Delivering cpri and ethernet signals over optical networks

An apparatus for communication, comprising:

• a first communication interface, which is configured to:
• receive input frames, which comprise data symbols that were derived by encoding respective characters, and further comprise one or more synchronization symbols distinguishable from the data symbols,
• recover the characters from the data symbols, and
• transmit the recovered characters by mapping the characters into communication frames and discarding the synchronization symbols, wherein a protocol for delivering the characters supports a mapping scheme in which the characters are delivered at a first data rate, and wherein the first communication interface is configured to map the characters so as to deliver the characters at a second data rate that is lower than the first data rate;
• and
• a second communication interface, which is configured to:
• receive the communication frames from the first communication interface,
• extract the characters from the communication frames by synchronizing to the mapped input frames independently of the synchronization symbols, and
• reconstruct the input frames to produce reconstructed input frames, including the data symbols and the synchronization symbols, by re-encoding the extracted characters.

A method for communication, comprising:

• receiving in a first communication interface input frames, which comprise data symbols that were derived by encoding respective first characters, and further comprise one or more synchronization symbols distinguishable from the data symbols, and further receiving in the first communication interface Ethernet frames that encapsulate second characters;
• recovering the first characters from the data symbols and recovering the second characters from the Ethernet frames, and transmitting the recovered first and second characters to a second communication interface by mapping the first and second characters into communication frames and discarding the synchronization symbols, wherein mapping the second characters comprises replacing first characters that carry no information with the second characters;
• extracting the first and second characters from the communication frames in the second communication interface by synchronizing to the input frames independently of the synchronization symbols;
• and
• reconstructing the input frames in the second communication interface, including the data symbols and the synchronization symbols, by re-encoding the extracted first characters, and further reconstructing in the second communication interface the Ethernet frames by re-encapsulating the extracted second characters into the Ethernet frames.

An apparatus for communication, comprising:

• a first communication interface, which is configured to:
• receive input frames, which comprise data symbols that were derived by encoding respective first characters, and further comprise one or more synchronization symbols distinguishable from the data symbols, and further receive Ethernet frames that encapsulate second characters,
• recover the first characters from the data symbols and recover the second characters from the Ethernet frames, and
• transmit the recovered first and second characters by mapping the first and second characters into communication frames and discarding the synchronization symbols, wherein mapping the second characters comprises replacing first characters that carry no information with the second characters;
• and
• a second communication interface, which is configured to:
• receive the communication frames from the first communication interface,
• extract the first and second characters from the communication frames by synchronizing to the input frames independently of the synchronization symbols, and
• reconstruct the input frames in the second communication interface, including the data symbols and the synchronization symbols, by re-encoding the extracted first characters, and further reconstruct the Ethernet frames by re-encapsulating the extracted second characters into the Ethernet frames.