portions of which are designated as unpreemptable and/or preemptable, whereby the preemptable bandwidth portions are made available for protection preemption by different service paths. A protection path is assigned to each protected service path, whereby each protection path comprises a selectable bandwidth having preemptable bandwidth portion(s) of working path(s) defining different service path(s) and/or unused network bandwidth. In response to a protection switch request the protected service path is switched so that it is defined by the protection path assigned to it, thereby preempting the preemptable bandwidth portion of the protection path for use by the protected service path. The working path bandwidths are selected on a dynamic basis in response to available network bandwidth so as to maximize the use of network bandwidth by the working paths.
A method for providing service protection to service paths transporting client data packet streams received from a plurality of packet-based client interfaces over a TDM or WDM network, said service paths being assigned to said data packet streams on a per-client basis, said network comprising a plurality of nodes and, at each node thereof, a plurality of network interfaces for configuring data frames comprising client data packet streams for transport from and to said network, whereby each said client-based service path is defined by a selectable working path when said service protection has not been initiated for said service path, each said working path comprising a selectable bandwidth and at least one said network interface associated therewith, said method comprising:
A service path protection apparatus for providing service protection to selectable client-based service paths used for transporting client data packet streams over a TDM or WDM network, each said service path being defined by a working path under normal conditions and each said service path selected for protection being defined by a protection path when service protection has been initiated for said protected service path, each said working path being defined by a selectable bandwidth associated with a network interface, said apparatus comprising:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.