Optical communication system, controller device, user device, and optical communication method

Abstract

The optical communication system (1) is an APN including a user device (300) accommodating an optical transceiver (311) that communicates with an external device using an optical signal, a controller device (100) that controls the user device (300) using a control signal, and a gateway device (200) that separates and multiplexes optical signals transmitted and received on a communication path between the user device (300) and the controller device (100).When a failure occurs in communication of the control signal between the user device (300) and the controller device (100), the user device (300) diagnoses the nature of the failure and notifies the controller device (100) of the diagnosis result, and the controller device (100) detects the nature of the failure based on the diagnosis result notified from the user device (300).

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an optical communication system and an optical communication method applied to an all-photonics network. [Background technology]

[0002] With the development of network technology and the expansion of network services, global communication traffic is increasing, and studies are underway on a new network architecture called the All Photonics Network (APN).

[0003] An APN is a transparent network that connects any number of users and accommodates main signals of various protocols. In an APN, there was no established method for determining the normality of the optical signal path that is transmitted transparently. In conventional networks, normality was determined using devices compatible with protocols to monitor normality in limited sections. In a transparent network, devices with determination functions compatible with the main signal protocol are not necessarily located in normality determination sections. Therefore, Patent Document 1 proposes a method for determining the normality of a signal path.

[0004] In APN, a controller device controls remotely located user devices. The controller device continuously monitors and controls the status of the user devices, and if a failure occurs in the main signal transmission / reception of the user devices, the controller device controls the operation to address the failure. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2024 / 029033 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, when a controller device controls a user device using normality monitoring as proposed in Patent Document 1, if a failure occurs in at least one of the transmission and reception of the user device, there is a problem in that the controller device may not be able to detect the nature of the failure.

[0007] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above, and aims to obtain an optical communication system in which a controller device can detect the nature of the failure even if a failure occurs in the communication of control signals between a user device and a controller device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, the optical communication system according to the present disclosure is an all-photonics network including: user devices each accommodating an optical transceiver that communicates with an external device using an optical signal; a controller device that controls the user devices using a control signal; and a gateway device that performs demultiplexing and multiplexing of optical signals transmitted and received on a communication path between the user devices and the controller device. When a failure occurs in communication of the control signal between the user devices and the controller device, the user devices diagnose the content of the failure; By changing the path for transmitting the control signal between the controller device and the device and sending the control signal including the diagnosis result via the changed path, The diagnostic results are notified to the controller device, and the controller device detects the nature of the failure based on the diagnostic results notified from the user device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to obtain an optical communication system in which the controller device can detect the nature of the failure even if a failure occurs in the communication of control signals between a user device and a controller device. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an optical communication system according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2]FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an optical communication system according to a modification of the first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an optical communication system according to a second embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an optical communication system according to a third embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an optical communication system according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an optical communication system according to a fifth embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a control circuit for realizing functions of the optical communication system according to the first to fifth embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing dedicated hardware for realizing the functions of the optical communication system according to the first to fifth embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Hereinafter, an optical communication system and an optical communication method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0012] Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an optical communication system 1 according to a first embodiment. The optical communication system 1 includes a controller device 100, a gateway device 200, and one or more user devices 300 and 400. The optical communication system 1 is an APN. The APN is a fundamental technology that realizes end-to-end high-capacity and ultra-low latency communications by introducing photonics-based technology into everything from the network to the terminals.

[0013] The controller device 100 is a device that uses control signals to monitor and control each device in the optical communication system 1. The controller device 100 has a user device management control manager 101 for monitoring and controlling the remote user devices 300 and 400, and a transceiver management control manager 102 for monitoring and controlling the optical transceivers 311 and 411 installed in the user devices 300 and 400.

[0014] The gateway device 200 demultiplexes and multiplexes optical signals transmitted and received on a communication path between the user devices 300 and 400 and the controller device 100. The gateway device 200 includes demultiplexers 201-1 and 201-2 for demultiplexing a main signal and a control signal in the receiving direction and multiplexing the main signal and the control signal in the transmitting direction, a main signal processor 202 for managing and controlling the exchange of main signals between the user device 300 and the opposing user device 400, and control signal photoelectric converters 203-1 and 203-2 for photoelectrically converting control signals transmitted and received between the controller device 100 and the user devices 300 and 400.

[0015] The user device 300 has a user device management control unit 310 for controlling the user device 300, an optical transceiver 311 for communicating with the controller device 100 or the opposing user device 400, and an L2 / L3 switch 312 which is a switch for reading the MAC (Media Access Control) address and IP (Internet Protocol) address of the signal and switching between the main signal system and the control signal system.

[0016] The optical transceiver 311 includes a demultiplexing unit 313 for separating the main signal and control signal in the receiving direction and multiplexing the main signal and control signal in the transmitting direction, a control signal transceiver 314 for communicating with the controller device 100, a main signal transceiver 315 for communicating with the opposing user device 400, a switch 316 for switching the path of the control signal, a PHY 317 for converting the electrical-optical interface of the main signal, and a transceiver management control unit 318 for monitoring and controlling the optical transceiver 311 itself.

[0017] The user equipment 300 can communicate with the controller 100 and the opposing user equipment 400 under the control of the user equipment management control unit 310 or the transceiver management control unit 318 .

[0018] An electrical signal including data to be transmitted to the user equipment 400 is converted into an optical main signal in the PHY 317 via the L2 / L3 switch 312, and input to the demultiplexer 313 from the main signal transmitter / receiver 315. Meanwhile, a control signal generated by the transceiver management control unit 318 or the user equipment management control unit 310 is input to the switch 316, and normally input to the demultiplexer 313 from the switch 316 via the control signal transmitter / receiver 314. The optical signal in which the main signal and the control signal are multiplexed by the demultiplexer 313 is transmitted to the gateway 200.

[0019] In the gateway device 200, the demultiplexing unit 201-1 demultiplexes the control signal and the main signal. Thereafter, the control signal is converted into an electric signal by the control signal photoelectric conversion unit 203-1 and input to the controller device 100. The main signal is input to the demultiplexing unit 201-2 via the main signal processing unit 202. When the demultiplexing unit 201-2 receives the control signal from the control signal photoelectric conversion unit 203-2, the demultiplexing unit 201-2 multiplexes the main signal from the main signal processing unit 202 and the control signal, and transmits the multiplexed signal to the user device 400.

[0020] The controller device 100 also transmits control signals to the user devices 300 and 400. More specifically, the user device management and control manager 101 transmits control signals to the user device management and control units 310 and 410 in order to monitor and control the user devices 300 and 400. The transceiver management and control manager 102 also transmits control signals to the transceiver management and control units 318 and 418 in order to monitor and control the optical transceivers 311 and 411 housed in the user devices 300 and 400. While an example in which the controller device 100 transmits a control signal to the user device 300 will be described below, the same applies to the user device 400.

[0021] The control signal transmitted by the controller device 100 is converted from an electrical signal to an optical signal by the control signal photoelectric conversion unit 203-1, and is input to the user device 300 via the multiplexing / demultiplexing unit 201-1 and a transmission optical fiber (not shown). At this time, the multiplexing / demultiplexing unit 201-1 multiplexes the main signal from the main signal processing unit 202 and the control signal from the control signal photoelectric conversion unit 203-1.

