Virtual circuit type optical switching network system and its optical switch

Abstract

To provide an optical virtual-circuit-switching network system with scalable bandwidth and sharable paths and an optical switch.SOLUTION: An optical switching network system includes an optical fiber connection module 1100 comprising multiple optical switches 2000. Each optical switch 2000 includes an optical transmission module, an optical transfer module, and an optical reception module. The optical transmission module transmits optical signals to a horizontal optical network subsystem 5100 and a vertical optical network subsystem 5200. The optical transfer module guides optical signals from the horizontal optical network subsystem to the vertical optical network subsystem, or guides optical signals from the vertical optical network subsystem to the horizontal optical network subsystem. The optical reception module outputs processed optical signals to dense wavelength-division multiplexing transceivers, through the dense wavelength-division multiplexing transceivers, converts the optical signals into electrical signals before transmitting the electrical signals to top switches.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a virtual circuit type optical switching network system and an optical switch therefor, and more particularly to an optical switching network system having scalable bandwidth and sharable paths. [Background technology]

[0002] To provide high-performance computing (HPC), a data center network architecture that can flexibly provide high-bandwidth and ultra-low-latency interconnections between servers is required. Figure 1 shows a conventional electrical signal network switching architecture 100 consisting of multiple main switches 110, multiple secondary switches 120, multiple top switches 130, and multiple servers 140.

[0003] The electrical signal network switching architecture 100 uses a large number of low-cost secondary switches 120 and a main switch 110 to provide pair-wise bandwidth with path diversity between servers 140. The electrical signal switches are connected to optical fibers via optical transceivers, which results in a large number of optical-electrical-optical conversions, resulting in high power consumption and transmission delays. However, the electrical signal network switching architecture has problems such as non-scalable bandwidth and complex wiring.

[0004] Also, as shown in Figure 2, in the electrical domain, virtual circuit switching is the dominant method of packet switching. Multiple paths are established between a source end 210 and a destination end 220. All packets pass through one of these paths during connection, as indicated by the arrows in Figure 2, and are routed and electrically switched through electrical signal switches 240 along the path. As shown by the dotted line in Figure 2, this path is called a virtual circuit 230. Packet traffic traveling over a "circuit" is considered to be traffic dedicated to the end user's (i.e., destination end 220) circuit. "Virtual" means that the path is not actually dedicated to that traffic but is shared with other traffic.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention proposes a virtual circuit type optical switching network system and its optical switch that has a scalable bandwidth and does not require frequent optical-electrical-optical conversion during transmission. Summary of the Invention

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a virtual circuit-type optical switching network system and its optical switch. The optical switching network system includes a plurality of optical switches. Each optical switch has a first set of wavelength selective switches, a first pair of optical fiber amplifiers, and two sets of first splitters for directing traffic to the horizontal optical network subsystem and returning traffic from the horizontal optical network subsystem. Each optical switch has a second set of wavelength selective switches, a second pair of optical fiber amplifiers, and two sets of second splitters for directing traffic to the vertical optical network subsystem and returning traffic from the vertical optical network subsystem. Each optical switch receives data from the top switch, forwards traffic within the optical domain from the horizontal optical network subsystem to the vertical optical network subsystem or from the vertical optical network subsystem to the horizontal optical network subsystem, and sends the data to the top switch.

[0007] An optical switching network system is a network architecture for high-performance computing (HPC) that is similar to that of electrical virtual-circuit packet switching. Before transmitting a packet, the optical switching network system must establish an end-to-end optical path belonging to that packet's traffic. That optical path can be shared by packet traffic from other optical paths. Therefore, the optical switching network system is also called a distributed optical virtual-circuit-switching network system (DOVINSY). Also, unlike electrical virtual-circuit switching networks, an optical switching network system does not require optical-electrical-optical conversion when packets are transmitted from the source end to the destination end.

[0008] An optical switching network system consists of multiple optical switches that work together to transport packets through wavelength-based optical channels. The optical channels are proactively and reactively managed by a distribution mechanism based on software-defined networking (SDN). Specifically, the optical channels are immediately available when needed. (i.e., proactive), or dynamically established during load balancing operations (i.e., reactive). Optical switching network systems have a scalable architecture, high throughput, ultra-low latency, fault tolerance, and high energy efficiency, and can meet the demands of high-performance computing.

