Systems and methods for redundant switch fabric and switch controller
AssigneeCiena Corporation
InventorsJohn OLTMAN, Manuel DAMAS, Jeffrey M. BUSHMAN
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention combines switching and control functions on a single module while avoiding requirements to synchronize working and standby switch configuration information. The present invention eliminates the idea of redundant working and standby control/switching modules and instead, distributes the switching/control functions across two (primary and secondary) modules, where in the nominal (not failed) case the primary module contains the active control component and the secondary module contains the active switching component. In the failed case, both the switching and control functions reside on one module.
Claims20
A chassis with a redundant switch fabric and switch controller module, comprising:
- a first module comprising a first switch fabric and a first control system;
- and
- a second module comprising a second switch fabric and a second control system;
- wherein the first module is configured to provide primary control functions and standby switch fabric functions, and the second module is configured to provide primary switch fabric functions and standby control functions.
A method for redundant switch fabric and switch controller modules, comprising:
- operating a primary control system on a first module and a primary switch fabric on a second module, wherein the first module and the second module are interconnected, and wherein the primary control system is configured to control the primary switch fabric;
- exchanging status messages between the first module and the second module;
- experiencing a failure event on one of the first module and the second module;
- switching from the primary control system to a standby control system on the second module if the failure event is on the first module;
- and
- switching from the primary switch fabric to a standby switch fabric on the second module if the failure event is on the second module.
A network element with redundant switch fabric and switch controller modules, comprising:
- a first module comprising a first control plane, a first timing plane, a first data switch plane, and a first packet switch plane;
- a second module comprising a second control plane, a second timing plane, a second data switch plane, and a second packet switch plane;
- an interconnection between the first module and the second module;
- and
- redundancy means for operating the first control plane and the first timing plane as primary and the second control plane and the second timing plane as standby, and for operating the second data plane as active and the first data plane as standby;
- wherein the first packet switch plane and the second packet switch plane both operate as active.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.