Low-overhead fault-tolerance techniques for optical and other cross-connect systems
US6850704B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 12, 2000 |
| Grant date | Feb 1, 2005 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 8, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04Q2011/0077
- WIPO fieldTelecommunications
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Fault tolerance is provided in a cross-connect system having only duplicated switch fabrics, instead of the triplicated switch fabrics of the prior art. In addition to the two information switch fabrics, the cross-connect system has a relatively small code switch fabric which switches check-code signals generated at each input interface for each input signal sent to an information switch fabric. Fault-detection and error-recovery components in each output interface (1) generate local check-code signals for each outgoing signals received from an information switch fabric and (2) compare those local check-code signals to the corresponding check-code signal received from the code switch fabric to detect a failure and to select a healthy signal as the output signal for that output interface. In one embodiment, input and output interfaces are clustered, and the corresponding input and output check-code signals are multiplexed, for even greater savings in overhead (e.g., fewer check-code cables to and from the code switch fabric).
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.