[0009] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an optical switch including an optical transmitting module, an optical forwarding module, and an optical receiving module. The optical transmitting module includes a multiplexer, at least one first horizontal amplifier, at least one first vertical amplifier, at least one first horizontal splitter, and at least one first vertical splitter. The multiplexer combines multiple initial optical signals and outputs at least one first combined optical signal and at least one second combined optical signal. The first horizontal amplifier receives the first combined optical signal from the multiplexer and amplifies the first combined optical signal. The first vertical amplifier receives the second combined optical signal from the multiplexer and amplifies the second combined optical signal. The first horizontal splitter receives the amplified first combined optical signal from the first horizontal amplifier and outputs multiple first horizontal optical signals to at least one horizontal optical switch. The first vertical splitter receives the amplified second combined optical signal from the first vertical amplifier and outputs multiple first vertical optical signals to at least one vertical optical switch. The optical switch further includes at least one second horizontal splitter and at least one second vertical splitter. The second horizontal splitter receives at least one second horizontal optical signal from the horizontal optical switch and outputs a plurality of horizontal optical signals to be selected. The second vertical splitter receives at least one second vertical optical signal from the vertical optical switch and outputs a plurality of vertical optical signals to be selected. The optical transport module includes at least one first horizontal wavelength selective switch, at least one first vertical wavelength selective switch, at least one second horizontal amplifier, at least one second vertical amplifier, at least one third horizontal splitter, and at least one third vertical splitter. The first horizontal wavelength selective switch receives the horizontal optical signal to be selected from the second horizontal splitter and outputs at least one first forwarded output optical signal. The first vertical wavelength selective switch receives the vertical optical signal to be selected from the second vertical splitter and outputs at least one second forwarded output optical signal. The second horizontal amplifier receives the second transfer output optical signal from the first vertical wavelength selective switch and amplifies the second transfer output optical signal.The second vertical amplifier receives the first transfer output optical signal from the first horizontal wavelength selective switch and amplifies the first transfer output optical signal. The third horizontal demultiplexer receives the amplified second transfer output optical signal from the second horizontal amplifier and outputs a plurality of third horizontal optical signals to the horizontal optical switch. The third vertical demultiplexer receives the amplified first transfer output optical signal from the second vertical amplifier and outputs a plurality of third vertical optical signals to the vertical optical switch. The optical receiving module includes at least one second horizontal wavelength selective switch, at least one second vertical wavelength selective switch, an output amplifier, and a demultiplexer. The second horizontal wavelength selective switch receives the horizontal optical signal to be selected from the second horizontal demultiplexer and outputs at least one first output optical signal. The second vertical wavelength selective switch receives the vertical optical signal to be selected from the second vertical demultiplexer and outputs at least one second output optical signal. The output amplifier receives the first output optical signal from the second horizontal wavelength selective switch and the second output optical signal from the second vertical wavelength selective switch, and amplifies the first output optical signal and the second output optical signal. The demultiplexer receives the amplified first output optical signal and the amplified second output optical signal from the output amplifier, and decomposes the amplified first output optical signal and the amplified second output optical signal into a plurality of final optical signals.

[0010] In an embodiment of the present invention, each of the initial optical signals has a different wavelength from each other.

[0011] In an embodiment of the present invention, the first horizontal amplifier, the first vertical amplifier, the second horizontal amplifier, the second vertical amplifier, and the power amplifier are each an erbium-doped optical fiber amplifier (EDFA).

[0012] In an embodiment of the present invention, the optical switch is connected to a top-of-rack switch, which transmits initial electrical signals to a plurality of dense wavelength division multiplexing transceivers and converts the initial electrical signals into the initial optical signals in the dense wavelength division multiplexing transceivers, and the dense wavelength division multiplexing transceivers receive the final optical signals from the demultiplexer and convert the final optical signals into final electrical signals.

