COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, FRAME SYNCHRONIZATION DETECTION APPARATUS, AND FRAME SYNCHRONIZATION DETECTION METHOD

Abstract

A frame transmitting unit divides a payload area of an upper-layer frame into a plurality of slots, maps a lower-layer frame to one or more of the slots, and transmits the upper-layer frame including connection information that indicates which one or more of the slots the lower-layer frame of a same type is mapped to. The frame synchronization detection unit identifies, as one or more allocated slots, the one or more slots to which the lower-layer frame of the same type is mapped, on the basis of the connection information, and detects the frame synchronization by identifying a frame head signal of the lower-layer frame of the same type that is mapped to the one or more allocated slots.

Description

FIELD

The embodiments discussed herein are related to a communication system that performs information communication, a frame synchronization detection apparatus that detects frame synchronization, and a frame synchronization detection method.

BACKGROUND

The OTN (Optical Transport Network) is one of the transmission technologies that support the backbone network for optical communications, and has been standardized by the ITU-T (International Telecommunication Union Telecommunication Standardization Sector).

The OTN is a technology for generating frames of a layered structure in which client signals such as SONET/SDH (Synchronous Optical Network/Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) and Ethernet™ are accommodated, and performing data transmission appropriate for WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing).

In recent years, there is a growing discussion on OTN extension as to how to accommodate various client signals while maintaining connectivity with the existing layered structures and how to achieve efficient data transmission.

As one example of OTN extension, a client accommodating system using LO-ODU (Lower Order Optical Channel Data Unit) and HO-ODU (Higher Order Optical Channel Data Unit) is drawing attention.

According to this system, in addition to data signals such as SONET/SDH and Ethernet, signals having a frame structure are also accommodated in a multiplexed form as client signal so as to increase the flexibility in accommodation of client signals.

The frame accommodated as a client signal is called an LO-ODU, and the frame in which the LO-ODU is stored is called an HO-ODU. The LO-ODU is mapped to a payload area of the HO-ODU so as to be transmitted. The receiving end detects frame synchronization of the LO-ODU so as to perform monitoring.

As one of related art techniques for frame synchronization, a method that performs frame synchronization for each STM-1 (Synchronous Transport Module-1) in STM-N has been disclosed (see, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 08-265285). There has also been disclosed a technique that reduces the time taken to detect a fixed pattern for frame synchronization (see, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent publication No. 2008-278137).

There are a plurality of types of LO-ODUs to be accommodated in the HO-ODU, in accordance with the transmission rate. Upon mapping the plurality of types of LO-ODUs to the HO-ODU, the LO-ODUs are discretely mapped to a payload area of the single HO-ODU. Further, upon monitoring the LO-ODUs at the receiving end, frame synchronization of the LO-ODUs is established.

For establishing frame synchronization, a selector circuit may be provided for each type of LO-ODU so as to sort LO-ODUs by type, and then synchronization detection control may be performed on the sorted LO-ODUs.

According to this circuit configuration, however, a plurality of parallel control systems for detecting frame synchronization on a per LO-ODU type basis need to be provided. Therefore, the same number of control systems as the possible maximum number of LO-ODU types are provided in advance, resulting in increased apparatus size (circuit size) and increased implementation difficulty.

SUMMARY

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a communication system that includes a frame transmitting apparatus that includes: a frame transmitting unit configured to divide a payload area of an upper-layer frame into a plurality of slots, map a lower-layer frame to one or more of the slots, and transmit the upper-layer frame with connection information included, the connection information indicating which one or more of the slots the lower-layer frame of a same type is mapped to; and a frame receiving apparatus that includes: a frame receiving unit configured to receive the upper-layer frame; and a frame synchronization detection unit configured to detect frame synchronization of the lower-layer frame; wherein the frame synchronization detection unit identifies, as one or more allocated slots, the one or more slots to which the lower-layer frame of the same type is mapped, on the basis of the connection information, and detects the frame synchronization by identifying a frame head signal of the lower-layer frame of the same type that is mapped to the one or more allocated slots.