[0022] An optical signal input to the user equipment 300 is separated into a main signal and a control signal by the demultiplexer 313. The main signal is input to the main signal transceiver 315, and the control signal is input to the control signal transceiver 3114. The control signal received by the control signal transceiver 314 is input to the transceiver management control unit 318 or the user equipment management control unit 310 by the switch 316. If the received control signal is a control signal transmitted by the user equipment management control manager 101 to the user equipment management control unit 310, the switch 316 inputs the received control signal to the user equipment management control unit 310. If the received control signal is a control signal transmitted by the transceiver management control manager 102 to the transceiver management control unit 318, the switch 316 inputs the received control signal to the transceiver management control unit 318.

[0023] The UE management and control unit 310, which receives a control signal from the controller device 100, controls the state of the UE 300 in accordance with the control signal. The UE management and control unit 310 can also transmit the monitoring results of the UE 300 as a control signal addressed to the controller device 100. In this case, the control signal generated by the UE management and control unit 310 is normally transmitted as an optical signal from the control signal transceiver 314 via the demultiplexer 313. In this case, the UE management and control unit 310 and the transceiver management and control unit 318 in the UE 300 may communicate with each other to transmit transceiver information indicating the state of the optical transceiver 311 to the controller device 100 via the UE management and control unit 310.

[0024] The transceiver management control unit 318, which receives a control signal from the controller device 100, controls the state of the optical transceiver 311 in accordance with the received control signal. The transceiver management control unit 318 can also transmit the monitoring results of the optical transceiver 311 as a control signal addressed to the controller device 100. In this case, the control signal generated by the transceiver management control unit 318 is normally transmitted as an optical signal from the control signal transmitter / receiver 314 via the multiplexer / demultiplexer 313. In this case, the user equipment management control unit 310 and the transceiver management control unit 318 communicate with each other in the user equipment 300, so that user equipment information indicating the state of the user equipment 300 can be transmitted to the controller device 100 via the transceiver management control unit 318.

[0025] The user equipment 400 has a similar configuration to the user equipment 300. The user equipment 400 includes a user equipment management and control unit 410, an optical transceiver 411, and an L2 / L3 switch 412. The optical transceiver 411 includes a demultiplexer 413, a control signal transceiver 314, a main signal transceiver 415, a switch 416, a PHY 417, and a transceiver management and control unit 418. The demultiplexer 413, the control signal transceiver 414, the main signal transceiver 415, the switch 416, the PHY 417, and the transceiver management and control unit 418 each have the same functions as the demultiplexer 313, the control signal transceiver 314, the main signal transceiver 315, the switch 316, the PHY 317, and the transceiver management and control unit 318, respectively, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

[0026] Like the user device 300, the user device 400 also communicates with the controller device 100 via the demultiplexing unit 201-2 and the control signal photoelectric conversion unit 203-2 of the gateway device 200.

[0027] In the demultiplexing units 313, 413, 201-1, and 201-2, the main signal and the control signal are multiplexed by wavelength multiplexing or time division multiplexing.

[0028] Here, we will explain the operation when an abnormality occurs in the optical communication system 1. If a failure occurs in the reception of a control signal by the user device 300, it becomes impossible for the controller device 100 to control the user device 300. In such a case, the user device 300 has a function to autonomously notify the controller device 100 of the details of the failure.

[0029] When the user equipment 300 detects that a failure has occurred in the reception of a control signal, the user equipment management and control unit 310 or the transceiver management and control unit 318 diagnoses the nature of the failure and notifies the controller device 100 of the diagnosis result. At this time, the user equipment 300 transmits a control signal indicating the diagnosis result to the controller device 100 as an optical signal from the control signal transceiver 314. The user equipment 300 can detect the occurrence of a failure in the reception of a control signal based on the loss of the received control signal, failure to extract the clock from the received control signal, disconnection of the Ethernet (registered trademark) link, loss of polling from the controller device 100 for a certain period of time, etc. The user equipment 300 can diagnose the nature of the failure from the detected event. A general method can be used to diagnose the nature of the failure. In one common technique, the transceiver management and control unit 318 monitors and manages each unit of the optical transceiver 311, such as the multiplexer / demultiplexer 313, the control signal transceiver 314, the main signal transceiver 315, the switch 316, and the PHY 317, diagnoses the monitoring results corresponding to each fault type, and notifies the controller device 100 of the results. For example, the transceiver management and control unit 318 monitors the optical reception power of the control signal transceiver 314 and the clock extraction result of the received control signal, and can diagnose a fault when a threshold is exceeded. In addition, the user device 300 may transmit to the controller device 100 optical transceiver information indicating the characteristics of the optical transceiver 311 and user device information indicating the characteristics of the user device 300, in addition to the fault type.

[0030] There are no particular limitations on the method for notifying the details of the failure. For example, the user device 300 and the controller device 100 may share a list of transmission patterns corresponding to the details of the failure in advance. In this case, the details of the failure can be notified by the transmission pattern.

[0031] Although the L2 / L3 switch 312 is provided outside the optical transceiver 311 of the user device 300 in FIG. 1, the L2 / L3 switch 312 may be provided inside the optical transceiver 311 .

[0032] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of an optical communication system 1A according to a modification of the first embodiment. Only differences from the optical communication system 1 shown in Fig. 1 will be described. The optical communication system 1A has a user device 300A instead of the user device 300.

[0033] The user device 300A is similar to the user device 300, except that an L2 / L3 switch 312 is provided in an optical transceiver 311A.

[0034] As described above, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to provide an optical communication system 1 that is an all-photonics network including: user equipment 300 accommodating optical transceivers that communicate with external devices using optical signals; a controller device 100 that controls the user equipment 300 using control signals; and a gateway device 200 that demultiplexes and multiplexes optical signals transmitted and received on a communication path between the user equipment 300 and the controller device 100. When a failure occurs in communication of the control signal between the user equipment 300 and the controller device 100, the user equipment 300 diagnoses the nature of the failure and autonomously notifies the controller device 100 of the diagnosis result, and the controller device 100 can detect the nature of the failure based on the diagnosis result notified by the user equipment 300.

[0035] In this way, according to the optical communication system 1, when a failure occurs, the user device 300 has the function of diagnosing the nature of the failure and autonomously notifying the controller device 100 of the diagnosis result, so that even if a failure occurs, the controller device 100 can detect the nature of the failure.

[0036] In the optical communication system 1, the optical transceiver 311 has a control signal transmitter / receiver 314 for transmitting and receiving control signals to and from the controller device 100, and when the user device 300 detects that a failure has occurred in receiving the control signal, the control signal transmitter / receiver 314 of the optical transceiver 311 notifies the controller device 100 of the diagnostic result without being controlled by the controller device 100.

[0037] Furthermore, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to provide an optical communication method executed by an optical communication system 1, which is an all-photonics network including: a user device 300 accommodating an optical transceiver 311 that communicates with an external device using an optical signal; a controller device 100 that controls the user device 300 using a control signal; and a gateway device 200 that demultiplexes and multiplexes optical signals transmitted and received on a communication path between the user device 300 and the controller device 100. This optical communication method is characterized by including the steps of: when a failure occurs in communication of the control signal between the user device 300 and the controller device 100, diagnosing the content of the failure by the user device 300; notifying the controller device 100 of the diagnosis result; and detecting the content of the failure by the controller device 100 based on the diagnosis result notified from the user device 300.

