Making mass connections in an optical circuit switch

An optical circuit switch, comprising:

• a plurality of mirror elements, each mirror element coupled to a dedicated electrode, each mirror element configured to rotate in response to a voltage applied to the dedicated electrode;
• a plurality of ports, each port uniquely associated with a corresponding mirror element from the plurality of mirror elements;
• a command interpreter configured to:
• receive a mass connection command defining a plurality of port-pairs to be connected via the optical circuit switch, each port-pair consisting of two ports from the plurality of ports, and
• determine respective target voltage values to be applied to the dedicated electrodes coupled to the mirror elements associated with the port-pairs defined in the mass connection command;
• and
• a transition manager configured to cause voltages applied to the dedicated electrodes coupled to the mirror elements associated with the port-pairs defined in the mass connection command to concurrently transition from respective previous voltage values to the respective target voltage values, wherein the transition manager comprises a state machine configured to:
• retrieve, from a memory, previous state information for the dedicated electrodes coupled to the mirror elements associated with the port-pairs defined in the mass connection command;
• determine respective current voltages to be applied to the dedicated electrodes coupled to the mirror elements associated with the port-pairs defined in the mass connection command based on the respective state information;
• and
• store, in the memory, current state information for the dedicated electrodes coupled to the mirror elements associated with the port-pairs defined in the mass connection command,
• the state information for each dedicated electrode including the respective initial voltage value, the respective target voltage value, and a respective step count that is incremented prior to storing the current state information.

A method for controlling an optical circuit switch, comprising:

• receiving a mass connection command defining a plurality of port-pairs to be connected via the optical circuit switch, each port-pair consisting of two ports from a plurality of ports, each of the plurality of ports unique associated with a corresponding mirror element from a plurality of mirror elements, each mirror element coupled to a respective dedicated electrode and configured to rotate in response to a voltage applied to the respective dedicated electrode;
• determining respective target voltage values to be applied to the dedicated electrodes coupled to mirror elements associated with the port-pairs defined in the mass connection command;
• causing voltages applied to the dedicated electrodes coupled to the mirror elements associated with the port-pairs defined in the mass connection command to concurrently transition from respective previous voltage values to the respective target voltage values;
• identifying one or more ports disconnected as a consequence of the mass connection command;
• determining respective default voltage values to be applied to the dedicated electrodes coupled to the mirror elements associated with the one or more disconnected ports;
• and
• causing voltages applied to the dedicated electrodes coupled to the mirror elements associated with the one or more disconnected ports to concurrently transition from respective previous voltage values to the respective default voltage values.

A method for controlling an optical circuit switch, comprising:

• receiving a mass connection command defining a plurality of port-pairs to be connected via the optical circuit switch, each port-pair consisting of two ports from a plurality of ports, each of the plurality of ports unique associated with a corresponding mirror element from a plurality of mirror elements, each mirror element coupled to a respective dedicated electrode and configured to rotate in response to a voltage applied to the respective dedicated electrode;
• retrieving, from a memory, respective previous state information for the dedicated electrodes coupled to mirror elements associated with the port-pairs defined in the mass connection command;
• determining respective voltages to be applied to the dedicated electrodes coupled to mirror elements associated with the port-pairs defined in the mass connection command based on the respective state information;
• causing voltages applied to the dedicated electrodes coupled to the mirror elements associated with the port-pairs defined in the mass connection command to concurrently transition from respective previous voltage values to the respective target voltage values;
• and
• storing, in the memory, current state information for the dedicated electrodes coupled to mirror elements associated with the port-pairs defined in the mass connection command,
• wherein the state information for each dedicated electrode includes the respective initial voltage value, the respective target voltage value, and a respective step count that is incremented prior to storing the current state information.

Apparatus comprising a storage medium storing an optical circuit switch control program including instructions which, when executed by a processor, will cause the processor to perform actions comprising:

• receiving a mass connection command defining a plurality of port-pairs to be connected via the optical circuit switch, each port-pair consisting of two ports from a plurality of ports, each of the plurality of ports unique associated with a corresponding mirror element from a plurality of mirror elements, each mirror element coupled to a respective dedicated electrode and configured to rotate in response to a voltage applied to the respective dedicated electrode;
• determining respective target voltage values to be applied to the dedicated electrodes coupled to mirror elements associated with the port-pairs defined in the mass connection command;
• causing voltages applied to the dedicated electrodes coupled to the mirror elements associated with the port-pairs defined in the mass connection command to concurrently transition from respective previous voltage values to the respective target voltage values;
• identifying one or more ports disconnected as a consequence of the mass connection command;
• determining respective default voltage values to be applied to the dedicated electrodes coupled to the mirror elements associated with the one or more disconnected ports;
• and
• causing voltages applied to the dedicated electrodes coupled to the mirror elements associated with the one or more disconnected ports to concurrently transition from respective previous voltage values to the respective default voltage values.

An apparatus comprising a storage medium storing an optical circuit switch control program including instructions which, when executed by a processor, will cause the processor to perform actions, comprising:

• receiving a mass connection command defining a plurality of port-pairs to be connected via the optical circuit switch, each port-pair consisting of two ports from a plurality of ports, each of the plurality of ports unique associated with a corresponding mirror element from a plurality of mirror elements, each mirror element coupled to a respective dedicated electrode and configured to rotate in response to a voltage applied to the respective dedicated electrode;
• retrieving, from a memory, respective previous state information for the dedicated electrodes coupled to mirror elements associated with the port-pairs defined in the mass connection command;
• determining respective voltages to be applied to the dedicated electrodes coupled to mirror elements associated with the port-pairs defined in the mass connection command based on the respective state information;
• causing voltages applied to the dedicated electrodes coupled to the mirror elements associated with the port-pairs defined in the mass connection command to concurrently transition from respective previous voltage values to the respective target voltage values;
• and
• storing, in the memory, current state information for the dedicated electrodes coupled to mirror elements associated with the port-pairs defined in the mass connection command,
• wherein the state information for each dedicated electrode includes the respective initial voltage value, the respective target voltage value, and a respective step count that is incremented prior to storing the current state information.