The object and advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the claims.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are not restrictive of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary configuration of a communication system;

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary layered structure of frames of the OTN;

FIG. 3 illustrates a format of an OTU frame;

FIG. 4 illustrates a format of an LO-ODU frame;

FIG. 5 illustrates a payload division of an HO-ODU;

FIG. 6 illustrates a mapped state of LO-ODU0;

FIG. 7 illustrates a mapped state of LO-ODU0;

FIG. 8 illustrates a mapped state of LO-ODU1;

FIG. 9 illustrates a mapped state of LO-ODU1;

FIG. 10 illustrates the order of mapping;

FIG. 11 illustrates the order of mapping;

FIG. 12 illustrates a state in which stuff is inserted;

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary structure of a frame receiving apparatus;

FIG. 14 illustrates connection information;

FIG. 15 illustrates FAS element flags;

FIG. 16 illustrates an exemplary generation pattern of FAS element flags;

FIG. 17 illustrates another exemplary generation pattern of FAS element flags;

FIG. 18 illustrates operations of a demapping process;

FIG. 19 illustrates operations of FAS element detection;

FIG. 20 illustrates the block configuration of a frame synchronization processing unit;

FIG. 21 illustrates the block configuration of a TS-specific frame synchronization processing unit;

FIG. 22 illustrates FAS detection information;

FIG. 23 illustrates operations of a frame counter;

FIG. 24 illustrates operations of TS-specific overhead processing units; and

FIG. 25 illustrates operations of TS-specific BIP checking units.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Several embodiments will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary configuration of a communication system 1. The communication system includes a frame transmitting apparatus 20 and a frame receiving apparatus 10.

The frame transmitting apparatus 20 includes a frame transmitting unit 21. The frame transmitting unit 21 divides a payload area of an upper-layer frame into a plurality of slots, and maps a lower-layer frame to one or more of the divided slots.

Further, the frame transmitting unit 21 generates connection information indicating which one or more of the slots the lower-layer frame of the same type is mapped to. Then, the frame transmitting unit 21 transmits the upper-layer frame with the connection information included in the overhead thereof.

The frame receiving apparatus 10 includes a frame receiving unit 11 and a frame synchronization detection unit 12. The frame receiving unit 11 receives the upper-layer frame. The frame synchronization detection unit 12 detects frame synchronization of the lower-layer frame mapped to the upper-layer frame.

The frame synchronization detection unit 12 identifies, as one or more allocated slots, the one or more slots to which the lower-layer frame of the same type mapped, on the basis of the connection information. Then, the frame synchronization detection unit 12 identifies a frame head signal of the lower-layer frame of the same type that is mapped to the one or more allocated slots, and thereby detects frame synchronization.

In this case, the frame synchronization detection unit 12 detects all the frame head signal elements of the frame head signal of the lower-layer frame mapped to the one or more slots, and generates flags for all the frame head signal elements.

After that, the frame synchronization detection unit 12 aggregates flags of the frame head signal elements mapped to the one or more allocated slots so as to identify the frame head signal of the lower-layer frame of the same type, and thereby detects frame synchronization of the lower-layer frame. The details of the operation will be described below with specific examples.

Next, a description will be given of a case in which the communication system 1 is applied to a system of the OTN. The frame structure of the OTN will be described first.

FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary layered structure of frames of the OTN. Frames of the OTN form a layered structure, including an OPU (Optical Channel Payload Unit) frame, an ODU (Optical Channel Data Unit) frame, and an OTU (Optical Channel Transport Unit) frame in this order from the top layer to the bottom layer.

The OPU frame is generated by accommodating client signals such as SONET\SDH and Ethernet in a payload, and adding an overhead (OH) as control information to the payload. Then, the ODU frame is generated by adding an overhead to the OPU frame. Then, the OTU frame is generated by adding an overhead and a FEC (Forward Error Correction) code to the ODU frame.

The overhead of the OPU frame is referred to as an OPU-OH; the overhead of the ODU frame is referred to as an ODU-OH; and the overhead of the OTU frame is referred to as an OTU-OH. The client signals to be accommodated in the payload may include LO-ODU frames, other than data signals such as SONET/SDH and Ethernet.

FIG. 3 illustrates a format of an OTU frame. The OTU frame includes an overhead area, a payload area, and a FEC area.

