Optical ethernet overlay for loop topology network
US6623186B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 26, 2001 |
| Grant date | Sep 23, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Apr 26, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04J2203/0042
- WIPO fieldTelecommunications
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A telecommunications network having a ring topology overlaid with an Ethernet. An add/drop multiplexer (ADM) employing wave division multiplexing (WDM) hardware is implemented at each node of a multi-node fiber-based network. The ADM contains a robust protection scheme for reliability. The WDM allows the data traffic of the incumbent network, for example, a SONET network, to be carried over one or more frequencies while the data traffic of one or more packet-based networks may be carried over one or more other frequencies. Each ADM has protection switches, for example, micro-electromechanical switches. The protection switches provide a no-load bypass capability. A failed node can be shunted from the ring, allowing the Ethernet data to bypass the node uninterrupted. The switches also provide a self-test capability. The ADM interfaces can be checked by coupling the receiving path and the transmission path. This allows the ADM transceivers to communicate with each other.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.