[0013] The present invention discloses an optical switching network system including a plurality of optical switches and a plurality of dense wavelength division multiplexing transceivers. The optical switches are connected via optical fibers to form an optical fiber connection module. The optical switch includes an optical transmitting module, an optical forwarding module, and an optical receiving module. The optical transmitting module includes a multiplexer, at least one first horizontal amplifier, at least one first vertical amplifier, at least one first horizontal splitter, and at least one first vertical splitter. The multiplexer combines a plurality of initial optical signals and outputs at least one first combined optical signal and at least one second combined optical signal. The first horizontal amplifier receives the first combined optical signal from the multiplexer and amplifies the first combined optical signal. The first vertical amplifier receives the second combined optical signal from the multiplexer and amplifies the second combined optical signal. The first horizontal splitter receives the amplified first combined optical signal from the first horizontal amplifier and outputs a plurality of first horizontal optical signals to at least one horizontal optical switch. The first vertical splitter receives the amplified second combined optical signal from the first vertical amplifier and outputs a plurality of first vertical optical signals to at least one vertical optical switch. The optical switch further includes at least one second horizontal splitter and at least one second vertical splitter. The second horizontal splitter receives at least one second horizontal optical signal from the horizontal optical switch and outputs a plurality of horizontal optical signals to be selected. The second vertical splitter receives at least one second vertical optical signal from the vertical optical switch and outputs a plurality of vertical optical signals to be selected. The optical transport module includes at least one first horizontal wavelength selective switch, at least one first vertical wavelength selective switch, at least one second horizontal amplifier, at least one second vertical amplifier, at least one third horizontal splitter, and at least one third vertical splitter. The first horizontal wavelength selective switch receives the horizontal optical signal to be selected from the second horizontal splitter and outputs at least one first transport output optical signal. The first vertical wavelength selective switch receives the vertical optical signals to be selected from the second vertical spectrometer and outputs at least one second forwarded output optical signal.The second horizontal amplifier receives the second transfer output optical signal from the first vertical wavelength selective switch and amplifies the second transfer output optical signal. The second vertical amplifier receives the first transfer output optical signal from the first horizontal wavelength selective switch and amplifies the first transfer output optical signal. The third horizontal demultiplexer receives the amplified second transfer output optical signal from the second horizontal amplifier and outputs a plurality of third horizontal optical signals to the horizontal optical switch. The third vertical demultiplexer receives the amplified first transfer output optical signal from the second vertical amplifier and outputs a plurality of third vertical optical signals to the vertical optical switch. The optical receiver module includes at least one second horizontal wavelength selective switch, at least one second vertical wavelength selective switch, an output amplifier, and a demultiplexer. The second horizontal wavelength selective switch receives the horizontal optical signal to be selected from the second horizontal demultiplexer and outputs at least one first output optical signal. The second vertical wavelength selective switch receives the vertical optical signal to be selected from the second vertical demultiplexer and outputs at least one second output optical signal. The output amplifier receives the first output optical signal from the second horizontal wavelength selective switch and the second output optical signal from the second vertical wavelength selective switch and amplifies the first output optical signal and the second output optical signal. The demultiplexer receives the amplified first output optical signal and the amplified second output optical signal from the output amplifier and separates the amplified first output optical signal and the amplified second output optical signal into a plurality of final optical signals. The dense wavelength division multiplexing transceiver receives the final optical signal from the demultiplexer and converts the final optical signal into a final electrical signal.

[0014] In an embodiment of the present invention, the optical switching network system further includes a plurality of top-of-rack switches and a plurality of servers. The top-of-rack switches are connected to the optical switches and transmit initial electrical signals to the dense wavelength division multiplexing transceivers. The servers are connected to the top-of-rack switches in a one-to-one relationship, and the servers are connected to each other via the optical switches.

[0015] In an embodiment of the present invention, the dense wavelength division multiplexing transceiver converts the initial electrical signal into the initial optical signal.

[0016] In an embodiment of the present invention, the optical fiber connection module comprises at least one horizontal optical network subsystem and at least one vertical optical network subsystem connected to each other, and the total number of optical switches is equal to the product of the number of the horizontal optical network subsystems and the number of the vertical optical network subsystems.

[0017] In an embodiment of the present invention, the number of the optical switches in the horizontal optical network subsystem is the same as the number of the optical switches in the vertical optical network subsystem.

[0018] In an embodiment of the present invention, the optical switches in the horizontal optical network subsystem are connected to each other in a full mesh via a first ribbon fiber, and the optical switches in the vertical optical network subsystem are connected to each other in a full mesh via a second ribbon fiber.

[0019] Those skilled in the art can understand other objects of the present invention, as well as the technical means and embodiments of the present invention, by referring to the drawings and the embodiments described below. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] Schematic diagram showing the architecture of a network switching of electrical signals in the prior art. [Figure 2] Schematic diagram showing transmission paths and virtual circuits of network switching of electrical signals in the prior art. [Figure 3] 1 is a schematic diagram showing an optical switching network system according to the present invention; [Figure 4] 1 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between a horizontal optical network subsystem and a vertical optical network subsystem according to the present invention; [Figure 5]Schematic diagram showing an optical switch according to the present invention. [Figure 6] Schematic diagram showing the circuit of an optical switch according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] The present invention will be described below through examples. Note that the examples of the present invention are merely examples of embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention to the environments, applications, or specific aspects described in the examples. Therefore, the explanation of the examples is intended to explain the present invention, but does not limit the present invention. Note that components not directly related to the present invention are omitted and not shown in the embodiments and drawings. The dimensional relationships between the components in the drawings are intended to facilitate understanding and do not limit the actual dimensions.

[0022] The following description will be given with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an optical switching network system 1000 according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the relationship between a horizontal optical network subsystem and a vertical optical network subsystem. FIGS. 5 and 6 are a schematic diagram and a circuit diagram, respectively, of an optical switch 2000. The optical switching network system 1000 includes a plurality of optical switches 2000. The optical switches 2000 are connected via optical fibers to form an optical fiber connection module 1100. Each of the optical switches 2000 is connected to a top-of-rack switch 3000. Servers (not shown) are connected to the top switches 3000 on a one-to-one basis. In other words, the servers are connected to each other via the optical switches 2000.

