US 2016/0112780 A1Published application

Interconnection System, Apparatus, and Data Transmission Method

AssigneeHuawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

InventorsXuecang Zhang, Qinfen Hao, Yaoda Liu

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

An interconnection system, an apparatus, and a data transmission method. In the interconnection system, to-be-transmitted data is converted into a data packet in an optical signal form for transmission, and a control packet corresponding to the data packet is transmitted in an electrical signal form and includes routing information of the data packet. When the control packet passes through a switching node, the switching node directly determines, according to the routing information in the control packet, a neighboring node that serves as a next hop, and opens, in the switching node, an optical path used to transmit the data packet. Because no optical-to-electrical or electrical-to-optical conversion needs to be performed on the control packet and the data packet during an entire transmission procedure, problems of an extra delay and power consumption caused by electrical-optical-electrical conversion can be reduced, thereby improving data transmission efficiency.

Claims20

Dependent claims

An interconnection system, wherein the interconnection system comprises:

at least two interconnection endpoints;
at least two interface controllers;
and
N switching nodes, wherein N is a positive integer,
wherein a first interconnection endpoint of the interconnection endpoints is connected to a first switching node of the N switching nodes using a first interface controller of the interface controllers,
wherein a second interconnection endpoint of the interconnection endpoints is connected to a second switching node of the N switching nodes using a second interface controller of the interface controllers,
wherein the first interconnection endpoint is configured to send data in an electrical signal form to the first interface controller,
wherein the first interface controller is configured to:
convert the received data in an electrical signal form into a data packet in an optical signal form, and generate a control packet for the data packet, wherein the control packet is in an electrical signal form and comprises routing information of the data packet;
send the control packet to the first switching node;
and
send the data packet to the first switching node after an offset time,
wherein any one switching node of the N switching nodes is configured to determine, when receiving the control packet sent by a first neighboring node, a second neighboring node according to the routing information of the data packet,
wherein the first neighboring node is one of a switching node adjacent to the any one switching node and an interface controller connected to the any one switching node,
wherein the second neighboring node is one of a switching node adjacent to the any one switching node and an interface controller connected to the any one switching node,
wherein the any one switching node is further configured to:
send the control packet to the second neighboring node when the second neighboring node is the switching node adjacent to the any one switching node;
open, in the any one switching node, an optical path for the data packet from a first optical port connected to the first neighboring node to a second optical port connected to the second neighboring node;
transmit the data packet using the optical path to the second optical port when receiving the data packet using the first optical port;
and
send the data packet to the second neighboring node using the second optical port when receiving the data packet using the first optical port, and
wherein the second interface controller is configured to:
convert the data packet into data in an electrical signal form when receiving the data packet sent by the second switching node;
and
send the data in an electrical signal form to the second interconnection endpoint.

22 more elements

A switching node, comprising:

a processor;
a memory;
and
an optical switch,
wherein the memory is configured to store a computer operation instruction, and
wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer operation instruction stored in the memory to enable the switching node to implement the following operations:
determining a second neighboring node according to routing information in a control packet in an electrical signal form when receiving the control packet sent by a first neighboring node, wherein the routing information in the control packet is routing information of a data packet in an optical signal form corresponding to the control packet, wherein the first neighboring node is one of a switching node adjacent to the switching node and an interface controller connected to the switching node, and wherein the second neighboring node is one of a switching node adjacent to the switching node and an interface controller connected to the switching node;
sending the control packet to the second neighboring node;
and
opening an optical path from a first optical port of the optical switch to a second optical port of the optical switch, wherein the first optical port of the optical switch is connected to an optical port of the first neighboring node, wherein the second optical port of the optical switch is connected to an optical port of the second neighboring node, and
wherein the optical switch is configured to:
transmit the data packet to the second optical port using the optical path when receiving the data packet using the first optical port;
and
send the data packet to the second neighboring node using the second optical port.

11 more elements

An interface controller, comprising:

a processor;
and
a memory, wherein the memory is configured to store a computer operation instruction, and
wherein the processor is configured to execute the computer operation instruction stored in the memory to enable the interface controller to implement the following operations:
converting the data into a data packet in an optical signal form when receiving data in an electrical signal form sent by an interconnection endpoint connected to the interface controller;
generating a control packet for the data packet, wherein the control packet is in an electrical signal form and comprises routing information of the data packet;
sending the control packet to a switching node connected to the interface controller;
and
sending the data packet to the switching node after an offset time, such that when receiving the control packet and determining a next hop according to the routing information of the data packet comprised in the control packet, the switching node opens, in the switching node, an optical path that is from an optical port connected to the interface controller to an optical port connected to the next hop and that is used to transmit the data packet, and such that, when receiving the data packet in an optical signal form, the switching node transmits the data packet in an optical signal form using the optical path.

6 more elements

A data transmission method, comprising:

determining, by a switching node, a second neighboring node according to routing information in a control packet in an electrical signal form when receiving the control packet sent by a first neighboring node, wherein the routing information in the control packet is routing information of a data packet in an optical signal form corresponding to the control packet, wherein the first neighboring node is one of a switching node adjacent to the switching node and an interface controller connected to the switching node, and wherein the second neighboring node is one of a switching node adjacent to the switching node and an interface controller connected to the switching node;
sending, by the switching node, the control packet to the second neighboring node;
opening, by the switching node and in the switching node, an optical path from a first optical port connected to the first neighboring node to a second optical port connected to the second neighboring node, for the data packet corresponding to the control packet;
and
transmitting, by the switching node, when receiving the data packet using the first optical port, the data packet to the second optical port using the optical path, and sending the data packet to the second neighboring node using the second optical port.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.