[0038] The optical communication system 1A differs from the optical communication system 1 in that it includes a user device 300A instead of the user device 300, but can achieve the same effects as the optical communication system 1. In the following embodiments, a configuration in which the L2 / L3 switch 312 is included in the user device 300 will be mainly described, but in any of the embodiments, the L2 / L3 switch 312 may also be included in the optical transceiver 311, as shown in FIG.

[0039] Embodiment 2 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an optical communication system 1B according to the second embodiment. The optical communication system 1B includes a gateway device 200B instead of the gateway device 200 of the optical communication system 1, and a user device 300B instead of the user device 300.

[0040] The user device 300B includes a plurality of optical transceivers 311 and 321. In addition to the components of the user device 300, the user device 300B includes an optical transceiver 321 and an L2 / L3 switch 322.

[0041] The gateway device 200B includes demultiplexing units 201-1, 201-2, 201-3, and 201-4, main signal processing units 202-1 and 202-2, and control signal photoelectric conversion units 203-1, 203-2, 203-3, and 203-4.

[0042] Although detailed configuration of the user device 400 is omitted in FIG. 3, the user device 400 has, for example, the configuration shown in FIG.

[0043] The main signal transmitter / receiver 315 of the optical transceiver 311 has a function of communicating with the corresponding user device 400. The control signal transmitter / receiver 314 of the optical transceiver 311 normally has a function of communicating with the controller device 100 via the multiplexing / demultiplexing unit 313, the multiplexing / demultiplexing unit 201-1, and the control signal photoelectric conversion unit 203-1.

[0044] In the optical communication system 1, 1A according to the first embodiment, if a failure occurs in the transmission of a control signal from the optical transceiver 311, 311A ​​accommodated in the user equipment 300, 300A, the controller device 100 cannot monitor the user equipment 300, 300A. To address this issue, the second embodiment has a function to diagnose the failure when a failure occurs in the user equipment 300B, change the path for transmitting control signals between the user equipment 300B and the controller device when notifying the diagnosis result, and transmit the control signal including the diagnosis result via the changed path. Specifically, the user equipment 300B, which has multiple optical transceivers 311, 321, has a function to transmit a control signal from the other optical transceiver 311, 321 when a failure occurs in the transmission of a control signal from one of the optical transceivers 311, 321.

[0045] Here, an example will be described in which a control signal is normally transmitted to controller device 100 via control signal transmitter / receiver 314 and demultiplexer 313 of optical transceiver 311, and demultiplexer 201-1 and control signal photoelectric converter 203-1 of gateway device 200B, but when an abnormality occurs, the control signal is transmitted via optical transceiver 321. In Fig. 3, the control signal transmission path after the path change is indicated by a solid arrow.

[0046] The user equipment 300B detects that a failure has occurred in the transmission of the control signal from the optical transceiver 311. The user equipment 300B can detect the failure based on, for example, a loss of the transmission control signal, an abnormality in the output optical intensity, or an abnormality in the bias current of the control signal transceiver 314. The transceiver management and control unit 318 of the optical transceiver 311 or the user equipment management and control unit 310 transmits the details of the failure in the optical transceiver 311 to the optical transceiver 321, and the control signal transceiver 324 of the optical transceiver 321 transmits a control signal indicating the details of the failure.

[0047] The control signal transmitted from the control signal transceiver 324 is transmitted to the controller device 100 via the demultiplexer 201-3 and the control signal photoelectric converter 203-3 of the gateway device 200. This allows the user device 300B to notify the controller device 100 of the fault content even when the user device 300B is unable to transmit a control signal from the optical transceiver 311. Furthermore, the transceiver management control unit 318 or the user device management control unit 310 may transmit optical transceiver information of the optical transceiver 311 and user device information of the user device 300B together with the fault content.

[0048] Upon receiving the diagnosis result of the fault content, the controller device 100 can detect that a fault has occurred in the user device 300B based on the diagnosis result. Depending on the fault content, the controller device 100 can generate a control signal for the user device 300B and transmit the generated control signal to the user device 300B using the route changed by the user device 300B. Specifically, in the example of FIG. 3 , the control signal from the controller device 100 is transmitted to the optical transceiver 321 via the control signal photoelectric conversion unit 203-3 and multiplexing / demultiplexing unit 201-3 of the gateway device 200B. The control signal transmitted to the optical transceiver 321 is transmitted to the user equipment management / control unit 310 via the multiplexing / demultiplexing unit 323, the control signal transmitter / receiver 324, and the switch 326.

[0049] Although the above description has been given of a case where a control signal is transmitted from the optical transceiver 321 when a failure occurs in the transmission of a control signal from the optical transceiver 311, the above-described technique can also be applied when a failure occurs in the reception of a control signal by the user device 300B. For example, in FIG. 3, when a failure occurs in the control signal transmission / reception line of the optical transceiver 311 due to a fiber break or the like, the above-described technique can also be applied when the loss of the reception main signal and the reception control signal of the optical transceiver 311 is triggered.

[0050] In addition, if a failure occurs in the reception of control signals in the optical transceiver 311 but no failure is detected in the transmission of control signals from the optical transceiver 311, it is not necessary to change the path.However, if a failure of some kind is detected in the optical transceiver 311, such as a failure of the main signal transmitter / receiver 315 or an I / F failure of the PHY 317, the communication path with the controller device 100 may be changed even if it is not diagnosed as a failure in the transmission of control signals from the optical transceiver 311.

[0051] As described above, according to the second embodiment, it is possible to provide an optical communication system 1B that is an all-photonics network including a user device 300B accommodating an optical transceiver that communicates with an external device using an optical signal, a controller device 100 that controls the user device 300B using a control signal, and a gateway device 200B that demultiplexes and multiplexes optical signals transmitted and received on a communication path between the user device 300B and the controller device 100. In the optical communication system 1B, when a failure occurs in communication of a control signal between the user device 300B and the controller device 100, the user device 300B diagnoses the nature of the failure and notifies the controller device 100 of the diagnosis result, and the controller device 100 detects the nature of the failure based on the diagnosis result notified from the user device 300B.

[0052] Furthermore, in the optical communication system 1B, when the user device 300B notifies the controller device 100 of the diagnosis result, the user device 300B can change the path for transmitting a control signal between the user device 300B and the controller device 100 and transmit the control signal including the diagnosis result via the changed path. This makes it possible to notify the controller device 100 of the diagnosis result of the fault content even when the path for the control signal normally used is unavailable. The controller device 100 can also generate a control signal for the user device 300B based on the diagnosis result notified from the user device 300B and transmit the generated control signal to the user device 300B via the path changed by the user device 300B. This makes it possible for the controller device 100 to monitor and control the user device 300B even when the path for the control signal normally used is unavailable.

[0053] In the optical communication system 1B, the optical transceiver 311 includes a control signal transceiver 314 for transmitting and receiving control signals to and from the controller device 100, and a main signal transceiver 315 for transmitting and receiving a main signal including data to and from the opposing user device 400. In addition, in the optical communication system 1B, the user device 300B further includes L2 / L3 switches 312 and 322, which are switching units that switch the output destination between a control signal path including the control signal transceiver and a main signal path including the main signal transceiver, depending on the identification result of the destination of the input signal. This allows the optical communication system 1B to transmit a signal from the control signal path via the main signal path and transmit a signal from the main signal path via the control signal path, based on the identification result.

[0054] The L2 / L3 switches 312 and 322, which are the switching units, may be provided in the optical transceivers 311 and 321.

