Digital communication network architecture for providing universal information services

A communication network for use in providing integrated voice, data, and video services between a plurality of pieces of equipment connected thereto by a plurality of channelized communication links, each piece of equipment connected to the network by a set of links comprising at least one link and providing a set of wideband communication channels comprising at least one wideband channel and a set of narrowband communication channels comprising at least one narrowband channel, a narrowband channel of each link set for carrying signaling messages for establishing communication connections over all channels of the link set, the network comprising:

• wideband digital channel switching means, coupled to links of the sets, for interconnecting wideband channels to establish wideband communication paths between pieces of equipment;
• narrowband digital channel switcing means, coupled to links of the sets, for interconnecting narrowband channels to establish narrowband communication paths between pieces of equipment;
• control means, responsive to signaling messages received from the pieces of equipment for sending control communications to the wideband and the narrowband switching means and sending signaling messages to the pieces of equipment to control establishment on the wideband and narrowband channels of wideband and narrowband communication paths between the pieces of equipment;
• control communication means, interconnecting the wideband and the narrowband switching means with the control means, for carrying control communications from the control means to the switching means;
• and
• signaling message transfer means, connected to the control communication means and having the signaling-message-carrying narrowband channels coupled thereto by the narrowband switching means, for transferring signaling messages incoming from the pieces of equipment on the coupled channels to the control means over the control communication means and for transferring signaling messages incoming from the control means over the control communication means to the pieces of equipment on the coupled channels.

A communication network for use in providing integrated voice, data, and video services between a plurality of pieces of equipment connected thereto by a plurality of first channelized communication links, each piece of equipment connected to the network by a set of first links comprising at least one first link and providing a set of wideband communication channels comprising at least one wideband channel and a set of narrowband communication channels comprising at least one narrowband channel, a narrowband channel of each first link set for carrying signaling messages for establishing communication connections over all channels of the first link set, the network comprising:

• wideband channel switching means, coupled to links of the first link sets, for interconnecting wideband channels to establish wideband communication paths between pieces of equipment;
• narrowband channel switching means, coupled to links of the first link sets, for interconnecting narrowband channels to establish narrowband communication paths between pieces of equipment;
• a plurality of channelized second links coupling a set of first link sets, comprising at least some of the first link sets, to the wideband and the narrowband switching means and providing a plurality of second communication channels for extending wideband and narrowband channels to the wideband and the narrowband switching means;
• wideband channel handling means, connected between first links of the set of first link sets and the second links, for connecting wideband channels of the connected first links with second channels to establish wideband communication paths between the wideband switching means and pieces of equipment connected to the first links of the set of first link sets;
• narrowband channel handling means, connected between first links of the set of first link sets and the second links, for connecting narrowband channels of the connected first links with second channels to establish narrowband communication paths between the narrowband switching means and pieces of equipment connected to the first links of the set of first link sets;
• and
• control means connected to the wideband and the narrowband switching means and having second channels that are connected to the signaling-message-carrying narrowband channels coupled thereto, the control means responsive to signaling messages received from the pieces of equipment on the coupled channels for sending control communications to the wideband and the narrowband switching means and sending signaling messages to the pieces of equipment on the coupled channels to control establishment on wideband and narrowband channels of wideband and narrowband communication paths between the pieces of equipment.

A communication network for use in providing integrated voice, data, and video services between a plurality of pieces of equipment communicatively connected thereto, the network comprising:

• a central switching node for establishing wideband and narrowband communication connections between the pieces of equipment;
• a plurality of peripheral nodes, each for communicatively coupling a plurality of the pieces of equipment to the central node;
• a plurality of channelized first optical fibers communicatively connecting the pieces of equipment to the plurality of peripheral nodes, each piece of equipment connected to one peripheral node by a set of first fibers comprising at least one first fiber and providing a set of wideband communication channels comprising at least one wideband channel and a set of narrowband communication channels comprising at least one narrowband channel, a narrowband channel of each first fiber set for carrying signaling messages for establishing communication connections over all channels of the first fiber set;
• a plurality of channelized second optical fibers communicatively connecting the peripheral nodes with the central node, each peripheral node connected with the central node by its own set of second fibers comprising at least one second fiber and providing a plurality of second communication channels for carrying the wideband and the narrowband channels;
• wherein
• each peripheral node comprises
• wideband digital channel handling means, coupled to first fibers of first fiber sets connected to the peripheral node and to second fibers of the peripheral node's second fiber set, for connecting wideband channels with second channels to establish wideband communication paths between the central node and pieces of equipment connected to the peripheral node, and
• narrowband digital channel handling means, coupled to first fibers of first fiber sets connected to the peripheral node and to second fibers of the peripheral node's second fiber set, for connecting narrowband channels with second channels to establish narrowband communication paths between the central node and pieces of equipment connected to the peripheral node;
• and wherein
• the central switching node comprises
• wideband digital channel switching means, coupled to fibers of the sets, for interconnecting wideband channels carried by the second channels to establish wideband communication paths between pieces of equipment,
• narrowband digital channel switching means, coupled to fibers of the sets, for interconnecting narrowband channels carried by the second channels to establish narrowband communication paths between pieces of equipment, and
• node control means, coupled to the wideband and the narrowband switching means, responsive to signaling messages received from the pieces of equipment on the signaling-message-carrying narrowband channels for sending control communications to the wideband and the narrowband switching means and sending signaling messages to the pieces of equipment on the signaling-message-carrying narrowband channels, to control establishment of wideband and narrowband communication paths on the wideband and narrowband channels between the pieces of equipment.