The overhead area has a frame size of 16 bytes (columns 1-16) by 4 rows; the payload area has a frame size of 3,808 bytes (columns 17-3824) by 4 rows; and the FEC area has a frame size of 256 bytes (columns 3825-4080) by 4 rows.

The overhead area includes an OPU-OH as an overhead of an OPU frame, an ODU-OH as an overhead of an ODU frame, and an OTU-OH as an overhead of an OTU frame. The overhead area further includes a FAS (Frame Alignment Signal) that serves as a frame head signal indicating the head of the frame.

The FAS is located in columns 1-6 of row 1. The OTU-OH is located in columns 7-14 of row 1, and the ODU-OH is located in columns 1-14 of rows 2-4. Further, the OPU-OH is located in columns 15-16 of rows 1-4.

FIG. 4 illustrates a format of an LO-ODU frame. An LO-ODU frame has a format that includes an ODU frame with a FAS added thereto. The overhead area includes a FAS, an ODU-OH, and an OPU-OH.

It is to be noted that the HO-ODU to which the LO-ODU is mapped has the same frame format as that of the ODU (an overhead area of the HO-ODU includes an ODU-OH and an OPU-OH).

Next, a description will be given of a method of mapping an LO-ODU to an HO-ODU. For performing mapping, the payload area of an HO-ODU is divided into a plurality of slots, and LO-ODUs are mapped to the divided slots corresponding to the bandwidth that the LO-ODUs need. The divided slots are hereinafter referred to as tributary slots (TSs). It is to be noted that the HO-ODU corresponds to an upper-layer frame, and the LO-ODU corresponds to a lower-layer frame.

FIG. 5 illustrates a payload division of an HO-ODU. A structure of payload division in HO-ODU4 is illustrated as an example. In HO-ODU4, the payload area is divided into units of 80 tributary slots, and each tributary slot has a bandwidth corresponding to approximately 1.25 Gb/s. Then, an LO-ODU is mapped to a unit of 80 tributary slots. In FIG. 5, 80 tributary slots of each unit are numbered with #1 through #80 from left to right.

Since each tributary slot has a bandwidth corresponding to approximately 1.25 Gb/s, in the case of LO-ODU0 having a transmission rate of approximately 1.25 Gb/s, LO-ODU0 is mapped to one of the 80 tributary slots.

Further, in the case of LO-ODU1 having a transmission rate of approximately 2.5 Gb/s, LO-ODU1 is mapped to two of the 80 tributary slots. In the case of LO-ODU2 having a transmission rate of approximately 10 Gb/s, LO-ODU2 is mapped to eight of the 80 tributary slots. In the case of LO-ODU3 having a transmission rate of approximately 40 Gb/s, LO-ODU3 is mapped to 32 of the 80 tributary slots.

Next, a description will be given of mapping examples of LO-ODU0 and LO-ODU1 with reference to FIGS. 6 through 9. FIGS. 6 and 7 illustrate a mapped state of LO-ODU0. FIG. 6 illustrates LO-ODU0 mapped to the payload of HO-ODU4.

LO-ODU0 has a transmission rate of approximately 1.25 Gb/s, and therefore mapped to one tributary slot. In the example illustrated in FIG. 6, LO-ODU0 is mapped to the tributary slot #1 (the tributary slot #1 is the allocated slot). FIG. 7 illustrates the mapped state of LO-ODU0 in the case where the tributary slots #1 through #80 are vertically arranged.

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate a mapped state of LO-ODU1. FIG. 8 illustrates LO-ODU1 mapped to the payload of HO-ODU4. LO-ODU1 has a transmission rate of approximately 2.5 Gb/s, and therefore is mapped to two tributary slots. In the example illustrated in FIG. 8, LO-ODU1 is mapped to the tributary slot #2 and #5 (the tributary slot #2 and #5 are the allocated slots). FIG. 9 illustrates the mapped state of LO-ODU1 in the case where the tributary slots #1 through #80 are vertically arranged.

In the case of mapping an LO-ODU to a plurality of slots, the LO-ODU does not need to be mapped to tributary slots that are adjacent to each other, and may be mapped to arbitrary tributary slots in the manner described above. LO-ODUk following LO-ODU3 are mapped in the same manner as described above.