[0055] The optical transceivers 311 and 321 each have a control signal transmitter / receiver 314 and 324 for transmitting and receiving control signals to and from the controller device 100. When the user device 300B detects that the transceiver management control unit 318 and 328 or the user device management control unit 310 has a failure in receiving control signals, the control signal transmitter / receiver 314 and 324 of the optical transceivers 311 and 321 can notify the controller device 100 of the diagnosis result without control by the controller device 100. This operation is possible when the transceiver management control unit 318 and 328 or the user device management control unit 310 controls the control signal transmitter / receiver 314 and 324 to notify the controller device 100 of the diagnosis result without control by the controller device 100. In the above example, the transceiver management control unit 318 and 328 or the user device management control unit 310 controls the control signal transmitter / receiver 3324 without control by the controller device 100.

[0056] Furthermore, in the optical communication system 1B, the user device 300B accommodates an optical transceiver 311 that is a first optical transceiver and an optical transceiver 321 that is a second optical transceiver. The optical transceiver 311 that is the first optical transceiver and the optical transceiver 321 that is the second optical transceiver each have a control signal transceiver 314, 324 for transmitting and receiving control signals to and from the controller device 100. When a failure in the transmission of a control signal by the optical transceiver 311 that is the first optical transceiver is detected, a control signal including a diagnosis result is transmitted from the control signal transceiver 324 of the optical transceiver 321 that is the second optical transceiver.

[0057] Furthermore, according to the second embodiment, it is possible to provide an optical communication method executed by an optical communication system 1B, which is an all-photonics network including a user device 300B accommodating optical transceivers 311, 321 that communicate with external devices using optical signals, a controller device 100 that controls the user device 300B using control signals, and a gateway device 200B that demultiplexes and multiplexes optical signals transmitted and received on a communication path between the user device 300B and the controller device 100. This optical communication method is characterized by including the steps of: when a failure occurs in communication of the control signal between the user device 300B and the controller device 100, diagnosing the content of the failure by the user device 300B; notifying the controller device 100 of the diagnosis result; and detecting the content of the failure by the controller device 100 based on the diagnosis result notified from the user device 300B.

[0058] In the step of notifying the diagnostic result, the user device 300B changes the path for transmitting the control signal between the user device 300B and the controller device 100, and transmits the control signal including the diagnostic result via the changed path. The optical communication method of the second embodiment can further include the steps of the controller device 100 generating a control signal for the user device 300B based on the diagnostic result notified from the user device 300B, and the controller device 100 transmitting the generated control signal to the user device 300B via the path changed by the user device 300B.

[0059] In the second embodiment, the optical transceivers 311 and 321 each include a control signal transmitter / receiver 314 and 324 for transmitting and receiving a control signal to and from the controller device 100, and a main signal transmitter / receiver 315 and 325 for transmitting and receiving a main signal including data to be transmitted between the controller device 100 and the corresponding user device 400. The user device 300B can change the path for transmitting a control signal by using a function for transmitting a signal from a control signal path including the control signal transmitter / receivers 314 and 324 over a main signal path including the main signal transmitter / receivers 315 and 325, and transmitting a signal from the main signal path over a control signal path.

[0060] Furthermore, if the user device 300B accommodates multiple optical transceivers 311 and 321, and detects that a failure has occurred in the transmission of a control signal by one of the optical transceivers 311, the user device 300B can transmit a control signal including the diagnosis result from an optical transceiver 321 other than the optical transceiver 311 in which the failure has occurred in the step of notifying the diagnosis result. Furthermore, if the user device 300B detects that a failure has occurred in the optical transceiver 321, the user device 300B can transmit a control signal including the diagnosis result from the optical transceiver 311.

[0061] Embodiment 3 FIG. 4 illustrates a configuration of an optical communication system 1C according to a third embodiment. The optical communication system 1C includes a controller device 100, a gateway device 200, and user devices 300 and 400. The configuration of the optical communication system 1C is similar to that of the optical communication system 1 illustrated in FIG. 1. In the optical communication system 1 according to the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, if a failure occurs in the transmission / reception of a control signal from the user device 300, the user device 300 cannot notify the controller device 100 of the failure details, and the controller device 100 is unable to monitor and control the user device 300. In the optical communication system 1C according to the third embodiment, if a failure occurs in the communication of the control signal from the user device 300 while the user device 300 is communicating with the opposite user device 400, the user device 300 autonomously notifies the controller device 100 of the diagnosis result of the failure details via the main signal system of the optical transceiver 311 and the control signal system of the opposite optical transceiver 411.

[0062] When the user equipment 300 detects that a failure has occurred in the reception or transmission of a control signal from the optical transceiver 311, the transceiver management and control unit 318 of the optical transceiver 311 or the user equipment management and control unit 310 diagnoses the nature of the failure in the optical transceiver 311. The transceiver management and control unit 318 of the optical transceiver 311 or the user equipment management and control unit 310 transmits a control signal including the diagnosis result to the L2 / L3 switch 312. The method for detecting the occurrence of a failure is the same as in the first and second embodiments. The transceiver management and control unit 318 transmits the control signal to the L2 / L3 switch 312 via the user equipment management and control unit 310.

[0063] The L2 / L3 switch 312 is a switching unit that switches the output destination between a control signal path and a main signal path depending on the destination identification result of the input signal. The control signal path is a path that includes a control signal transceiver 314, and the main signal path is a path that includes a main signal transceiver 315. When the L2 / L3 switch 312 detects that the destination of a signal transmitted from the user equipment management and control unit 310 is the controller device 100 and that the signal is not a main signal, it outputs the signal to the optical transceiver 311, i.e., to the PHY 317. The control signal output to the PHY 317 is transmitted as an optical signal from the main signal transceiver 315 via the demultiplexer 313. The transmitted optical signal is demultiplexed to the main signal path by the demultiplexer 201 of the gateway device 200, and processed by the main signal processor 202 into an optical wavelength and form that can be transmitted to the opposing user equipment 400. The processed signal is input to the optical transceiver 411 accommodated in the opposing user device 400 via the demultiplexing unit 201-2 and the transmission optical fiber.

[0064] The signal including the diagnosis result of the fault content input to the demultiplexer 413 of the optical transceiver 411 is demultiplexed into the main signal system and received by the main signal transmitter / receiver 415. The signal indicating the fault content is input to the L2 / L3 switch 412 of the user equipment 400 via the PHY 417. The L2 / L3 switch 412 determines that the signal is not the main signal and transmits it to the user equipment management and control unit 410. The user equipment management and control unit 410 then transmits the input signal indicating the fault content to the control signal transmitter / receiver 414 of the optical transceiver 411 according to the switch 416. The control signal transmitter / receiver 414 outputs the signal indicating the fault content of the user equipment 300 as an optical signal, which is multiplexed with the main signal of the user equipment 400 in the demultiplexer 413 and then transmitted to the gateway 200.

[0065] The optical signal transmitted to the gateway device 200 is transmitted to the controller device 100 via the demultiplexing unit 201-2 and the control signal photoelectric conversion unit 203-2, just like a control signal under normal circumstances. The optical transceiver information of the optical transceiver 311 and the user device information of the user device 300 may be notified to the controller device 100 together with the details of the fault, or may be notified to the controller device 100 separately from the details of the fault via the same route as the details of the fault.

