Patent Grant
9438346
The present disclosure relates generally to data translation.
Data transmission, digital transmission, or digital communications is the physical transfer of data (e.g., a digital bit stream) over a point-to-point or point-to-multipoint communication channel. Examples of such channels are copper wires, optical fibers, wireless communication channels, and storage media. The data are represented as an electromagnetic signal, such as an electrical voltage, radiowave, microwave, or infrared signal.
While analog transmission is the transfer of a continuously varying analog signal, digital communications is the transfer of discrete messages. The messages are either represented by a sequence of pulses by a line code (e.g., baseband transmission), or by a limited set of continuously varying wave forms (e.g., passband transmission), using a digital modulation method. The passband modulation and corresponding demodulation is carried out by modem equipment. According to the most common definition of digital signal, both baseband and passband signals representing bit-streams are considered as digital transmission.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this disclosure, illustrate various embodiments of the present disclosure. In the drawings:
Overview
A dual rate transceiver may be provided. First, a host data speed of a host device may be detected. Then a last know data speed of a transceiver may be determined. Next, it may be determined that the host data speed and the last know data speed are different. And in response to determining that the host data speed and the last know data speed are different, the transceiver may be reconfigured to operate at the host data speed.
Both the foregoing overview and the following example embodiments are examples and explanatory only, and should not be considered to restrict the disclosure's scope, as described and claimed. Further, features and/or variations may be provided in addition to those set forth herein. For example, embodiments of the disclosure may be directed to various feature combinations and sub-combinations described in the example embodiments.
Example Embodiments
The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the following description to refer to the same or similar elements. While embodiments of the disclosure may be described, modifications, adaptations, and other implementations are possible. For example, substitutions, additions, or modifications may be made to the elements illustrated in the drawings, and the methods described herein may be modified by substituting, reordering, or adding stages to the disclosed methods. Accordingly, the following detailed description does not limit the disclosure. Instead, the proper scope of the disclosure is defined by the appended claims.
A small form-factor pluggable (SFP) may comprise a compact, hot-pluggable transceiver used for both telecommunication and data communications applications. The form factor and electrical interface for the SFP may be specified by a multi-source agreement (MSA). An SFP transceiver may interface a network device motherboard (e.g. in a switch, router, media converter or similar device) to a fiber optic or copper networking cable. SFP is an industry format jointly developed and supported by many network component vendors. SFP transceivers are designed, for example, to support SONET, Gigabit Ethernet, Fibre Channel, and other communications standards.
SFP transceivers may be available with a variety of transmitter and receiver types. This may allow users to select an appropriate transceiver for each link to provide a desired optical reach over an available optical fiber type (e.g. multi-mode fiber or single-mode fiber). SFP transceivers may be available in several different categories.
Furthermore, SFP transceivers may operate at different data speeds, for example, at Fast Ethernet (FE) data speeds or at Gigabit Ethernet (GE) data speeds. FE is a collective term for a number of Ethernet standards that may carry traffic at a nominal rate of 100 Mb/s, for example. GE is a term that may describe various technologies for transmitting Ethernet frames at a rate of a 1 Gb/s, for example.
Service providers may deploy next generation wireless networks using, for example, SFP transceivers in central offices. Data may be transceived with a subscriber over a data link connected to an SFP transceiver in a central office. However, the service provider may not know ahead of time whether the subscriber may be operating the data link at, for example, 100 Mb/s (e.g. FE) data speeds or at 1 Gb/s (e.g. GE) data speeds. Consequently, consistent with embodiments of the present disclosure, a dual rate transceiver may be provided that may support, for example, both 100 Mb/s (FE) and 1 Gb/s (GE) data rates.
The dual rate transceiver consistent with embodiments of the disclosure may intelligently detect a host data speed from a system host transmit data path. In response, the dual rate transceiver may set a proper optical power level corresponding to the detected host data speed for the dual rate transceiver in accordance to, for example, IEEE optical standards. Once the data rate of the host is known, the dual rate transceiver consistent with embodiments of the disclosure may also be able to reconfigure its EEPROM contents (compliance code, for example) and imitate itself as a legacy FE or GE SFP module towards the host. As such, the dual rate transceiver consistent with embodiments of the disclosure may behave as a legacy FE or GE SFP when it is inserted into the deployed system in the field.