Next, a description will be given of the order in which an LO-ODU is mapped to a plurality of tributary slots. FIGS. 10 and 11 illustrate the order of mapping. The numbers in FIGS. 10 and 11 indicate the order of mapping. FIG. 10 illustrates the mapping order in the case of LO-ODU1. In the case of mapping LO-ODU1 to two tributary slots, namely, the tributary slots #2 and #5, data are mapped in accordance with the flow indicated by the arrows in FIG. 10. That is, data are mapped across two tributary slots.

FIG. 11 illustrates the mapping order in the case of LO-ODU2. In the case of mapping LO-ODU2 to eight tributary slots, namely, the tributary slots #4, #7, #10, #13, #16, #19, #22, and #25, data are mapped in accordance with the flow indicated by the arrows in FIG. 11.

Next, a description will be given of stuffing. FIG. 12 illustrates a state in which stuff is inserted. In the case where there is a difference between the band reserved in the tributary slots of the HO-ODU and the band of the LO-ODUs, stuffing is performed by appropriately inserting stuff data of a fixed pattern such that the LO-ODUs are mapped discontinuously as illustrated in FIG. 12. In this way, the LO-ODUs are discretely and discontinuously arranged in the HO-ODU with stuff areas inserted therein.

Next, a description will be given of the structure of the frame receiving apparatus 10 (a frame synchronization detection apparatus). FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary structure of a frame receiving apparatus 10a. The frame receiving apparatus 10a is configured to receive an HO-ODU4 frame and process 80 tributary slots.

The frame receiving apparatus 10a includes an HO-ODU overhead processing unit 11a, a TS (tributary slot) division processing unit lib, demapping processing units 12a-1 through 12a-80, FAS element detection units 12b-1 through 12b-80, a frame synchronization processing unit 120, LO-ODU overhead extraction units 12d-1 through 12d-80, BIP (Bit Interleaved Parity) calculation units 12e-1 through 12e-80, an LO-ODU overhead processing unit 12f, and a BIP checking unit 12g.

It is to be noted that the HO-ODU overhead processing unit 11a and the TS division processing unit 11b are included in the function of the frame receiving unit 11 of FIG. 1, and the other components are included in function of the frame synchronization detection unit 12.

The HO-ODU overhead processing unit 11a receives an HO-ODU4 frame and recognizes the overhead. Then, the HO-ODU overhead processing unit 11a recognizes and outputs demapping information indicating stuff position and connection information from the recognized overhead.

It is to be noted that the connection information indicates which of a plurality of divided tributary slots an LO-ODU is mapped to. Accordingly, in this example, the connection information indicates which of 80 tributary slots of LO-ODU4 an LO-ODU is mapped to by the frame transmitting end.

For example, if LO-ODU0 is mapped to the tributary slot #1, connection information regarding LO-ODU0 indicates the tributary slot #1. If LO-ODU1 is mapped to the tributary slots #2 and #5, the connection information regarding LO-ODU1 indicates the tributary slots #2 and #5 (the connection information will be described below in greater detail with reference to FIG. 14).

The TS division processing unit 11b receives the HO-ODU4 frame and recognizes the payload. Then, the TS division processing unit 11b divides a payload portion of the HO-ODU4 frame into units of tributary slots, and outputs data mapped to the tributary slots.

Each of the demapping processing units 12a-1 through 12a-80 identifies data portions and stuff portions in the corresponding tributary slot on the basis of the demapping information. Each of the FAS element detection units 12b-1 through 12b-80 detects FAS elements forming a FAS from a data stream of the corresponding tributary slot so as to generate FAS element flags.

The frame synchronization processing unit 120 operates a frame counter provided therein, on the basis of the connection information and the FAS element flags, so as to perform frame synchronization detection and frame recognition of the LO-ODU. Also, the frame synchronization processing unit 120 outputs control information including information on the position of the overhead of the LO-ODU frame and information of the BIP calculation range.

The LO-ODU overhead extraction units 12d-1 through 12d-80 extract an overhead of the LO-ODU from the respective tributary slots on the basis of the overhead position information included in the control information (i.e., extract an overhead from the data stream divided into the tributary slots). The BIP calculation units 12e-1 through 12e-80 perform BIP calculation for the respective tributary slots on the basis of the range information of BIP calculation, and output the calculation results (i.e., perform BIP calculation for the data stream divided into the tributary slots).

