Network span protection using span identifiers
US7826345B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 7, 2004 |
| Grant date | Nov 2, 2010 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 7, 2029 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04J3/1611
- WIPO fieldTelecommunications
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
Each span of a communication network, such as a BLSR ring, is assigned a unique span ID. When a node of the network detects a failure in a network span, the node exchanges commands, according to an automatic protection switching (APS) protocol, that request other nodes of the network to switch network traffic from a working span to a protect span. The commands specify the working span by its span ID, without necessarily specifying a source node ID or a destination node ID for the commands. The span ID occupies fewer bits in the commands than bits representing a combination of the source node ID and the destination node ID. Alternatively, the commands specify a destination node ID without a span ID or a source node ID, or the commands specify a source node ID without a span ID or a destination node ID.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.