Transceiver 105 may communicate with remote device 115 over a data link comprising a receive fiber 120 and a transmit fiber 125. In other words, transceiver 105 may receive data from remote device 115 over receive fiber 120 and may transmit data to remote device 115 over transmit fiber 125.
A connector 130 may comprise, for example, a 20-pin connector and may connect transceiver 105 with host device 110. Host device 110 may comprise, but is not limited to, a router, a switch, a gateway, or a bridge, for example. Transceiver 105 and host device 110 may be located at a location 135. Location 135 may comprise, but is not limited to a service provider's central office for example.
Transceiver 105 may further comprise a data rate detector 225. Data rate detector 225 may be connected to a system host transmit data path (TD) of transceiver 105. TD may receive an electrical data signal from host device 110 through connector 130. Data rate detector 225 may intelligently detect from TD a host data speed of the data that host device 110 is transmitting into transceiver 105.
Data rate detector 225 may sample data received from host device 110 and provide an output indicating the host data speed. Data rate detector 225 may comprise an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), electrical circuit comprising discrete electronic elements, packaged or integrated electronic chips containing logic gates, a circuit utilizing a microprocessor, or on a single chip containing electronic elements or microprocessors. For example, data rate detector 225 may comprise an integrated circuit configured to sample data received from host device 110 and provide an output indicating the host data speed. Moreover, as described in greater detail below with respect to
The data that host device 110 may transmit into transceiver 105 may then be converted from an electrical signal to an optical signal by a laser driver 230 and a transmit optical subassembly (TOSA) 235, which may include a transmit diode 240. TOSA 235 may connect to transmit fiber 125 via a transmit connector 245. The converted optical data may be transmitted to remote device 115 over transmit fiber 125.
A laser power controller 250 may also be included in transceiver 105. Laser power controller 250 may set a proper optical power level for laser driver 230 and TOSA 235 corresponding to a detected host data speed in accordance to, for example, IEEE optical standards. For example, if the detected host data speed is FE, then laser power controller 250 may set the optical power level for laser driver 230 and TOSA 235 corresponding to FE. However, if the detected host data speed is GE, then laser power controller 250 may set the optical power level for laser driver 230 and TOSA 235 corresponding to GE. FE and GE are examples and laser power controller 250 may set the optical power level for laser driver 230 and TOSA 235 corresponding to any detected host data speed.
Transceiver 105 may further comprise a transceiver controller 255, a management module 260, and a memory 265. Transceiver controller 255 may comprise, for example, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), electrical circuit comprising discrete electronic elements, packaged or integrated electronic chips containing logic gates, a circuit utilizing a microprocessor, or on a single chip containing electronic elements or microprocessors. For example, transceiver controller 255 may comprise, but is not limited to, a computing device 600 as described in greater detail below with respect to
Consistent with embodiments of the disclosure, transceiver controller 255 may receive the host data speed of host device 110 from data rate detector 225 and receive a last know data speed of transceiver 105 from memory 265. Transceiver controller 255 may then determine that the host data speed and the last know data speed are different. In response to determining that the host data speed and the last know data speed are different, transceiver controller 255 may reconfigure transceiver 105. In reconfiguring transceiver 105, transceiver controller 255 may cause transceiver 105 to operate at the host data speed. In reconfiguring transceiver 105 to operate at the host data speed, transceiver controller 255 may instruct laser power controller 250 to set a proper optical power level for laser driver 230 and TOSA 235 corresponding to the detected host data speed.
Moreover, in reconfiguring transceiver 105, transceiver controller 255 may change memory 265 to indicate that transceiver 105 is now operating at the host data speed instead of the last know speed. In addition, transceiver controller 255 may change memory 265 to indicate digital optical monitoring (DOM) parameters consistent with the host data speed (i.e., the new speed at which transceiver 105 will now be operating.) Transceiver 105 may support digital diagnostics monitoring (DDM) functions according to, for example, industry-standards. This support feature may be referred to as DOM. Consequently, users of transceiver 105 may have the ability in real time to monitor parameters of transceiver 105, for example, optical output power, optical input power, temperature, laser bias current, and transceiver supply voltage.