[0023] The optical fiber connection module 1100 includes at least one horizontal optical network subsystem (Horizontal net, H-net) 5100 and at least one vertical optical network subsystem (Vertical net, V-net) 5200. The optical switches 2000 in each horizontal optical network subsystem 5100 are connected to each other in a full mesh via a first ribbon fiber (not shown). The optical switches 2000 in each vertical optical network subsystem 5200 are connected to each other in a full mesh via a second ribbon fiber (not shown). In other words, the optical switches 2000 are connected to adjacent optical switches 2000 via the horizontal optical network subsystem 5100 and the vertical optical network subsystem 5200, respectively.

[0024] 3 and 4, an optical switch 2000 is connected to four other optical switches 2000 in a full mesh via a horizontal optical network subsystem 5100, and is connected to four other optical switches 2000 in a full mesh via a vertical optical network subsystem 5200. When transmitting a packet, each optical switch 2000 can send or receive traffic to either the horizontal optical network subsystem 5100 or the vertical optical network subsystem 5200. The optical switch 2000 is also designed to transmit traffic between the horizontal optical network subsystem 5100 or the vertical optical network subsystem 5200, and is capable of bidirectional transmission.

[0025] The optical switching network system 1000 consists of NxS optical switches 2000, where N is the number of horizontal optical network subsystems 5100 and S is the number of vertical optical network subsystems 5200. Each optical switch 2000 is directly connected to one horizontal optical network subsystem 5100 and one vertical optical network subsystem 5200. In other words, the total number of optical switches 2000 is equal to the product of the number of horizontal optical network subsystems and the number of vertical optical network subsystems.

[0026] For example, as shown in Figure 3, there are five horizontal optical network subsystems (i.e., N = 5) and five vertical optical network subsystems (i.e., S = 5). Therefore, in the optical switching network system 1000 shown in Figure 3, the number of optical switches 2000 is 5 x 5 = 25. The scale of the optical switching network system 1000 can be expanded by increasing the number of any of the horizontal optical network subsystems 5100, vertical optical network subsystems 5200, and optical switches 2000.

[0027] In this embodiment, the number of optical switches 2000 in the horizontal optical network subsystem 5100 is the same as the number of optical switches 2000 in the vertical optical network subsystem 5200. When the optical switching network system 1000 is used, all of the optical switches 2000 are normally enabled. Depending on actual requirements, it is also possible to enable only a portion of the optical switches 2000. Furthermore, even if some of the enabled optical switches 2000 are damaged and some paths become unavailable, packets can be forwarded via other paths under software control.

[0028] 4 is a diagram showing the relationship between the horizontal optical network subsystem 5100 and the vertical optical network subsystem 5200. In FIG. 4, only one set of horizontal optical network subsystems 5100 and one set of vertical optical network subsystems 5200 are shown as representatives. In the optical switching network system 1000, all of the optical switches 2000 in each of the horizontal optical network subsystems 5100 and the vertical optical network subsystems 5200 are connected in a full mesh. More specifically, each of the optical switches 2000 is connected bidirectionally and is capable of bidirectional communication.

[0029] 5 and 6 show a schematic diagram and an embodiment of an optical switch 2000, respectively. Each optical switch 2000 includes an optical transmitter module 2010, an optical transport module 2020, and an optical receiver module 2030. When an optical signal is transmitted to one of the optical switches 2000 through one of the top switches 3000, the optical signal is transmitted via the optical transmitter module 2010 to another optical switch via the horizontal optical network subsystem 5100 or the vertical optical network subsystem 5200. The optical signal is then transmitted through the optical receiver module 2030 of the other optical switch to the connected top switch 3000. Alternatively, the optical signal is transmitted through the optical transport module of the other optical switch to the horizontal optical network subsystem 5100 or the vertical optical network subsystem 5200 to the next optical switch, and then transmitted through the optical receiver module of that optical switch to the connected top switch.

[0030] The optical transmission module 2010 includes a multiplexer 2100, at least one first horizontal amplifier 2210, at least one first vertical amplifier 2310, at least one first horizontal splitter 2220, and at least one first vertical splitter 2320.

[0031] The top switch 3000 transmits the initial electrical signals to a plurality of dense wavelength division multiplexing transceivers 2600. Specifically, the dense wavelength division multiplexing transceivers 2600 convert the initial electrical signals into initial optical signals and transmit the initial optical signals to the multiplexer 2100. Each of the initial optical signals has a different wavelength. Specifically, after the initial optical signals are input to the optical switch 2000, no optical-electrical-optical conversion is required for the optical signals at any stage of signal processing.

[0032] The multiplexer 2100 combines the multiple initial optical signals and outputs at least one first combined optical signal and at least one second combined optical signal. The first horizontal amplifier 2210 receives the first combined optical signal from the multiplexer 2100 and amplifies the first combined optical signal. The first horizontal demultiplexer 2220 receives the amplified first combined optical signal from the first horizontal amplifier 2210 and outputs multiple first horizontal optical signals to at least one horizontal optical switch 2000.