[0066] Upon receiving the diagnosis result of the fault content, the controller device 100 can detect that a fault has occurred in the user device 300 based on the diagnosis result. Depending on the fault content, the controller device 100 can generate a control signal for the user device 300 and transmit the generated control signal to the user device 300 using the route changed by the user device 300. Specifically, in the example of FIG. 4 , the control signal from the controller device 100 is transmitted to the optical transceiver 411 of the user device 400 via the control signal photoelectric conversion unit 203-2 and the multiplexing / demultiplexing unit 201-2 of the gateway device 200. The control signal transmitted to the optical transceiver 411 is transmitted to the L2 / L3 switch 412 via the multiplexing / demultiplexing unit 413, the control signal transmitter / receiver 414, the switch 416, and the user device management / control unit 410. The L2 / L3 switch 412 outputs the control signal to the main signal path based on the destination of the control signal from the controller device 100. That is, this control signal is output from the L2 / L3 switch 412 to the PHY 417, and then transmitted again to the gateway 200 via the main signal transceiver 415 and the demultiplexer 413. Since the control signal from the controller 100 addressed to the user equipment 300 is transmitted from the main signal transceiver 415 via the main signal path, the demultiplexer 201-2 of the gateway 200 separates it into the main signal processor 202, and transmits it to the optical transceiver 311 via the demultiplexer 201-1. The control signal transmitted to the demultiplexer 313 of the optical transceiver 311 is transmitted to the L2 / L3 switch 312 via the main signal transceiver 315 and the PHY 317. The L2 / L3 switch 312 identifies the control signal as not being a main signal, and outputs it to the user equipment management and control unit 310.

[0067] As described above, according to the third embodiment, it is possible to provide an optical communication system 1C that is an all-photonics network including a user device 300 accommodating an optical transceiver 311 that communicates with an external device using an optical signal, a controller device 100 that controls the user device 300 using a control signal, and a gateway device 200 that demultiplexes and multiplexes optical signals transmitted and received on a communication path between the user device 300 and the controller device 100. In the optical communication system 1C, when a failure occurs in communication of a control signal between the user device 300 and the controller device 100, the user device 300 diagnoses the nature of the failure and notifies the controller device 100 of the diagnosis result, and the controller device 100 can detect the nature of the failure based on the diagnosis result notified by the user device 300.

[0068] In addition, in the optical communication system 1C, when notifying the user device 300 of the diagnostic result, the user device 300 can change the path for transmitting the control signal between the user device 300 and the controller device 100, and transmit the control signal including the diagnostic result via the changed path.

[0069] In addition, the controller device 100 can generate a control signal to the user device 300 based on the diagnostic results notified from the user device 300, and transmit the generated control signal to the user device 300 using the route changed by the user device 300.

[0070] The optical transceivers 311, 411 include a control signal transmitter / receiver 314, 414 for transmitting and receiving control signals to and from the controller device 100, and a main signal transmitter / receiver 315, 415 for transmitting and receiving a main signal including data to and from the corresponding user equipment 400, 300. The user equipment 300, 400 further includes an L2 / L3 switch 312, 412, which is a switching unit that switches the output destination between a control signal path including the control signal transmitter / receiver 314, 414 and a main signal path including the main signal transmitter / receiver 315, 415, depending on the identification result of the destination of the input signal. Based on the identification result, the user equipment 300, 400 can transmit signals from the control signal path via the main signal path and transmit signals from the main signal path via the control signal path. This increases the possibility that the controller device 100 can be notified of the diagnosis results of the fault even if a fault occurs.

[0071] The L2 / L3 switches 312 and 412, which are switching units, may be provided in the optical transceivers 311 and 411.

[0072] The optical communication system 1C includes a plurality of user devices including a user device 300 that is a first user device and a user device 400 that is a second user device. The first optical transceiver 311 accommodated in the user device 300 that is the first user device and the second optical transceiver 411 accommodated in the user device 400 that is the second user device each have a control signal transceiver 314, 414 for transmitting and receiving control signals to and from the controller device 100, and a main signal transceiver 315, 415 for transmitting and receiving a main signal including data to be transmitted between the user devices 400, 300 and the opposing user device. When the user device 300 detects that a failure has occurred in the transmission of a control signal, the reception of a control signal, or the reception of a main signal and a control signal, the user device 300, which is a first user device, transmits a control signal including a diagnostic result from the main signal transmitter / receiver 315 of the optical transceiver 311, which is a first optical transceiver, to the opposite user device 400, which is a second user device, and the user device 400, which is a second user device, transmits a control signal including the diagnostic result received by the main signal transmitter / receiver 415 of the optical transceiver 411, which is a second optical transceiver, to the controller device 100 from the control signal transmitter / receiver 414 of the optical transceiver 411, which is the second optical transceiver.

[0073] Furthermore, according to the third embodiment, it is possible to provide an optical communication method executed by an optical communication system that is an all-photonics network including: user devices 300, 400 accommodating optical transceivers 311, 411 that communicate with external devices using optical signals; a controller device 100 that controls the user devices 300, 400 using control signals; and a gateway device 200 that demultiplexes and multiplexes optical signals transmitted and received on a communication path between the user devices 300, 400 and the controller device 100. This optical communication method is characterized by including the steps of: when a failure occurs in communication of the control signal between the user device 300 and the controller device 100, diagnosing the content of the failure by the user device 300; notifying the controller device 100 of the diagnosis result; and detecting the content of the failure by the controller device 100 based on the diagnosis result notified from the user device 300.

[0074] In the optical communication method of embodiment 3, in the step of notifying the diagnostic result, the user device 300 changes the path for transmitting the control signal between the user device 300 and the controller device 100, and transmits the control signal including the diagnostic result via the changed path.

[0075] In addition, the optical communication method of embodiment 3 may further include a step in which the controller device 100 generates a control signal to the user device 300 based on the diagnostic result notified from the user device 300, and a step in which the controller device 100 transmits the generated control signal to the user device 300 using the route changed by the user device 300.

[0076] The optical transceivers 311, 411 have control signal transceivers 314, 414 for transmitting and receiving control signals to and from the controller device 100, and main signal transceivers 315, 415 for transmitting and receiving main signals including data to and from the opposing user devices 400, 300. The user devices 300, 400 can change the path for transmitting control signals by using a function to transmit signals from a control signal system path including the control signal transceivers 314, 414 over a main signal system path including the main signal transceivers 315, 415, and to transmit signals from the main signal system path over a control signal system path.

[0077] The optical communication system 1C includes a plurality of user devices including a user device 300 which is a first user device and a user device 400 which is a second user device, and when the first user device 300 detects that a failure has occurred in the transmission of a control signal, the reception of a control signal, or the reception of a main signal and a control signal, in a step of notifying the diagnostic result, the first user device 300 transmits the diagnostic result from a main signal transceiver 315 of the first user device to the user device 400 which is a second user device, and the second user device 400 transmits a control signal including the diagnostic result received by the main signal transceiver 415 of the second user device to the controller device 100 from a control signal transceiver 414 of the second user device.

[0078] Embodiment 4 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an optical communication system 1D according to a fourth embodiment. The optical communication system 1D includes a controller device 100, a gateway device 200B, a user device 300B having a plurality of optical transceivers 311 and 321, a user device 400 connected to the optical transceiver 311 of the user device 300B, and a user device 500 connected to the optical transceiver 321 of the user device 300B.

[0079] In the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. 1, if a failure occurs in the transmission and reception of the main signal and control signal of the optical transceiver 311 of the user device 300, there is a problem in that the controller device 100 cannot monitor and control the user device 300.

