Architectural arrangement for bandwidth management in large central offices
US6195367A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 31, 1997 |
| Grant date | Feb 27, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 31, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S370/907
- WIPO fieldTelecommunications
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A new architectural arrangement for network elements deployed in a central office (CO) is disclosed. The architectural arrangement involves dividing the network elements into an optical layer comprised of elements that have optical signal interfaces and switch optical signals, an opto-electrical layer comprised of elements that have optical signal interfaces and switch electrical signals, and an electrical layer comprised of elements that have electrical signal interfaces and switch electrical signals. The opto-electrical layer connects the optical and the electrical layer, and also connects lower-rate optical links into the CO. This layered architectural arrangement allows for more efficient use to be made of the small number of high-rate ports supported in the optical layer, and for the off loading of switching responsibility from both the optical and the electrical layers. This, in turn, improves the overall performance and capacity of the CO. The opto-electrical layer can be implemented using known transport nodes that are only slightly modified for deployment within the CO environment.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.