[0033] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, it is assumed that the number of initial optical signals is 16, that is, there are 16 optical signals with different wavelengths. One wavelength is used to create one optical channel. The number of wavelengths is related to the scale of the server and the optical switching network system 1000. The multiplexer 2100 combines the initial optical signals, replicates the same signal, and sends it to the horizontal amplifier and the vertical amplifier, respectively. The number of first combined optical signals and second combined optical signals varies depending on the scale of the optical switching network system 1000 and the number of wavelengths.

[0034] The first horizontal amplifier 2210 is an erbium-doped optical fiber amplifier (EDFA) for increasing the power of the first coupled optical signal. Optical signals are attenuated during transmission through optical fibers. EDFAs amplify the optical signal during transmission, maintaining the signal strength and quality and enabling long-distance optical communication.

[0035] A splitter is typically used to split an optical signal into two or more output optical signals for signal distribution. The power of each output signal is proportional to the power of the input signal. A splitter typically has one input port and two or more output ports. The splitter distributes the input optical signal to different output ports based on a specific split ratio. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 , the first horizontal splitter 2220 is a one-input, four-output splitter with one first combined optical signal input and four first horizontal optical signal outputs. Two of these first horizontal optical signals are sent to two horizontal optical switches in the east direction, and the other two first horizontal optical signals are sent to two first horizontal optical switches in the west direction.

[0036] The first vertical amplifier 2310 receives the second combined optical signal from the multiplexer 2100 and amplifies the second combined optical signal. The first vertical amplifier 2310 is an erbium-doped optical fiber amplifier (EDFA) for increasing the power of the second combined optical signal.

[0037] The first vertical splitter 2320 receives the amplified second combined optical signal from the first vertical amplifier 2310 and outputs a plurality of first vertical optical signals to at least one vertical optical switch 2000. The optical switch 2000 further includes at least one second horizontal splitter 2230. The second horizontal splitter 2230 receives at least one second horizontal optical signal from the horizontal optical switch 2000 and outputs a plurality of horizontal optical signals to be selected.

[0038] 6, the first vertical splitter 2320 is a one-input, four-output splitter having one input for the second combined optical signal and four outputs for the first vertical optical signals, of which two first vertical optical signals are sent to two vertical optical switches in the south direction, and the other two first vertical optical signals are sent to two first vertical optical switches in the north direction.

[0039] There are eight second horizontal splitters 2230, each with one input and two outputs. The input signals of four second horizontal splitters 2230 are second horizontal optical signals received from the east-side horizontal optical switch, and each output two horizontal optical signals to be selected. The input signals of the other four second horizontal splitters 2230 are second horizontal optical signals received from the west-side horizontal optical switch, and each output two horizontal optical signals to be selected. Therefore, these second horizontal splitters 2230 output a total of 16 horizontal optical signals to be selected. The optical switch 2000 further includes at least one second vertical splitter 2350. The second vertical splitter 2350 receives at least one second vertical optical signal from the vertical optical switch 2000 and outputs multiple vertical optical signals to be selected.

[0040] Similarly, there are eight second vertical splitters 2350, each with one input and two outputs. The input signals of four second vertical splitters 2350 are the third vertical optical signals received from the south vertical optical switch, and each output signal is two vertical optical signals to be selected. The input signals of the other four second vertical splitters 2350 are the third vertical optical signals received from the north vertical optical switch, and each output signal is two vertical optical signals to be selected. Therefore, these second vertical splitters 2350 output a total of 16 vertical optical signals to be selected.

[0041] The optical transport module 2020 includes at least one first horizontal wavelength selective switch 2241, at least one first vertical wavelength selective switch 2361, at least one second horizontal amplifier 2250, at least one second vertical amplifier 2330, at least one third horizontal demultiplexer 2260, and at least one third vertical demultiplexer 2340. The first horizontal wavelength selective switch 2241 receives horizontal optical signals to be selected from the second horizontal demultiplexer 2230 and outputs at least one first transfer output optical signal. The first vertical wavelength selective switch 2361 receives vertical optical signals to be selected from the second vertical demultiplexer 2350 and outputs at least one second transfer output optical signal.

[0042] A wavelength selective switch is used to select the wavelength of an optical signal to be transmitted. When transmitting optical signals from multiple input optical paths to multiple output optical paths, a wavelength selective switch achieves multicast transmission by copying the signal from one input optical path and transmitting it to multiple output optical paths. Note that a wavelength selective switch can also select different wavelengths to realize arbitrary connections from multiple input optical paths to multiple output optical paths and realize optical path switching functions. It can also concentrate and distribute multiple input optical paths.

