Scalable network restoration device
AssigneeTelecommuncations Research Laboratories
InventorsDemetrios Stamatelakis, Wayne D. Grover
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Tis invention provides a ‘capacity slice’ nodal switching device (in the ADM-like sense) that is designed for deployment under the p-cycle concept. The device's key architectural properties are access, east and west interfaces, with one spare and working port, on each of these interface sides, plus at least two straddling side interfaces. The straddling side interfaces each have equal line capacity to those of east and west interfaces, but all are usable for working capacity. In application, the plug cards in the nodal switching device are supplied to provide up to two line signal units on the straddling side of the p-cycle device, per diverse span arriving at the site. Network level deployment and configuration of the devices requires that they be arranged in p-cycles.
Claims14
A telecommunications network, the telecommunications network incorporating plural nodes connected in a ring and having at least one straddling span, wherein a nodal switching device terminates the straddling span, the nodal switching device forming an add-drop multiplexer and the nodal switching device comprising:
- a first network interface having a first spare port and a first working port;
- a second network interface having a second spare port and second working port;
- a third network interface having third and fourth working ports, the third network interface connecting to the straddling span;
- plural local interface ports, each local interface port being connected by a communication link within the nodal switching device with an associated one of the first, second, third and fourth working ports and being connectable by a communication link within the nodal switching device with each of the spare ports;
- each communication link including an internal switching device;
- a controller operably connected to each internal switching device;
- and
- the controller being configured to route traffic from one of the third and fourth working ports to one of the first and second spare ports upon occurrence of a failure on a span connected to the one of the third and fourth working ports.
A method of operating a telecommunications network, in which the telecommunications network is formed from plural nodes, each node incorporating an add-drop multiplexer with a first network interface having a first spare port and a second network interface having a second spare port, the method comprising the steps:
- providing at least one straddling path in the network, the straddling path connecting between a first node and a second node, the first node incorporating a third network interface that connects to the straddling path and the second node incorporating a third network interface that connects to the straddling path;
- and
- at plural nodes in the network, connecting the first spare port of each node to the second spare port of each node to form preconfigured cycles of spare capacity, such that upon occurrence of a failure of a span in the straddling path, communications may be routed from the straddling span along nodes in one of the preconfigured cycles of spare capacity.
A telecommunications network, comprising:
- plural nodes, each node comprising an add-drop-multiplexer incorporating a first network interface having a first spare port and a second network interface having a second spare port;
- and
- at least one straddling path in the network, the straddling path connecting between a first node and a second node, the first node incorporating a third network interface that connects to the straddling path and the second node incorporating a fourth network interface that connects to the straddling path.
A telecommunications network, comprising:
- plural nodes, each node comprising an add-drop-multiplexer incorporating a first network interface having a first spare port and a second network interface having a second spare port;
- and
- at least one straddling path in the network, the straddling path connecting between a first node and a second node, the first node incorporating a third network interface that connects to the straddling path and the second node incorporating a fourth network interface that connects to the straddling path;
- and
- the at least one straddling path providing only working capacity.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.