The present invention is related to WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplexing) optical systems and, more particularly, to switching architectures of nodes for handling optical channels in WDM network systems.
WDM refers to network systems in which multiple optical signals having different wavelengths can share an optical fiber, each wavelength defining a particular communication channel. In a stricter sense, WDM also refers to an ITU (International Telecommunications Union) standard which includes the specification of the particular channel wavelengths and the spacings between these channels. DWDM (Dense WDM) refers to a more recent ITU standard in which the channel spacings are tighter so that more wavelength channels can be packed into an optical fiber. It should be noted that the term WDM, as used herein, refers to the first, more inclusive sense so as to include the ITU WDM and DWDM standards, unless specifically stated otherwise.
WDM has many advantages for optical communication systems including increased capacity. A representative WDM network may include many nodes connected to one another by optical fibers in a mesh or in a ring arrangement. At each node typically, only a portion of the wavelengths (also referred to as WDM channels) are used for transmission and reception, while the other wavelengths remain untouched as “pass-through” channels. For reception, a node isolates and removes (or “drops”) these particular channel signals from the light flow in an optical fiber for processing by receiver circuitry within the node or for otherwise rerouting the signals; for transmission, the node generates or routes (or “adds”) particular channel signals generated elsewhere into the light flow in an optical fiber for transmission to designated destinations over the network. Besides these add and drop functions, many nodes have switching functions by which signals in one channel carried in one optical fiber are switched to a different fiber, by which signals in one wavelength channel are switched to a different wavelength channel, or by which signals in a wavelength channel are switched to a different optical fiber in a different wavelength channel.
Heretofore, switching architectures for such nodes have been directed toward achieving full functionality with resulting high costs. This has impeded the adoption of optical networks and the advantages of large bandwidth in telecommunication networks. Alternatively, some switching architectures with low costs have been advocated, but with limited functions and utility.
Based upon newly emerging technologies, the present invention provides for switching architectures for nodes in which different functional levels are separated by interfaces. This allows each level to be constructed and treated as a module. This construction allows node repairs to be made easily. Furthermore, the node can be upgraded easily and systematically with sufficient functionalities to provide the desired utility to the user, i.e., the node has the desired functions on an “as-needed” basis. Costs are contained to encourage the adoption of optical networks.
On the other hand, a ring network can be considered a degenerate case of a mesh network in which the plurality of signal directions to and from a node is reduced to only two directions. Representative nodes 20 in
According to the present invention, the devices in these mesh and ring nodes are organized into levels with interfaces between the levels. Each level is modularized so that the repair of a node can be made easily. Furthermore, to meet the desired functional capabilities a node can be easily and economically up-graded (or down-graded) by replacing selected modules, rather than replacing the entire node.
In the architecture of the present invention, a node is divided into at least two levels or, more likely, three levels. In a three-level architecture, the node is divided into a first (or network) node, a second (or intermediate) node, and a third (or local) level. In a two-level architecture, the devices and functions of the intermediate level are split between the network and local levels. The different levels of the node architecture of the present invention are explained and described below in detail: first, with respect to three level architectures in mesh networks; secondly, with respect to two-level architectures in mesh networks; thirdly, with respect to three-level architectures in ring networks; and finally, with respect to two-level architectures in ring networks.
Organization of Three-Level Architectures for Mesh Network Nodes
A node switching architecture for a mesh network is shown in
At a first, or network, level, wavelength routers 21T-24T and 21F-24F selectively direct the movement of WDM optical signals through the network node, i.e., the node “pass-through” signals. The wavelength routers 21T-24T and 21F-24F also selectively add local signals to, and selectively drop network signals from, the network. The signals to be added and dropped are received from, and sent to, device units 31T-34T and 31F-34F in a second, or intermediate, level of the switching architecture. The device units 31T-34T and 31F-34F in turn receive the signals to be added from, or send the signals to be dropped to, port units 30a-30i in a third, or local, level of the switching architecture.
Returning to the network level of the switching architecture, the optical fibers of the network are shown as running in only four “directions,” north, south, east and west for simplicity's sake. It should be understood that more directions in the mesh are possible. The wavelength routers 21T and 21F handle signals to and from the west direction. The wavelength router 21T sends signals to (T) the west; the wavelength router 21F receives signals from (F) the west. Likewise, the wavelength routers 22T and 22F handle signals to and from the east direction; the wavelength routers 23T and 23F handle signals to and from the north direction; and the wavelength routers 24T and 24F handle signals to and from the south direction.