[0080] In the optical communication system 1D of the fourth embodiment, when the user device 300B has an optical transceiver 321 other than the optical transceiver 311 in which a fault has occurred, the optical transceiver 321 has the function of transmitting a control signal including a diagnosis result of the fault content to the opposing user device 500 using the main signal system path of the optical transceiver 321, and notifying the controller device 100 of the diagnosis result of the fault content of the user device 300B using the control signal system path from the user device 500 to the controller device 100.

[0081] After the user equipment 300B detects the occurrence of a target failure, the transceiver management and control unit 318 of the optical transceiver 311 or the user equipment management and control unit 310 transmits a control signal including a diagnosis result of the failure content of the optical transceiver 311 to the L2 / L3 switch 322. The target failure may be, for example, a failure in the reception of the control signal by the optical transceiver 311, a failure in the transmission of the control signal by the optical transceiver 311, or a loss of the received main signal and a loss of the received control signal.

[0082] The L2 / L3 switch 322 determines that the input signal is not a main signal and outputs it in the direction of the optical transceiver 321. This control signal is input to the main signal transmitter / receiver 325 via the PHY 327 of the optical transceiver 321, and is output as an optical signal from the main signal transmitter / receiver 325. The output signal is multiplexed with the control signal by the demultiplexer 323, then demultiplexed into a main signal system by the demultiplexer 201-3 of the gateway device 200B, and transmitted to the optical transceiver 511 of the user device 500 via the main signal processing unit 202-2 and the demultiplexer 201-4.

[0083] The control signal including the diagnosis result of the fault content of the optical transceiver 311 is demultiplexed into a main signal by the demultiplexing unit 513 of the optical transceiver 511 and transmitted to the L2 / L3 switch 512 via the main signal transmitter / receiver 515 and PHY 517. The L2 / L3 switch 512 determines that the input signal is not a main signal, and transmits the control signal including the diagnosis result of the fault content of the optical transceiver 311 to the user equipment management and control unit 510. The control signal including the diagnosis result of the fault content of the optical transceiver 311 is transmitted from the user equipment management and control unit 510 to the controller device 100 via the path of the control signal system of the optical transceiver 511. Specifically, the control signal including the diagnosis result of the fault content of the optical transceiver 311 is input from the user equipment management and control unit 510 to the demultiplexing unit 201-4 of the gateway device 200B via the switch 516, the control signal transmitter / receiver 514, and the demultiplexing unit 513. The control signal including the diagnosis result of the fault content of the optical transceiver 311 is transmitted to the controller device 100 via the demultiplexer 201-4 and the control signal photoelectric converter 203-4 of the gateway device 200B.

[0084] Upon receiving the diagnosis result of the fault content, the controller device 100 can detect that a fault has occurred in the user device 300B based on the diagnosis result. Depending on the fault content, the controller device 100 can generate a control signal for the user device 300B and transmit the generated control signal to the user device 300B using the route changed by the user device 300B. Specifically, in the example of FIG. 5 , the control signal from the controller device 100 is transmitted to the optical transceiver 511 of the user device 500 via the control signal photoelectric conversion unit 203-4 and the multiplexing / demultiplexing unit 201-4 of the gateway device 200B. The control signal transmitted to the optical transceiver 511 is transmitted to the L2 / L3 switch 512 via the multiplexing / demultiplexing unit 513, the control signal transmitter / receiver 514, the switch 516, and the user device management / control unit 510. The L2 / L3 switch 512 outputs the control signal to the main signal path based on the destination of the control signal from the controller device 100. That is, this control signal is output from the L2 / L3 switch 512 to the PHY 517, and then transmitted again to the gateway 200B via the main signal transceiver 515 and the demultiplexer 513. Since the control signal from the controller 100 addressed to the user equipment 300B is transmitted from the main signal transceiver 515 via the main signal path, the demultiplexer 201-4 of the gateway 200B separates it into the main signal processor 202-2 and transmits it to the optical transceiver 321 via the demultiplexer 201-3. The control signal transmitted to the demultiplexer 323 of the optical transceiver 321 is transmitted to the L2 / L3 switch 322 via the main signal transceiver 325 and the PHY 327. The L2 / L3 switch 322 identifies the control signal as not being a main signal and outputs it to the user equipment management and control unit 310.

[0085] In addition, the optical transceiver information of the optical transceiver 311 and the user device information of the user device 300B may be notified to the controller device 100 together with the diagnostic results of the fault content, or may be notified to the controller device 100 separately from the diagnostic results of the fault content via the same route as the diagnostic results of the fault content.

[0086] As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, it is possible to provide an optical communication system 1D that is an all-photonics network including a user device 300B accommodating optical transceivers 311, 321 that communicate with external devices using optical signals, a controller device 100 that controls the user device 300B using control signals, and a gateway device 200B that demultiplexes and multiplexes optical signals transmitted and received on a communication path between the user device 300B and the controller device 100. In the optical communication system 1D, when a failure occurs in communication of a control signal between the user device 300B and the controller device 100, the user device 300B diagnoses the nature of the failure and notifies the controller device 100 of the diagnosis result, and the controller device 100 detects the nature of the failure based on the diagnosis result notified by the user device 300B.

[0087] Specifically, when notifying the user device 300B of the diagnosis result, the user device 300B changes the path for transmitting a control signal between the user device 300B and the controller device 100, and transmits the control signal including the diagnosis result via the changed path.

[0088] The controller device 100 can generate a control signal for the user device 300B based on the diagnostic result notified from the user device 300B, and transmit the generated control signal to the user device 300B using the route changed by the user device 300B.

[0089] The optical transceivers 311 and 321 include control signal transceivers 314 and 324 for transmitting and receiving control signals to and from the controller device 100, and main signal transceivers 315 and 325 for transmitting and receiving main signals including data to and from the corresponding user devices 400 and 500. The user device 300B further includes L2 / L3 switches 312 and 322, which are switching units that switch the output destination between a control signal path including the control signal transceivers 314 and 324 and a main signal path including the main signal transceivers 315 and 325, depending on the identification result of the destination of the input signal. This makes it possible to transmit signals from the control signal path via the main signal path and to transmit signals from the main signal path via the control signal path, based on the identification result. Note that the user device 500 also includes an L2 / L3 switch 512, which is a switching unit, and therefore can transmit signals from the control signal path via the main signal path and to transmit signals from the main signal path via the control signal path.

[0090] The L2 / L3 switch 312 may be provided in the optical transceiver 311, the L2 / L3 switch 322 may be provided in the optical transceiver 321, or the L2 / L3 switch 512 may be provided in the optical transceiver 511.

[0091] The optical communication system 1D also includes a plurality of user devices, including a user device 300B, which is a first user device and which accommodates an optical transceiver 311 that is a first optical transceiver and an optical transceiver 321 that is a second optical transceiver, a user device 400, which is a second user device connected to the optical transceiver 311, and a user device 500, which is a third user device connected to the optical transceiver 321. The first, second, and third optical transceivers each include a control signal transceiver 314, 324, or 514 for transmitting and receiving a control signal to and from the controller device 100, and a main signal transceiver 315, 325, or 515 for transmitting and receiving a main signal including data to be transmitted between the user device and the corresponding user device. When the user device 300, which is the first user device, detects that a failure has occurred in the transmission of a control signal, the reception of a control signal, or the reception of a main signal and a control signal of the optical transceiver 311, which is the first optical transceiver accommodated in the first user device, the user device 300, which is the first user device, transmits a control signal including a diagnostic result from the main signal transceiver 325 of the second optical transceiver to the main signal transceiver 515 of the third optical transceiver accommodated in the third user device, and the user device 500, which is the third user device, transmits a control signal including the diagnostic result received by the main signal transceiver 515 of the third optical transceiver from the control signal transceiver 514 of the third optical transceiver to the controller device 100.

