Method and apparatus for identifying a failed span in a network of span interconnected nodes
US5233600A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Aug 6, 1990 |
| Grant date | Aug 3, 1993 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Aug 6, 2010 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04Q3/0079
- WIPO fieldTelecommunications
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method is illustrated for identifying which one of a plurality of signal transmitting spans in a communication network of signal spans, such as bundles or sets of DS3 signals, has been interrupted by some type of failure. This identification is based on a local level knowledge, as opposed to prior art network level knowledge, by monitoring each circuit in a given span for either a directly observable signal impairment, or an alarm indication signal (AIS) and sending an IDLE whenever a directly observable signal impairment or an alarm indication signal is detected and declaring that the channel immediately upstream from that node has failed when either the directly observable signal impairment or the alarm indication signal is received for longer than a predetermined period of time. Such a determination as to the whereabouts of a failed span can then be used for other processes such as implementation of a network restoration scheme.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.