Device and method for switching data traffic in a digital transmission network
AssigneeAlcatel Lucent
InventorsRiccardo Gemelli, Luigi Ronchetti, Andrea Paparella, Vincenzo Sestito
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Abstract
A network element for a digital transmission network is proposed. The network element contains two switching matrices for switching data cells, as well as ingress ports that receive TDM traffic flow and packet traffic flow and segment the traffic flows into cells. A control system for controlling the configuration of the ingress ports and the switching matrices controls the ingress ports, in case of no failure of the switching matrices, to forward the TDM traffic flows to both switching matrices and to split the packet traffic flow over the two switching matrices.
Claims10
A network element for a digital transmission network, comprising:
- a number of ingress ports, comprising:
- at least one time division multiplex ingress port adapted to receive a time division multiplex traffic flow and to segment said time division multiplex traffic flow into data cells of fixed size carrying said time division multiplex traffic flow, and
- at least one packet traffic ingress port adapted to receive a packet traffic flow and to segment said packet traffic flow into data cells of fixed size carrying said packet traffic flow;
- a number of egress ports, comprising:
- at least one packet egress port comprising a buffer adapted to store data cells received from one or more of said packet ingress ports and/or data packets reassembled from said data cells received from one or more of said packet ingress ports;
- a first and a second cell switching matrix, wherein each cell switching matrix is adapted to switch data cells from any of said ingress ports to any of said egress ports;
- a control system for controlling the configuration of said ingress ports, said egress ports and said cell switching matrices;
- wherein said control system is adapted to configure,
- said time division multiplex ingress port to duplicate and forward said data cells carrying said time division multiplex traffic flow to said first cell switching matrix and said second cell switching matrix, and
- said packet traffic ingress port to split said packet traffic flow, by forwarding a first fraction of said data cells carrying said packet traffic flow to said first cell switching matrix and forwarding a second fraction of said data cells carrying said packet traffic flow to said second cell switching matrix;
- and
- wherein said control system is adapted to reconfigure said packet traffic ingress port, in case of a failure of one of said first and second cell switching matrices, to forward said data cells carrying said packet traffic flow to the other of said first and said second cell switching matrices.
A method of switching traffic flows through a network element of a digital transmission network, comprising:
- receiving a time division multiplex traffic flow and segmenting said time division multiplex traffic flow into data cells of fixed size carrying said time division multiplex traffic flow traffic flow;
- receiving a packet traffic flow and segmenting said packet traffic flow into data cells of fixed size carrying said packet traffic flow;
- providing a first cell switching matrix and a second cell switching matrix for switching data cells to one or more of a number of egress ports;
- and
- at one of said egress ports, buffering data cells carrying said packet traffic flow or data packets reassembled from said data cells carrying said packet traffic flow;
- wherein
- said data cells carrying said TDM traffic flow are duplicated and forwarded to said first and said second cell switching matrix, and
- said packet traffic flow is split, by forwarding a first fraction of said data cells carrying said packet traffic flow to said first cell switching matrix and forwarding a second fraction of said data cells carrying said packet traffic flow to said second cell switching matrix;
- the method further comprising, in case of a failure of one of said first and second cell switching matrices, forwarding said data cells carrying said packet traffic flow to the other of said first and said second cell switching matrices.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.