Method and apparatus for establishing dedicated local area network N) connections in an optical transmission network
US6829247B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 23, 1999 |
| Grant date | Dec 7, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 23, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04J2203/0085
- WIPO fieldTelecommunications
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for establishing dedicated local area network (LAN) connectivity between network elements (NEs) in an optical transmission network without using any of the payload transport capacity available. In order to provision dedicated LAN connections between NEs, the invention reallocates existing overhead functionality to provide dedicated bandwidth for LAN communications between NEs. At each NE, a respective LAN interface unit provides access to this dedicated bandwidth and allows LAN devices such as personal computers (PCs), servers and monitoring equipment to communicate across NEs of an optical transmission network without consuming any payload transport capacity available therein.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.