The LO-ODU overhead processing unit 12f aggregates the information on the overhead extracted by the LO-ODU overhead extraction units 12d-1 through 12d-80 so as to perform monitoring (i.e., so as to monitor system connection information, maintenance and management information and the like included in the overhead). Further, the LO-ODU overhead processing unit 12f outputs monitoring result information, which includes an alarm signal indicating failure information, a status signal indicating the operation status, and the like.

The BIP checking unit 12g aggregates the BIP calculation results output from the BIP calculation units 12e-1 through 12e-8 so as to obtain a BIP calculation value of the LO-ODU frame, and then performs BIP check. Further, the BIP checking unit 12g outputs communication quality information as the BIP calculation results. The communication quality information includes an alarm signal indicating a communication error state, a status signal indicating the communication quality level, and the like.

FIG. 14 illustrates the connection information. The determination as to which tributary slots form a group such that an LO-ODU is mapped thereto is made on the basis of connection information stored in the overhead of an HO-ODU.

The overhead including the connection information stores logical port numbers for the respective tributary slots. With this information, it is possible to determine which tributary slots are connected to each other. In the example of FIG. 14, only the tributary slots #2 and #5 have the same value “1”, and therefore these two tributary slots are determined to be connected to each other.

Next, a description will be given of the FAS element flags output by the FAS element detection units 12b-1 through 12b-80. FIG. 15 illustrates the FAS element flags. For example, a FAS has a size of 48 bytes, and includes FAS elements of 0xF6 and 0x28 (hereinafter “0x” will be omitted). The FAS has a 48-byte pattern of F6, F6, F6, 28, 28 and 28. Further, since the FAS includes Elements F6 and Elements 28, the FAS element flags include an Element-F6 flag and an Element-28 flag.

FIG. 16 illustrates an exemplary generation pattern of FAS element flags. More specifically, FIG. 16 illustrates an exemplary generation pattern of FAS element flags in the case of LO-ODU0. In the case of LO-ODU0, since the data stream is mapped to a single tributary slot #1, the FAS elements are placed only in the tributary slots #1 in units of 1 byte (i.e., as F6, F6, F6, 28, 28, and 28). Accordingly, an Element-F6 flag fa is turned on at the portions of Elements F6, and an Element-28 flag fb is turned on at the portions of Elements 28.

FIG. 17 illustrates another exemplary generation pattern of FAS element flags. More specifically, FIG. 17 illustrates an exemplary generation pattern of FAS element flags in the case of LO-ODU1. In the case of LO-ODU1, the data stream is mapped to two tributary slots #2 and #5.

Accordingly, as mentioned above with reference to FIG. 10, if the first Element F6 of the FAS elements is placed in the tributary slot #2, the second Element F6 of the FAS elements is placed in the tributary slot #5, and the third Element F6 of the FAS elements is placed in the tributary slot #2. Further, the first Element 28 of the FAS elements is placed in the tributary slot #5; the second Element 28 of the FAS elements is placed in the tributary slot #2, and the third Element 28 of the FAS elements is placed in the tributary slot #5. Accordingly, Element-F6 flags fa1 and fa2 are turned on at the portions of the corresponding Elements F6, and Element-28 flags fb1 and fb2 are turned on at the portions of the corresponding Elements 28.

Next, a description will be given of operations of the respective components in the case where a signal of LO-ODU1 is mapped to the tributary slots #2 and #5 of the HO-ODU4 frame.

The frame transmitting end maps the signal of LO-ODU1 to the tributary slots #2 and #5 of the HO-ODU4 frame so as to be transmitted. LO-ODU1 is mapped to HO-ODU4 in the manner as described above with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9.

FIG. 18 illustrates operations of a demapping process. LO-ODU1 is mapped while adjusting the rate by insertion of stuff. The demapping processing unit identifies data areas and stuff areas on the basis of the demapping information indicating the stuff positions. Then, the demapping processing unit generates an enable signal indicating that the data areas are effective portions (e.g., an enable signal that becomes H level at a data area, and becomes L level at a stuff area).