The wavelength router 21T selectively adds local signals to the west direction; the wavelength router 22T selectively adds local signals to the east direction; the wavelength router 23T selectively adds local signals to the north direction; and the wavelength router 24T selectively adds local signals to the south direction. On the other hand, the wavelength router 21F selectively drops signals from the west direction; the wavelength router 22F selectively drops signals from the east direction; the wavelength router 23F selectively drops signals from the north direction; and the wavelength router 24F selectively drops signals from the south direction.
The signals to be added are sent from the device units 31T-34T and the dropped signals are received by the device units 31F-34F in the second, or intermediate, level of the switching architecture node. As described in further detail below, the device units 31T-34T and 31F-34F are created from different device components and arranged in different combinations of device components to meet the desired performance and costs target for the node.
The port units 30a-30i form the third, or local, level of the switching architecture for the signals dropped from the network or the local signals to be added to the network transport. Since the number of port units depends upon the particular devices or arrangement of devices which form the device units of the intermediate layer,
For the add and drop functions, the T wavelength router to each direction also receives Add input signals from the intermediate layer and the F wavelength router from each direction also sends Drop signals to the intermediate layer. In the intermediate stage, the device units 31T-34 T manage the signals which are to be added to the network in the west, east, north and south directions respectively. The device units 31F-34F manage the WDM signals which are to dropped from the network from the west, east, north and south directions respectively.
The details of one embodiment of the device units 31T and 31F for west direction signals are shown in
The device unit 31F is formed by a demultiplexer 37 and a switch 38. The demultiplexer 37 is connected to, and receives signals from, the first level west wavelength router 21F. The demultiplexer 37 separates the signals which are dropped by the wavelength router 21F into wavelength channel signals which are passed to input terminals of the switch 38. The switch 38 has a 32×32 switching capacity with the assumption that an optical fiber can carry up to 32 wavelength channels so that the switch 38 can selectively place any wavelength channel at any of the switch's output terminals (and ports).
A port unit 30a, which is representative of all the ports 30a-30i of the third, or local, level is shown in
For signals received from the intermediate level, the port unit 30a has an N×1 switch 45F and a receiver 42. The switch 45F is connected to the intermediate level device units 31F-34F for the east, west, north and south directions. With each of the device units 31F-34F having a 32×32 switch 38 as shown in
Thus the node switch architecture illustrated in
Most of the device components described above are readily available and well-known to optical network designers and engineers. The wavelength routers used in the network level are devices which can direct signals received at any input port to any output port by wavelength. Thus the wavelength routers 21T-24T and 21F-24F can manage the pass-through and add/drop functions for the node. Furthermore, optical performance is acceptable with pass through internal losses (which include losses through two wavelength routers) around 8 dB. Wavelength routers are available from companies, such as Capella Photonics of San Jose, Calif., and Metconnex, Inc. of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Since wavelength routers have a limited number of ports, typically around 10, the costs of such devices are relatively low in comparison to their switching responsibilities. On the other hand, switches with a large number of ports, such as the 32×32 switch 38 of
The present invention also offers less expensive alternatives to the previously described node switching architecture while maintaining much of its flexibility. In
In place of the intermediate level demultiplexer and multiplexer of
The addition of wavelength routers for expanding the number of port units 30a-30i can be seen in another embodiment of the present invention in
Another embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in
Switching Architectures for Nodes in Ring Networks
The multi-level switching architecture of the present invention is further adaptable to ring networks, the degenerate case of a multi-directional mesh of optical fibers reduced to optical fibers carrying signals in two opposite directions. As a matter of terminology, it should be noted that combinations of device components which provide for the add, drop and pass-through functions of a node of a ring network are often called optical add/drop multiplexers (OADMs). OADMs which allow the added, dropped or passed-through wavelength channels to be changed are termed reconfigurable add/drop multiplexers (ROADMs). The present invention provides for tri-level architectures for ROADMs which are flexible in view of their costs, capable of expanding a ring network into mesh network, and suitable for network protection mechanisms.