A communication network for use in providing integrated voice, data, and video services between a plurality of interface arrangements each for communicatively coupling at least one subscriber communication device to the network, the network comprising:

• a central switching node for establishing wideband and narrowband communication connections between the interface arrangements;
• a plurality of remote nodes each communicatively coupling a plurality of the interface arrangements to the central node;
• a plurality of channelized first optical fibers communicatively connecting the interface arrangements with the remote nodes, each interface arrangement connected with one remote node by its own set of first fibers comprising at least one first fiber and providing a set of wideband first communication channels comprising at least one wideband first channel and a set of narrowband first communication channels comprising at least one narrowband first channel, a narrowband first channel of each first fiber set for carrying signaling messages for establishing communication connections over all channels of the first fiber set;
• and
• a plurality of channelized second optical fibers communicatively connecting the remote nodes with the central node, each remote node connected with the central node by its own set of second fibers comprising at least one second fiber and providing a plurality of wideband-carrying channels each comprising at least one wideband second communication channel and at least one narrowband-carrying channel each comprising a plurality of narrowband second communication channels;
• each remote node comprising
• first wideband digital channel switching means, coupled to second fibers of the remote node's second fiber set and to first fibers of the first fiber sets that are connected to the remote node, responsive to control communications received from the central node for connecting wideband first channels with wideband second channels to establish wideband communication paths between the central node and the interface arrangements connected to the remote node, and
• narrowband digital channel multiplexing and demultiplexing means, coupled to second fibers of the remote node's second fiber set and to first fibers of the first fiber sets that are connected to the remote node, for connecting the channels of a plurality of narrowband first channel sets with the second channels of a narrowband-carrying channel to establish narrowband communication paths between the central node and the interface arrangements connected to the remote node;
• and
• the central node comprising
• second wideband digital channel switching means, coupled to second fibers of the second fiber sets, responsive to received control communications for interconnecting wideband second channels to establish wideband communication paths between interface arrangements,
• narrowband digital channel switching means, coupled to second fibers of the second fiber sets, responsive to received control communications for interconnecting narrowband second channels to establish narrowband communication paths between interface arrangements,
• node control means, responsive to signaling messages received from the interface arrangements for sending control communications to the first and the second wideband switching means and the narrowband switching means and for sending signaling messages to the interface arrangements to control establishment of wideband and narrowband communication paths between the interface arrangements on the channels of the first and second fibers,
• communication bus means, interconnecting the first and second wideband switching means and the narrowband switching means with the node control means, for carrying control communications from the control means to the switching means, and
• signaling message transfer means, connected to the bus means and having second channels that are connected to signaling-message-carrying narrowband first channels coupled thereto by the narrowband switching means, for transferring signaling messages incoming from the interface arrangements on the coupled channels to the node control means over the bus means and transferring signaling messages incoming from the node control means over the bus means to the interface arrangements on the coupled channels.

A communication network for use in providing integrated digital wideband and narrowband voice, data, and video communication services between a plurality of interface arrangements each for communicatively coupling at least one subscriber communication device to the network, the network comprising:

