Fault tolerant optical data communication network having auto discovery

US7406029B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• NetApp, Inc. · US

Inventors

• Gene M. Ciancaglini · Dover, US
• Michael M. Garofalo · Portsmouth, US
• James A. Hart · Radnor, US
• Steven Lumetta · Champaign, US
• Muriel Medard · Belmont, US
• John D. Moores · Concord, US
• Salil A. Parikh · Belmont, US
• Mark R. Parquette · Rye, US
• William Proulx · Sanbornville, US
• Michael Rydeen · Portsmouth, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Jun 27, 2002
• Grant date: Jul 29, 2008
• Expiry date: Jul 19, 2024

Classification

• Technology area (CPC H): Electricity
• CPC primary: H04J14/0297
• WIPO field: Telecommunications
• WIPO sector: Electrical engineering

Abstract

A fiber-optic networking system that can survive a break in the fiber and restore full connectivity to all nodes in the network. The network can detect the presence of a cut in the fiber, locate the cut, recover from the cut, and restore the communication capacity that was available before the cut. The network is also capable of automatically determining the existence and identity of the nodes in the network, the distance of the node from the headend, and the executing procedures to handle both planned and unplanned (i.e., during a fault) removal of nodes from the network.