Furthermore, in reconfiguring transceiver 105, transceiver controller 255 may toggle a pin on connecter 130. By toggling the pin on connecter 130, host device 110 may be informed that transceiver 105 has been reconfigured to operate at the host data speed. Toggling the pin on connecter 130 may simulate to host device 110 the unplugging of connecter 130 from host 110 and the re-plugging of connecter 130 to host 110.
Method 400 may begin at starting block 405 and proceed to stage 410 where transceiver controller 255 may detect a host data speed of host device 110. For example, transceiver controller 255 may receive the host data speed of host device 110 from data rate detector 225. Data rate detector 225 may be connected to the system host transmit data path (TD) of transceiver 105. TD may receive an electrical data signal from host device 110 through connector 130. Data rate detector 225 may intelligently detect from TD the host data speed of the data that host device 110 is transmitting into transceiver 105. Data rate detector 225 may then output the detected host data speed to transceiver controller 255.
From stage 410, where transceiver controller 255 detects the host data speed of host device 110, method 400 may advance to stage 415 where transceiver controller 255 may determine a last know data speed of transceiver 105. For example, each time transceiver 105 powers up and operates, it may store in memory the speed at which transceiver 105 is operating. If transceiver 105 operates at GE for example, it may store this information in memory 265. Similarly, if transceiver 105 operates at FE for example, it may store this information in memory 265. Regardless, each time transceiver 105 powers up to operate, transceiver controller 255 may query memory 265 to determine the rate at which transceiver 105 operated at the last time it operated.
Once transceiver controller 255 determines the last know data speed of transceiver 105 in stage 415, method 400 may continue to decision block 420 where transceiver controller 255 may determine whether the host data speed and the last know data speed are different. For example, if the host data speed and the last know data speed are the same, then host 110 and transceiver 105 may work together without any change to transceiver 105. In other words, at power up, transceiver 105 may already be setup for the speed at which host 110 is operating. For example, if host 110 is operating at GE and transceiver 105 is operating at GE, then no change may be needed in transceiver 105. However, if host 110 is operating at GE and transceiver 105 powers up operating at FE, then transceiver 105 may need to be reconfigured to operate at GE.
If it is determined by transceiver controller 255 that the host data speed and the last know data speed are different in decision block 420, method 400 may proceed to stage 425 where transceiver controller 255 may reconfigure transceiver 105 to operate at the host data speed. For example, in reconfiguring transceiver 105 to operate at the host data speed, transceiver controller 255 may instruct laser power controller 250 to set a proper optical power level for laser driver 230 and TOSA 235 corresponding to the detected host data speed.
Moreover, in reconfiguring transceiver 105, transceiver controller 255 may change memory 265 to indicate that transceiver 105 is now operating at the host data speed instead of the last know speed. In addition, transceiver controller 255 may change memory 265 to indicate digital optical monitoring (DOM) parameters consistent with the host data speed (i.e., the new speed at which transceiver 105 will now be operating.) Transceiver 105 may support digital diagnostics monitoring (DDM) functions according to, for example, industry-standards. This support feature may be referred to as DOM. Consequently, users of transceiver 105 may have the ability in real time to monitor parameters of transceiver 105, for example, optical output power, optical input power, temperature, laser bias current, and transceiver supply voltage.
Furthermore, in reconfiguring transceiver 105, transceiver controller 255 may toggle a pin on connecter 130. By toggling the pin on connecter 130, host device 110 may be informed that transceiver 105 has been reconfigured to operate at the host data speed. Toggling the pin on connecter 130 may simulate to host device 110 unplugging connecter 130 from host 110 and re-plugging connecter 130 to host 110.
Once transceiver controller 255 reconfigures transceiver 105 to operate at the host data speed in stage 425, or if it was determined by transceiver controller 255 in decision block 420 that the host data speed and the last know data speed are not different, method 400 may then end at stage 430.
An embodiment consistent with the disclosure may comprise a system for providing a dual rate transceiver. The system may comprise a memory storage and a processing unit coupled to the memory storage. The processing unit may be operative to detect a host data speed of a host device and determine a last know data speed of a transceiver. The processing unit may be further operative to determine that the host data speed and the last know data speed are different. Moreover, the processing unit may be further operative to reconfigure, in response to determining that the host data speed and the last know data speed are different, the transceiver to operate at the host data speed.