• a central switching node for establishing switched wideband and narrowband communication connections between the interface arrangements;
• a plurality of remote nodes each communicatively coupling a plurality of the interface arrangements to the central node;
• a control communication bus interconnecting the plurality of remote nodes with the central node;
• a plurality of channelized first optical fibers communicatively connecting the interface arrangements with the remote nodes, each interface arrangement connected with one remote node by its own set of first fibers comprising at least one first fiber and providing a set of wideband first communication channels comprising at least one wideband first channel and at least one multiplexed first communication channel comprising a time-division multiplexed plurality of narrowband first communication channels, a narrowband first channel of each first fiber set for carrying signaling messages for establishing communication connections over all channels of the first fiber set, each first fiber carrying a plurality of wavelengths each defining at least one of the wideband and multiplexed first channels, whereby first channels are wavelength-division multiplexed on the first fibers;
• a plurality of channelized second optical fibers communicatively connecting the remote nodes with the central node, each remote node connected with the central node by its own set of second fibers comprising at least one second fiber and providing at least one wideband second communication channel and at least one multiplexed second communication channel each comprising a multiplexed plurality of narrowband second communication channels, each second fiber carrying a plurality of wavelengths each defining at least one second channel, whereby second channels are wavelength-division multiplexed on the second fibers;
• a plurality of network interfaces, one connected between each interface arrangement and its set of first fibers, each having transmitter means for wavelength-division multiplexing wideband and multiplexed first channels received from the interface arrangement into the connected fibers, and each further having receiver means for wavelength-division demultiplexing wideband and multiplexed first channels received on the connected fibers for use by the interface arrangement;
• each remote node comprising
• first wideband digital channel switching fabric, coupled to second fibers of the remote node's second fiber set and to first fibers of the first fiber sets connected to the remote node, for making and breaking connections between wideband first channels and wideband second channels to establish wideband communication paths between the central node and the interface arrangements connected to the remote node,
• first control means, coupled to the first wideband fabric and to the communication bus, responsive to control communications received on the bus from the central node for controlling the making and breaking of connections by the first wideband fabric,
• narrowband digital channel multiplexing and demultiplexing means, coupled to second fibers of the remote node's second fiber set and to first fibers of the first fiber sets connected to the remote node, for connecting the narrowband first channels of a plurality of multiplexed first channels with narrowband second channels of a multiplexed second channel to establish narrowband communication paths between the central node and the interface arrangements connected to the remote node,
• first fiber interface means, interposed between both the first wideband switching fabric and the narrowband multiplexing and demultiplexing means and the first fibers, for wavelength-division multiplexing the first channels received from the first wideband switching fabric and the narrowband multiplexing and demultiplexing means onto the first fibers and wavelength-division demultiplexing first channels received on the first fibers for use by the first wideband switching fabric and the narrowband multiplexing and demultiplexing means, and
• second fiber interface means, interposed between both the first wideband switching fabric and the narrowband multiplexing and demultiplexing means and the second fibers, for wavelength-division multiplexing second channels received from the first wideband switching fabric and the narrowband multiplexing and demultiplexing means onto the second fibers and wavelength-division demultiplexing second channels received on the second fibers for use by the first wideband switching fabric and the narrowband multiplexing and demultiplexing means;
• the central node comprising
• second wideband digital channel switching fabric, coupled to second fibers of the second fiber sets, for making and breaking connections between wideband second channels to establish wideband communication paths between interface arrangements,
• second control means, coupled to the second wideband fabric and to the communication bus, responsive to control communications received on the bus for controlling the making and breaking of connections by the second wideband fabric,
• narrowband digital channel switching fabric, coupled to second fibers of the second fiber sets, for making and breaking connections between narrowband second channels to establish narrowband communication paths between interface arrangements,
• third control means, coupled to the narrowband fabric and to the communication bus, responsive to control communications received on the bus for controlling the making and breaking of connections by the narrowband fabric;
• third fiber interface means, interposed between both the second wideband and the narrowband switching fabrics and the second fibers, for wavelength-division multiplexing second channels received from the second switching fabrics onto the first fibers and wavelengthdivision demultiplexing second channels received on the second fibers for use by the second switching fabrics,
• node control means, coupled to the communication bus, responsive to signaling messages received from the interface arrangements for sending control communications to the first, second, and third control means on the bus and sending signaling messages to the interface arrangements, to control establishment of wideband and narrowband communication paths between the interface arrangements on the first and second channels, and
• signaling message transfer means, connected to the communication bus and having the narrowband second channels that are connected to the signaling-message-carrying narrowband first channels coupled thereto by the narrowband digital channel switching fabric, for transferring signaling messages incoming from the interface arrangements on the coupled channels to the node control means over the bus and transferring signaling messages incoming from the node control means over the bus to the interface arrangements on the coupled channels.

In combination

• a plurality of switching units each associated with a corresponding plurality of user terminals and
• inter-unit connection means,
• each of said switching units comprising narrowband switching mens for providing narrowband, switched communication channels between its associated user terminals and said inter-unit connection means, and wideband switching means for providing wideband, switched communication channels between its associataed user terminals and said inter-unit connection means, and
• said inter-unit connection means comprising switching means for connecting the narrowband switching means of all of said switching units to each other for inter-unit, narrowband switched communications, and switching means for connecting the wideband switching means of all of said switching units to each other for inter-unit, wideband switched communications.

In combination

• a plurality of switching units each associated with a corresponding plurality of user terminals and
• inter-unit connection means,
• each of said switching units comprising wideband switching means for providing wideband, switched communication channels between its associated user terminals and said inter-unit connection means, and
• said inter-unit connection means comprising switching means for connecting the wideband switching means of all of said switching units to each other for inter-unit, wideband, switched communication.