FIG. 19 illustrates operations of FAS element detection. The FAS element detection units detect FAS elements F6 and 28 from the respective data streams of the tributary slots #2 and #5 into which stuff is inserted, and generate FAS element flags. Since detection of FAS elements and generation of flags are performed in the way described above with reference to FIG. 17, and will not be further described herein.

FIG. 20 illustrates the block configuration of the frame synchronization processing unit 120. The frame synchronization processing unit 120 includes TS-specific (tributary-slot-specific) synchronization processing units 120c-1 through 120c-80. Each of the TS-specific synchronization processing units 120c-1 through 120c-80 receives the FAS element flags (the Element-F6 flag and the Element-28 flag) and the connection information, and outputs control information (overhead position information and BIP calculation range information) by performing internal processing.

FIG. 21 illustrates the block configuration of the TS-specific frame synchronization processing unit 120c. The TS-specific frame synchronization processing unit 120c includes a FAS pattern detection unit 121c, a state transition processing unit 122c, and a frame counter 123c.

The FAS pattern detection unit 121c detects an appearance pattern (F6F6F6282828) on the basis of the FAS element flags (Elements-F6 flags and Elements-28 flags) and the connection information, and outputs the FAS detection information.

The state transition processing unit 122c provides synchronization protection on the basis of the FAS detection information, and manages the state transition between a frame synchronization established state and a loss of synchronization state. For instance, if synchronization is established n times in a row, the state is determined to be the frame synchronization established state. On the other hand, if the attempt of establishing synchronization n times in a row fails, the state is determined to be the loss of synchronization state. Then, the state transition processing unit 122c outputs a state notification signal indicating the determination result indicating whether the state is the synchronization established state or the loss of synchronization state.

The frame counter 123c receives, from the state transition processing unit 122c, synchronization establishment information indicating whether frame synchronization is established, and operates the counter for recognizing the LO-ODU frame. On the basis of the value, output by the frame counter 123c, overhead position information and BIP calculation range information are generated and output.

FIG. 22 illustrates FAS detection information. The FAS pattern detection unit 121c generates, upon detecting a FAS, a FAS detection flag and a pattern ID (an ID that indicates whether the FAS is detected with the head thereof in the tributary slot #2 or in the tributary slot #5) as FAS detection information, and outputs the FAS detection information to the state transition processing unit 122c.

FIG. 23 illustrates operations of the frame counter 123c. The state transition processing unit 122c provides synchronization protection and detects synchronization on the basis of the FAS detection flag and the pattern ID included in the FAS detection information. If synchronization is established, the state transition processing unit 122c outputs a load signal to the frame counter 123c.

The frame counter 123c having received the load signal performs initialization for phasing, and performs synchronization between the data and the counter. Then, the frame counter 123c specifies the overhead position and the BIP calculation range, and outputs the overhead position and the BIP calculation range as control information.

FIG. 24 illustrates operations of TS-specific overhead processing units 12f-1 through 12f-80. The LO-ODU overhead processing unit 12f includes the TS-specific overhead processing units 12f-1 through 12f-80. The TS-specific overhead processing units 12f-1 through 12f-80 collect the overhead information of the respective tributary slots that are output from the LO-ODU overhead extraction units 12d-1 through 12d-80 so as to perform monitoring, and output the monitoring results.

FIG. 25 illustrates operations of TS-specific BIP checking units 12g-1 through 12g-80. The BIP checking unit 12g includes the TS-specific BIP checking units 12g-1 through 12g-80. The TS-specific BIP checking units 12g-1 through 12g-80 collect the BIP calculation results of the respective tributary slots that are transmitted from the BIP calculation units 12e-1 through 12e-80, aggregate the BIP calculation results into a single result as a BIP calculation result in units of LO-ODUs, and process the result so as to output the BIP check result.

As described above, according to the exemplary embodiments, head position detection is performed with respect to LO-ODU frames that are discretely mapped to an HO-ODU frame without shaping the data stream for each of the types of LO-ODUs, and thus the LO-ODU frames are recognized.

Accordingly, a circuit configuration in which a plurality of parallel control systems for detecting frame synchronization on a per LO-ODU type basis does not need to be provided, and frame synchronization is efficiently detected with respect to an arbitrary type of LO-ODU. This allows the apparatus size to be reduced.