[0043] Specifically, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the number of first horizontal wavelength selective switches 2241 is one. The first horizontal wavelength selective switch 2241 is an 8x1 wavelength selective switch, i.e., a wavelength selective switch having eight input ports and one output port. The first horizontal wavelength selective switch 2241 can select different wavelength signals in the optical switching network system 1000 and route the selected wavelength signals to the output port. The first horizontal wavelength selective switch 2241 has the advantages of high speed and low insertion loss and can handle large-capacity optical signals. The first horizontal wavelength selective switch 2241 outputs a first forwarded output optical signal and forwards it to the second vertical amplifier 2330.

[0044] Similarly, the number of first vertical wavelength selective switches 2361 is one. The first vertical wavelength selective switch 2361 is an 8x1 wavelength selective switch, i.e., a wavelength selective switch having eight input ports and one output port. The first vertical wavelength selective switch 2361 outputs the second forwarded output optical signal and forwards it to the second horizontal amplifier 2250.

[0045] The second horizontal amplifier 2250 receives the second forwarded output optical signal from the first vertical wavelength selective switch 2361 and amplifies the second forwarded output optical signal to compensate for loss. The second horizontal amplifier 2250 is an erbium-doped optical fiber amplifier.

[0046] The second vertical amplifier 2330 receives the first transfer output optical signal from the first horizontal wavelength selective switch 2241 and amplifies the first transfer output optical signal. The second vertical amplifier 2330 is an erbium-doped optical fiber amplifier.

[0047] The third horizontal demultiplexer 2260 receives the amplified second forwarded output optical signal from the second horizontal amplifier 2250 and outputs a plurality of third horizontal optical signals to the horizontal optical switch 2000 .

[0048] The second forwarded output optical signals are originally a plurality of third vertical optical signals received from the vertical optical network by the second vertical splitter 2350. The optical signals are transmitted in the vertical optical network subsystem 5200, combined in the first vertical wavelength selective switch 2361, and output to the second horizontal amplifier 2250 for transmission in the horizontal optical network subsystem 5100.

[0049] The third vertical spectrometer 2340 receives the amplified first forwarded output optical signal from the second vertical amplifier 2330 and outputs a plurality of third vertical optical signals to the vertical optical switch 2000 .

[0050] The first forwarded output optical signal is originally a plurality of second horizontal optical signals received from the horizontal optical network by the second horizontal splitter 2230. The optical signals are transmitted in the horizontal optical network subsystem 5100, combined in the first horizontal wavelength selective switch 2241, and output to the second vertical amplifier 2330 for transmission in the vertical optical network subsystem 5200.

[0051] To achieve the above functions, each optical switch 2000 is equipped with two 12-core ribbon optical fiber bundles for the horizontal optical network subsystem 5100 and the vertical optical network subsystem 5200.

[0052] The optical receiver module includes at least one second horizontal wavelength selective switch 2242 , at least one second vertical wavelength selective switch 2362 , an output amplifier 2400 , and a demultiplexer 2500 .

[0053] The second horizontal wavelength selective switch 2242 receives the horizontal optical signals to be selected and outputs at least one first output optical signal. The second vertical wavelength selective switch 2362 receives the vertical optical signals to be selected and outputs at least one second output optical signal. The output amplifier 2400 receives the first output optical signal from the second horizontal wavelength selective switch 2242 and the second output optical signal from the second vertical wavelength selective switch 2362 and amplifies the first output optical signal and the second output optical signal.

[0054] The demultiplexer 2500 receives the amplified first and second output optical signals from the output amplifier 2400 and splits them into multiple final optical signals, each having a different wavelength. Finally, the dense wavelength division multiplexing transceiver 2600 receives the final optical signals from the demultiplexer 2500, converts them into final electrical signals, and inputs them to corresponding ports of the top switch.

[0055] More specifically, the optical switching network system 1000 shown in Fig. 3, the horizontal optical network subsystem 5100 and the vertical optical network subsystem 5200 shown in Fig. 4, and the optical switch 2000 shown in Fig. 6 will all be described using an example of an optical switching network system 1000 configured with 25 optical switches 2000. In other embodiments, the number of optical switches 2000 may be increased or decreased. The number of each component in the optical switch 2000 and the number of ports of each component vary depending on the number of optical switches 2000 in the optical switching network system 1000.

[0056] In particular, the number of amplifiers, demultiplexers, wavelength selective switches, core ribbon optical fiber bundles, and ports can be adjusted according to the number of optical switches 2000 in the optical switching network system 1000.

[0057] As described above, the optical switching network system according to the present invention is a distributed network architecture in which a plurality of servers are connected via the same number of optical switches. Each server is provided with a top switch and an optical switch for interconnecting the servers. Each optical switch is connected to all optical switches in the horizontal optical network subsystem and vertical optical network subsystem in which it is located.

