Method of and operating architectural enhancement for combining optical (photonic) and data packet-based electrical switch fabric networks with a common software control plane while providing increased utilization of such combined networks
AssigneeAxiowave Networks, Inc.
InventorsRayadurgam Ravikanth, Kenneth J. Schroder, Mukesh Chatter, Peter Marconi, Jeffrey Parker, Dimitry Haskin, Zbigniew Opalka
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Abstract
A method of and operating architectural enhancement for combining photonic and data packet-based networks to be unified or integrated as a single device and with a common software control plane, enabling increased utilization of such combined networks and in particular of optical path data flow capacity.
Claims30
In a combined optical data-electrical data switch fabric system, a method of more fully utilizing the available data flow capacity of optical paths through the optical switch fabric, that comprises, flowing photonic data packets along a predetermined optical path in the optical switch fabric;
- flowing other data packets along a separate data flow path;
- determining when the predetermined optical path is under-utilized in its available data flow capability and the desirability of inserting in that predetermined optical path additional data from the separate data flow path;
- diverting the photonic data packet flow along said predetermined path into the electrical switch fabric and converting the same into electrical data packets;
- joining the converted electrical data packets with said other data packets also presented in electrical data packet form;
- converting the joined electrical data packets into photonic data packet flow;
- and sending the converted joined photonic data packets along said predetermined optical path of the optical switch fabric.
A combined optical data-electrical data switch fabric system, for more fully utilizing the available data flow capacity of optical paths through the optical switch fabric, having, in combination, an ingress for flowing photonic data packets along a predetermined optical path in the optical switch fabric;
- an ingress for flowing other data packets along a separate data flow path;
- means for determining when the predetermined optical path is under-utilized in its available data flow capability and the desirability of inserting in that predetermined optical path additional data from the separate data flow path;
- means for diverting the photonic data packet flow along said predetermined path into the electrical switch fabric and converting the same into electrical data packets;
- means for joining the converted electrical data packets with said other data packets also presented in electrical data packet form;
- means for converting the joined electrical data packets into photonic data packet flow;
- and means for sending the converted joined photonic data packets along said predetermined optical path of the optical switch fabric.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.