Further, since extraction of the overhead and BIP processing are performed while maintaining the LO-ODUs in a state of being divided into the tributary slots, it is possible to easily perform cross-connect in units of tributary slots and perform multiplexing again without dividing the LO-ODUs back into tributary slots. This allows the configuration of the apparatus to be simplified.

Although frame synchronization detection control in the case where LO-ODUs are mapped to HO-ODU4 having 80 tributary slots has been illustrated in the above, the HO-ODU to which LO-ODUs are to be mapped is not limited to HO-ODU4. The HO-ODUs to which LO-ODUs are to be mapped may be any of HO-ODU3 (32 tributary slots), HO-ODU2 (8 tributary slots), and HO-ODU1 (2 tributary slots). Although the number of tributary slots differs, the same basic configuration of the apparatus is the same.

According to the communication system, the frame synchronization detection apparatus, and the frame synchronization method described above, it is possible to reduce the apparatus size.

All examples and conditional language provided herein are intended for the pedagogical purposes of aiding the reader in understanding the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to further the art, and are not to be construed as limitations to such specifically recited examples and conditions, nor does the organization of such examples in the specification relate to a showing of the superiority and inferiority of the invention. Although one or more embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A communication system comprising: a frame transmitting apparatus that includes: a frame transmitting unit configured to divide a payload area of an upper-layer frame into a plurality of slots, map a lower-layer frame to one or more of the slots, and transmit the upper-layer frame with connection information included, the connection information indicating which one or more of the slots the lower-layer frame of a same type is mapped to; anda frame receiving apparatus that includes: a frame receiving unit configured to receive the upper-layer frame; anda frame synchronization detection unit configured to detect frame synchronization of the lower-layer frame;wherein the frame synchronization detection unit identifies, as one or more allocated slots, the one or more slots to which the lower-layer frame of the same type is mapped, on the basis of the connection information, and detects the frame synchronization by identifying a frame head signal of the lower-layer frame of the same type that is mapped to the one or more allocated slots.

2. The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the frame synchronization detection unit detects frame head signal elements forming the frame head signal so as to generate flags of the frame head signal elements, and aggregates the flags of the frame head signal elements mapped to the one or more allocated slots so as to identify the frame head signal of the lower-layer frame of the same type.

3. A frame synchronization detection apparatus comprising: a frame receiving unit configured to receive an upper-layer frame that includes a payload area divided into a plurality of slots, one or more of which a lower-layer frame is mapped to; anda frame synchronization detection unit configured to detect frame synchronization of the lower-layer frame;wherein the frame receiving unit extracts, from the received upper-layer frame, connection information that indicates which one or more of the slots the lower-layer frame of a same type is mapped; andwherein the frame synchronization detection unit identifies, as one or more allocated slots, the one or more slots to which the lower-layer frame of the same type is mapped, on the basis of the connection information, and detects the frame synchronization by identifying a frame head signal of the lower-layer frame of the same type that is mapped to the one or more allocated slots.

4. The frame synchronization detection apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the frame synchronization detection unit detects frame head signal elements forming the frame head signal so as to generate flags of the frame head signal elements, and aggregates the flags of the frame head signal elements mapped to the one or more allocated slots so as to identify the frame head signal of the lower layer frame of the same type.

5. A frame synchronization detection method comprising: receiving an upper-layer frame that includes a payload area divided into a plurality of slots, one or more of which a lower-layer frame is mapped to; andextracting, from the received upper-layer frame, connection information that indicates which one or more of the slots the lower-layer frame of a same type is mapped;identifying, as one or more allocated slots, the one or more slots to which the lower-layer frame of the same type is mapped, on the basis of the connection information; anddetecting frame synchronization by identifying a frame head signal of the lower-layer frame of the same type that is mapped to the one or more allocated slots.

6. The frame synchronization detection method according to claim 5, further comprising: detecting frame head signal elements forming the frame head signal so as to generate flags of the frame head signal elements; andaggregating the flags of the frame head signal elements mapped to the one or more allocated slots so as to identify the frame head signal of the lower-layer frame of the same type.