[0058] During signal transmission, the optical switch can transmit packets between the horizontal optical network subsystem and the vertical optical network subsystem, and is capable of bidirectional transmission. To transmit optical signals from the horizontal optical network subsystem to the vertical optical network subsystem or from the vertical optical network subsystem to the horizontal optical network subsystem, both the horizontal and vertical transmissions of the optical switch use wavelength selective switches, optical fiber amplifiers, and spectrometers.

[0059] When an optical signal is output from the wavelength selective switch for horizontal transmission, it is transferred to an optical fiber amplifier and a spectrometer for vertical transmission. When an optical signal is output from the wavelength selective switch for vertical transmission, it is transferred to an optical fiber amplifier and a spectrometer for horizontal transmission. This allows the optical signal to be transmitted within the horizontal optical network subsystem and the vertical optical network subsystem.

[0060] The above examples are intended to explain embodiments of the present invention and to explain the characteristic configurations of the present invention. The present invention is not limited to the above examples. Modifications or equivalent arrangements that can be easily made by those skilled in the art are also within the scope of the present invention. The scope of protection of the rights of the present invention is based on the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] 100 Architecture 110 Main switch 120 Secondary Switch 130 Top Switch 140 servers 210 Sending end 220 Destination End 230 Virtual Circuits 240 Electrical Signal Switch 1000 Optical Switching Network System 1100 Fiber Optic Connection Module 2000 Optical Switch 2010 Optical Transmitter Module 2020 Optical Transfer Module 2030 Optical Receiver Module 2100 Multiplexer 2210 First horizontal amplifier 2220 1st horizontal spectrometer 2230 2nd horizontal spectrometer 2241 1st horizontal wavelength selective switch 2242 Second Horizontal Wavelength Selective Switch 2250 Second horizontal amplifier 2260 3rd horizontal spectrometer 2310 First Vertical Amplifier 2320 1st vertical spectrometer 2330 Second Vertical Amplifier 2340 3rd Vertical Spectrometer 2350 2nd vertical spectrometer 2361 1st Vertical Wavelength Selective Switch 2362 2nd Vertical Wavelength Selective Switch 2400 Output Amplifier 2500 Demultiplexer 2600 Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing Transceiver 3000 Top Switch

Claims

1. An optical switch comprising: a multiplexer that combines the plurality of initial optical signals and outputs at least one first combined optical signal and at least one second combined optical signal; at least one first horizontal amplifier receiving the first combined optical signal from the multiplexer and amplifying the first combined optical signal; at least one first vertical amplifier receiving the second combined optical signal from the multiplexer and amplifying the second combined optical signal; at least one first horizontal spectrometer that receives the amplified first combined optical signal from the first horizontal amplifier and outputs a plurality of first horizontal optical signals to at least one horizontal optical switch; and an optical transmitter module including at least one first vertical spectrometer receiving the amplified second combined optical signal from the first vertical amplifier and outputting a plurality of first vertical optical signals to at least one vertical optical switch; at least one second horizontal spectrometer that receives at least one second horizontal optical signal from the horizontal optical switch and outputs a plurality of horizontal optical signals to be selected; at least one second vertical spectrometer that receives at least one second vertical optical signal from the vertical optical switch and outputs a plurality of vertical optical signals to be selected; at least one first horizontal wavelength selective switch that receives the horizontal optical signals to be selected from the second horizontal spectrometer and outputs at least one first forwarded output optical signal; at least one first vertical wavelength selective switch that receives the vertical optical signals to be selected from the second vertical spectrometer and outputs at least one second forwarded output optical signal; at least one second horizontal amplifier receiving the second redirected output optical signal from the first vertical wavelength selective switch and amplifying the second redirected output optical signal; at least one second vertical amplifier receiving the first redirected output optical signal from the first horizontal wavelength selective switch and amplifying the first redirected output optical signal; at least one third horizontal spectrometer that receives the amplified second redirected output optical signal from the second horizontal amplifier and outputs a plurality of third horizontal optical signals to the horizontal optical switch; and an optical transport module including at least one third vertical spectrometer that receives the amplified first transport output optical signal from the second vertical amplifier and outputs a plurality of third vertical optical signals to the vertical optical switch; at least one second horizontal wavelength selective switch that receives the horizontal optical signals to be selected from the second horizontal spectrometer and outputs at least one first output optical signal; at least one second vertical wavelength selective switch that receives the to-be-selected vertical optical signals from the second vertical spectrometer and outputs at least one second output optical signal; an output amplifier that receives the first output optical signal from the second horizontal wavelength selective switch and the second output optical signal from the second vertical wavelength selective switch, and amplifies the first output optical signal and the second output optical signal; and an optical receiver module including a demultiplexer for receiving the amplified first output optical signal and the amplified second output optical signal from the power amplifier and for separating the amplified first output optical signal and the amplified second output optical signal into a plurality of final optical signals; An optical switch comprising:

2. 2. The optical switch of claim 1, wherein each of the initial optical signals has a different wavelength.