[0092] According to the fourth embodiment, there is also provided an optical communication method executed by an optical communication system that is an all-photonics network including: a user device 300B accommodating an optical transceiver 311 that communicates with an external device using an optical signal; a controller device 100 that controls the user device 300B using a control signal; and a gateway device 200B that demultiplexes and multiplexes optical signals transmitted and received on a communication path between the user device 300B and the controller device 100. This optical communication method is characterized by including the steps of: when a failure occurs in communication of the control signal between the user device 300B and the controller device 100, diagnosing the content of the failure by the user device 300B; notifying the controller device 100 of the diagnosis result; and detecting the content of the failure by the controller device 100 based on the diagnosis result notified from the user device 300B.

[0093] In the step of notifying the diagnostic result, the user device 300B can change a path for transmitting a control signal between the user device 300B and the controller device 100, and transmit the control signal including the diagnostic result via the changed path. The optical communication method can further include a step in which the controller device 100 generates a control signal for the user device 300B based on the diagnostic result notified from the user device 300B, and a step in which the controller device 100 transmits the generated control signal to the user device using the path changed by the user device 300B.

[0094] The optical transceivers 311, 321, and 511 each include a control signal transmitter / receiver 314, 324, or 514 for transmitting and receiving control signals to and from the controller device 100, and a main signal transmitter / receiver 315, 325, or 515 for transmitting and receiving a main signal including data to be transmitted between the corresponding user devices 400, 500, and 300B. The user devices 300B and 500 can change the path for transmitting control signals by using a function to transmit signals from a control signal path including the control signal transmitter / receiver 314, 324, or 514 over a main signal path including the main signal transmitter / receiver 315, 325, or 515, and to transmit signals from the main signal path over a control signal path.

[0095] The user device 300B accommodates multiple optical transceivers 311, 321, and when it detects that a failure has occurred in the transmission of a control signal by one optical transceiver 311, in the step of notifying the diagnostic result, it can transmit a control signal including the diagnostic result from an optical transceiver 321 other than the optical transceiver 311 where the failure has occurred.

[0096] The optical communication system 1D includes a plurality of user devices 300B, 400, and 500, including a first user device and a second user device. When a failure in transmission of a control signal, reception of a control signal, or reception of a main signal and a control signal is detected in the first user device 300B, in a step of notifying a diagnosis result, the first user device 300B transmits the diagnosis result from a main signal transceiver 325 of the first user device to a user device 500, which is a second user device, and the second user device 500 transmits a control signal including the diagnosis result received at a main signal transceiver 515 of the second user device to the controller device 100 from a control signal transceiver 514 of the second user device.

[0097] Embodiment 5 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an optical communication system 1E according to a fifth embodiment. The optical communication system 1E includes a controller device 100, a gateway device 200B, a user device 300B having a plurality of optical transceivers 311 and 321, and a user device 400B having a plurality of optical transceivers 411 and 421. The optical transceiver 311 communicates with the corresponding optical transceiver 411, and the optical transceiver 321 communicates with the corresponding optical transceiver 421.

[0098] In the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. 1, if a failure occurs in the transmission and reception of control signals by the optical transceiver 311 of the user device 300, the controller device 100 is unable to monitor and control the user device 300.

[0099] In the optical communication system 1E of the fifth embodiment, when the user device 300B has an optical transceiver 321 other than the optical transceiver 311 in which a fault has occurred, the optical transceiver 321 has the function of transmitting a control signal including a diagnosis result of the fault content to the optical transceiver 421 of the opposing user device 400 using the main signal system path of the optical transceiver 321, and notifying the controller device 100 of the diagnosis result of the fault content of the user device 300B using the control signal system path from the user device 400 to the controller device 100.

[0100] After the user equipment 300B detects the occurrence of a target failure, the transceiver management and control unit 318 of the optical transceiver 311 or the user equipment management and control unit 310 transmits a control signal including a diagnosis result of the failure content of the optical transceiver 311 to the L2 / L3 switch 322. The target failure may be, for example, a failure in the reception of the control signal by the optical transceiver 311, a failure in the transmission of the control signal by the optical transceiver 311, or a loss of the received main signal and a loss of the received control signal.

[0101] The L2 / L3 switch 322 determines that the input signal is not a main signal and outputs it in the direction of the optical transceiver 321. This control signal is input to the main signal transmitter / receiver 325 via the PHY 327 of the optical transceiver 321, and is output as an optical signal from the main signal transmitter / receiver 325. The output signal is multiplexed with the control signal by the demultiplexer 323, then demultiplexed into a main signal system by the demultiplexer 201-3 of the gateway device 200B, and transmitted to the optical transceiver 421 of the user device 400 via the main signal processing unit 202-2 and the demultiplexer 201-4.

[0102] The control signal including the diagnosis result of the fault content of the optical transceiver 311 is demultiplexed into a main signal by the demultiplexer 423 of the optical transceiver 421 and transmitted to the L2 / L3 switch 422 via the main signal transmitter / receiver 425 and PHY 427. The L2 / L3 switch 422 determines that the input signal is not a main signal, and transmits the control signal including the diagnosis result of the fault content of the optical transceiver 311 to the user equipment management and control unit 410. The control signal including the diagnosis result of the fault content of the optical transceiver 311 is transmitted from the user equipment management and control unit 410 to the controller device 100 via the path of the control signal system of the optical transceiver 411. Specifically, the control signal including the diagnosis result of the fault content of the optical transceiver 311 is input from the user equipment management and control unit 410 to the demultiplexer 201-2 of the gateway device 200B via the switch 416, the control signal transmitter / receiver 414, and the demultiplexer 413. The control signal including the diagnosis result of the fault content of the optical transceiver 311 is transmitted to the controller device 100 via the demultiplexer 201-2 and the control signal photoelectric converter 203-2 of the gateway device 200B.

[0103] Upon receiving the diagnosis result of the fault content, the controller device 100 can detect that a fault has occurred in the user device 300B based on the diagnosis result. Depending on the fault content, the controller device 100 can generate a control signal for the user device 300B and transmit the generated control signal to the user device 300B using the route changed by the user device 300B. Specifically, in the example of FIG. 6 , the control signal from the controller device 100 is transmitted to the optical transceiver 411 of the user device 400 via the control signal photoelectric conversion unit 203-2 and the multiplexing / demultiplexing unit 201-2 of the gateway device 200B. The control signal transmitted to the optical transceiver 411 is transmitted to the L2 / L3 switch 422 via the multiplexing / demultiplexing unit 413, the control signal transmitter / receiver 414, the switch 416, and the user device management / control unit 410. The L2 / L3 switch 422 outputs the control signal to the main signal path based on the destination of the control signal from the controller device 100. That is, this control signal is output from the L2 / L3 switch 422 to the PHY 427, and then transmitted again to the gateway 200B via the main signal transceiver 425 and the demultiplexer 423. Since the control signal from the controller 100 addressed to the user equipment 300B is transmitted from the main signal transceiver 425 via the main signal path, the demultiplexer 201-4 of the gateway 200B separates it into the main signal processor 202-2 and transmits it to the optical transceiver 321 via the demultiplexer 201-3. The control signal transmitted to the demultiplexer 323 of the optical transceiver 321 is transmitted to the L2 / L3 switch 322 via the main signal transceiver 325 and the PHY 327. The L2 / L3 switch 322 identifies the control signal as not being a main signal and outputs it to the user equipment management and control unit 310.