Another embodiment consistent with the disclosure may comprise a system for providing a dual rate transceiver. The system may comprise a memory storage and a processing unit coupled to the memory storage. The processing unit may be operative to receive a host data speed of a host device, receive a last know data speed of a transceiver, and to determine that the host data speed and the last know data speed are different. The processing unit may be further operative to reconfigure, in response to determining that the host data speed and the last know data speed are different, the transceiver to operate at the host data speed. The processing unit being configured to reconfigure the transceiver to operate at the host data speed may comprises the processing unit being configured to: i) change a memory in the transceiver to indicate that the transceiver is operating at the host data speed and changing the memory in the transceiver to indicate digital optical monitoring (DOM) parameters consistent with the host data speed; ii) configure a laser power controller in the transceiver to operate at a transmit optical specification of the host data speed; iii) save to the memory in the transceiver the host data speed as the last known data rate; and iv) toggle a pin on a connecter on the transceiver.
Yet another embodiment consistent with the disclosure may comprise an apparatus for providing a dual rate transceiver. The apparatus may comprise a data rate detector and a transceiver controller. The data rate detector may be configured to detect a host data speed of a host device. The transceiver controller may be configured to receive the host data speed of the host device from the data rate detector, receive a last know data speed of a transceiver, and to determine that the host data speed and the last know data speed are different. In addition, the transceiver controller may be configured to reconfigure, in response to determining that the host data speed and the last know data speed are different, the transceiver to operate at the host data speed.
Embodiments of the disclosure, for example, may be implemented as a computer process (method), a computing system, or as an article of manufacture, such as a computer program product or computer readable media. The computer program product may be a computer storage media readable by a computer system and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process. The computer program product may also be a propagated signal on a carrier readable by a computing system and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computer process. Accordingly, the present disclosure may be embodied in hardware and/or in software (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.). In other words, embodiments of the present disclosure may take the form of a computer program product on a computer-usable or computer-readable storage medium having computer-usable or computer-readable program code embodied in the medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system. A computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be any medium that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for use by or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.
The computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be, for example but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagation medium. More specific computer-readable medium examples (a non-exhaustive list), the computer-readable medium may include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, and a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM). Note that the computer-usable or computer-readable medium could even be paper or another suitable medium upon which the program is printed, as the program can be electronically captured, via, for instance, optical scanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled, interpreted, or otherwise processed in a suitable manner, if necessary, and then stored in a computer memory.
While certain embodiments of the disclosure have been described, other embodiments may exist. Furthermore, although embodiments of the present disclosure have been described as being associated with data stored in memory and other storage mediums, data can also be stored on or read from other types of computer-readable media, such as secondary storage devices, like hard disks, floppy disks, flash memory, a CD-ROM, a carrier wave from the Internet, or other forms of RAM or ROM. Moreover, the semantic data consistent with embodiments of the disclosure may be analyzed without being stored. In this case, in-line data mining techniques may be used as data traffic passes through, for example, a caching server or network router. Further, the disclosed methods' stages may be modified in any manner, including by reordering stages and/or inserting or deleting stages, without departing from the disclosure.
Furthermore, embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced in an electrical circuit comprising discrete electronic elements, packaged or integrated electronic chips containing logic gates, a circuit utilizing a microprocessor, or on a single chip containing electronic elements or microprocessors. Embodiments of the disclosure may also be practiced using other technologies capable of performing logical operations such as, for example, AND, OR, and NOT, including but not limited to mechanical, optical, fluidic, and quantum technologies. In addition, embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced within a general purpose computer or in any other circuits or systems.
Embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced via a system-on-a-chip (SOC) where each or many of the components illustrated in
Embodiments of the present disclosure, for example, are described above with reference to block diagrams and/or operational illustrations of methods, systems, and computer program products according to embodiments of the disclosure. The functions/acts noted in the blocks may occur out of the order as shown in any flowchart. For example, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved.
While the specification includes examples, the disclosure's scope is indicated by the following claims. Furthermore, while the specification has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, the claims are not limited to the features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example for embodiments of the disclosure.
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