3. 2. The optical switch according to claim 1, wherein the first horizontal amplifier, the first vertical amplifier, the second horizontal amplifier, the second vertical amplifier, and the output amplifier are each an erbium-doped optical fiber amplifier (EDFA).

4. 2. The optical switch of claim 1, wherein the optical switch is connected to a top-of-rack switch, the top-of-rack switch transmits initial electrical signals to a plurality of dense wavelength division multiplexing transceivers which convert the initial electrical signals to the initial optical signals, and the dense wavelength division multiplexing transceivers receive the final optical signals from the demultiplexer and convert the final optical signals to final electrical signals.

5. A virtual circuit type optical switching network system including a plurality of optical switches and a plurality of dense wavelength division multiplexing transceivers, The optical switches are connected via optical fibers to form an optical fiber connection module; The optical switch comprises: a multiplexer that combines the plurality of initial optical signals and outputs at least one first combined optical signal and at least one second combined optical signal; at least one first horizontal amplifier receiving the first combined optical signal from the multiplexer and amplifying the first combined optical signal; at least one first vertical amplifier receiving the second combined optical signal from the multiplexer and amplifying the second combined optical signal; at least one first horizontal spectrometer that receives the amplified first combined optical signal from the first horizontal amplifier and outputs a plurality of first horizontal optical signals to at least one horizontal optical switch; and an optical transmitter module including at least one first vertical spectrometer receiving the amplified second combined optical signal from the first vertical amplifier and outputting a plurality of first vertical optical signals to at least one vertical optical switch; at least one second horizontal spectrometer that receives at least one second horizontal optical signal from the horizontal optical switch and outputs a plurality of horizontal optical signals to be selected; at least one second vertical spectrometer that receives at least one second vertical optical signal from the vertical optical switch and outputs a plurality of vertical optical signals to be selected; at least one first horizontal wavelength selective switch that receives the horizontal optical signals to be selected from the second horizontal spectrometer and outputs at least one first forwarded output optical signal; at least one first vertical wavelength selective switch that receives the vertical optical signals to be selected from the second vertical spectrometer and outputs at least one second forwarded output optical signal; at least one second horizontal amplifier receiving the second redirected output optical signal from the first vertical wavelength selective switch and amplifying the second redirected output optical signal; at least one second vertical amplifier receiving the first redirected output optical signal from the first horizontal wavelength selective switch and amplifying the first redirected output optical signal; at least one third horizontal spectrometer that receives the amplified second redirected output optical signal from the second horizontal amplifier and outputs a plurality of third horizontal optical signals to the horizontal optical switch; and an optical transport module including at least one third vertical spectrometer that receives the amplified first transport output optical signal from the second vertical amplifier and outputs a plurality of third vertical optical signals to the vertical optical switch; at least one second horizontal wavelength selective switch that receives the horizontal optical signals to be selected from the second horizontal spectrometer and outputs at least one first output optical signal; at least one second vertical wavelength selective switch that receives the to-be-selected vertical optical signals from the second vertical spectrometer and outputs at least one second output optical signal; an output amplifier that receives the first output optical signal from the second horizontal wavelength selective switch and the second output optical signal from the second vertical wavelength selective switch, and amplifies the first output optical signal and the second output optical signal; and an optical receiver module having a demultiplexer for receiving the amplified first output optical signal and the amplified second output optical signal from the power amplifier and for separating the amplified first output optical signal and the amplified second output optical signal into a plurality of final optical signals; The dense wavelength division multiplexing transceiver receives the final optical signal from the demultiplexer and converts the final optical signal into a final electrical signal.

6. a plurality of top switches connected to the optical switch for transmitting initial electrical signals to the dense wavelength division multiplexing transceiver; 6. The virtual circuit type optical switching network system according to claim 5, further comprising: a plurality of servers connected one-to-one to said top switch and connected to each other via said optical switch.

7. 7. The virtual circuit type optical switching network system according to claim 6, wherein said dense wavelength division multiplexing transceiver converts said initial electrical signal into said initial optical signal.

8. 6. The virtual circuit type optical switching network system according to claim 5, wherein the optical fiber connection module comprises at least one horizontal optical network subsystem and at least one vertical optical network subsystem connected to each other, and the total number of the optical switches is equal to the product of the number of the horizontal optical network subsystems and the number of the vertical optical network subsystems.

9. 9. The virtual circuit type optical switching network system according to claim 8, wherein the number of said optical switches in said horizontal optical network subsystem is the same as the number of said optical switches in said vertical optical network subsystem.

10. 9. The virtual circuit type optical switching network system according to claim 8, wherein the optical switches in the horizontal optical network subsystem are connected to each other in a full mesh via a first ribbon fiber, and the optical switches in the vertical optical network subsystem are connected to each other in a full mesh via a second ribbon fiber.

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