A switching architecture for an ROADM, according to an embodiment of the present invention, is partially illustrated in
For the drop function, the coupler 71 splits the signals in the fiber and directs one set of signals to the wavelength router 72 and a second set of signals to the demultiplexer 73 and switch 75, which operate at the intermediate level of the architecture. The demultiplexer 73 separates the signals by their wavelengths and the 32×32 switch 75 selectively directs the wavelength signals to its output ports which in turn are connected to port units 30a-30i (shown in
The wavelength router 72 selects the wavelength signals from the coupler 71 which are to be passed-though the node. For the add function, the wavelength router 72 also selectively adds the amplified optical signals from the coupler 74 and the amplifier 76, which operate at the intermediate level of the architecture, to the optical fiber 70. Each of the input ports of the coupler 74 is connected to an output port of the switch 45T of the port elements 30a-30i which is also connected to the switch 75. The second output port of the switch 45T is connected to an input port of a coupler 74 for the second optical fiber (not shown).
The resulting ROADM has an expensive component, i.e., the switch 75. Nonetheless, signals through the switch 75 and the wavelength router 72 are controllable so that locations of wavelength channels can be moved about the add/drop port units 30a-30i and different wavelength channels selected for passing through the node.
The switching architecture of the present invention also provides for the ability to expand a ring network into a mesh network. In
In accordance with this embodiment, simple couplers 81 and 82 are connected to the optical fiber 70 for optional network expansion. The coupler 81 can split the signals on the optical fiber 70 and the coupler 82 can add signals to the optical fiber 70. When a wavelength router 83 is connected to the coupler 81, a set of signals from the optical fiber 70 can be selectively sent to optical fibers in new network directions to form a mesh. Likewise, a wavelength router 84 can be connected to the coupler 82 so that signals from the new network directions can be added to the optical fiber 70. The couplers 81 and 82, and wavelength routers 83 and 84 become part of the first level of the switching architecture of a node in a network mesh. There is no need to change the components of the OADM 80 for the west-to-east optical fiber 70 and that multiplexers and demultiplexers can be added for add/drop functions in the new network directions. Also, though only one optical fiber 70 is shown for the ring network, it is readily understood that the described embodiment also applies to other network optical fibers not shown for the ring network.
The particular architecture of the ROADM 85 is not pertinent to this aspect of the present invention, but any ROADM has interfaces for each optical fiber in the ring 89: An example of an ROADM interface for one optical fiber are the input terminals to the wavelength-selective switch 77 and the output terminals of the demultiplexer 73 of the ROADM 80 illustrated in
Operationally, local signals to be transmitted over the ring 89 are sent by the transmitter/receiver 88 to the splitter/switch 87A which, as a splitter under 1+1 protection, sends the signals to both switch matrices 86A and 86B. Under 1:1 protection, the splitter/switch 87A is a switch which selectively sends signals to either switch matrices 86A or 86B. The switch matrix 86A sends the signals to the west direction optical fiber of the ring 89 through the interface 85A and the switch/matrix 86B sends the signals to the east direction optical fiber of the ring 89 through the interface 85B.
Under 1+1 protection, signals received from the ring 89 pass through the interfaces 85A and 85B, the switch matrices 86A and 86B, and to the splitter/switch 87B which is a switch selecting which signals to send to the receiver portion of the unit 88. Under 1:1 protection, the signals from the ring 89 pass through either interface 85A and switch matrix 86A, or interface 85B and the switch matrix 86B, to the splitter/switch 87B which is a combiner (the inverse of a splitter) to provide a pathway for the signals to the receiver portion of the unit 88. Hence this architecture permits easy path protection mechanism.
Therefore, while the description above provides a full and complete disclosure of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, various modifications, alternate constructions, and equivalents will be obvious to those with skill in the art. Thus, the scope of the present invention is limited solely by the metes and bounds of the appended claims.
This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/208,870, filed Aug. 12, 2011, which in turn is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/278,595 filed Apr. 4, 2006, entitled “Optical Switching Architectures for Nodes in WDM Mesh and Ring Networks.” The entirety of each of these applications is incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 13208870 | Aug 2011 | US |
Child | 13870057 | US | |
Parent | 11278595 | Apr 2006 | US |
Child | 13208870 | US |