[0104] In addition, the optical transceiver information of the optical transceiver 311 and the user device information of the user device 300B may be notified to the controller device 100 together with the diagnostic results of the fault content, or may be notified to the controller device 100 separately from the diagnostic results of the fault content via the same route as the diagnostic results of the fault content.

[0105] As described above, according to the fifth embodiment, it is possible to provide an optical communication system 1E, which is an all-photonics network, including a user device 300B accommodating optical transceivers 311 and 321 that communicate with external devices using optical signals, a controller device 100 that controls the user device 300B using control signals, and a gateway device 200B that demultiplexes and multiplexes optical signals transmitted and received on a communication path between the user device 300B and the controller device 100. When a failure occurs in communication of a control signal between the user device 300B and the controller device 100, the user device 300B diagnoses the nature of the failure and notifies the controller device 100 of the diagnosis result, and the controller device 100 detects the nature of the failure based on the diagnosis result notified by the user device 300B.

[0106] Here, when notifying the user device 300B of the diagnosis result, the user device 300B can change the path for transmitting a control signal between the user device 300B and the controller device 100, and transmit the control signal including the diagnosis result via the changed path.

[0107] The controller device 100 can generate a control signal for the user device 300B based on the diagnostic result notified from the user device 300B, and transmit the generated control signal to the user device 300B using the route changed by the user device 300B.

[0108] The optical transceivers 311, 321, 411, 421 accommodated in the user equipment 300B, 400B include control signal transceivers 314, 324, 414, 424 for transmitting and receiving control signals to and from the controller device 100, and main signal transceivers 315, 325, 415, 425 for transmitting and receiving main signals including data to and from the opposing user equipment 400, 300B. The user equipment 300B, 400B further includes L2 / L3 switches 312, 322, 412, 422 that are switching units that switch the output destination between a control signal path including the control signal transceivers 314, 324, 414, 424 and a main signal path including the main signal transceivers 315, 325, 415, 425, depending on the destination identification result of the input signal. This makes it possible to transmit signals from the control signal path through the main signal path, and to transmit signals from the main signal path through the control signal path, based on the identification result.

[0109] The switching unit, L2 / L3 switch 312, may be provided in optical transceiver 311, L2 / L3 switch 322 may be provided in optical transceiver 321, L2 / L3 switch 412 may be provided in optical transceiver 421, and L2 / L3 switch 422 may be provided in optical transceiver 421.

[0110] The optical communication system 1E also includes a plurality of user devices, including a user device 300B (first user device) that includes a first optical transceiver and a second optical transceiver, and a user device 400B (second user device) that includes a third optical transceiver opposite the second optical transceiver and a fourth optical transceiver. The first optical transceiver 311, the second optical transceiver 321, the third optical transceiver 421, and the fourth optical transceiver 411 each include a control signal transceiver 314, 324, 424, and 414 for transmitting and receiving control signals to and from a controller device, and a main signal transceiver 315, 325, 425, and 415 for transmitting and receiving a main signal including data to and from the corresponding user device 400B, 300B. When the first user device (UE) 300B detects a failure in the transmission of a control signal, the reception of a control signal, or the reception of a main signal and a control signal by the optical transceiver 311 (the first optical transceiver accommodated in the first user device), the first user device (UE) 300B transmits a control signal including a diagnosis result from the main signal transceiver 325 of the second optical transceiver to the main signal transceiver 425 of the third optical transceiver. The second user device (UE) 400B transmits the control signal including the diagnosis result received by the main signal transceiver 425 of the third optical transceiver from the control signal transceiver 414 of the optical transceiver 411 (the fourth optical transceiver) to the controller 100.

[0111] According to the fifth embodiment, an optical communication method executed by an optical communication system 1E, which is an all-photonics network, can also be provided. The optical communication system 1E includes a user device 300B accommodating an optical transceiver that communicates with an external device using an optical signal, a controller device 100 that controls the user device 300B using a control signal, and a gateway device 200B that demultiplexes and multiplexes optical signals transmitted and received on a communication path between the user device 300B and the controller device 100. The optical communication method includes the steps of: when a failure occurs in communication of the control signal between the user device 300B and the controller device 100, diagnosing the failure; notifying the controller device 100 of the diagnosis result; and detecting the failure based on the diagnosis result notified by the user device 300B.

[0112] In the step of notifying the diagnosis result, the user device 300B can change the path for transmitting the control signal between the user device 300B and the controller device 100, and transmit the control signal including the diagnosis result via the changed path.

[0113] The optical communication method may further include a step in which the controller device 100 generates a control signal to the user device 300B based on the diagnostic result notified from the user device 300B, and a step in which the controller device 100 transmits the generated control signal to the user device using the route changed by the user device 300B.

[0114] The user device 300B accommodates multiple optical transceivers 311, 321, and when it detects that a failure has occurred in the transmission of a control signal by one optical transceiver 311, in the step of notifying the diagnostic result, it can transmit a control signal including the diagnostic result from an optical transceiver 321 other than the optical transceiver 311 where the failure has occurred.

[0115] Next, a hardware configuration for realizing each function of the optical communication systems 1, 1A to 1E according to the first to fifth embodiments of the present disclosure will be described. Each function of the optical communication systems 1, 1A to 1E is realized by a processing circuit. These processing circuits may be realized by dedicated hardware or may be control circuits using a CPU (Central Processing Unit).

[0116] When the processing circuit is realized by a control circuit using a CPU, the control circuit is, for example, a control circuit 90 configured as shown in FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the control circuit 90 for realizing the functions of the optical communication systems 1, 1A to 1E according to the first to fifth embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 7, the control circuit 90 includes a processor 91 and a memory 92. The processor 91 is a CPU, and is also referred to as a central processing unit, a processing unit, an arithmetic unit, a microprocessor, a microcomputer, a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), etc. The memory 92 is, for example, a non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a flash memory, an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an EEPROM (registered trademark), an electrically EPROM (EEPROM), a magnetic disk, a flexible disk, an optical disk, a compact disk, a minidisk, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), etc.

[0117] When the above processing circuit is realized by the control circuit 90, it is realized by the processor 91 reading and executing a program corresponding to the processing of each component, which is stored in the memory 92. The memory 92 is also used as a temporary memory for each process executed by the processor 91. The program may be provided in a state stored in a storage medium, or may be provided via a communication path.

[0118] When the above processing circuits are realized by dedicated hardware, they are realized by a processing circuit 93 shown in Fig. 8. Fig. 8 is a diagram showing dedicated hardware for realizing the functions of the optical communication systems 1, 1A to 1E according to the first to fifth embodiments of the present disclosure. The processing circuit 93 is a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or a combination thereof.

[0119] The above describes the first to fifth embodiments. In the first embodiment, when a fault is detected between the user equipment 300 and the controller device 100, the user equipment 300 autonomously notifies the controller device 100 of the diagnosis result of the fault content without changing the control signal transmission path. In all of the second to fifth embodiments, the control signal transmission path is changed from the normal transmission path. As in the second, fourth, and fifth embodiments, if the user equipment 300B in which a fault has occurred contains multiple optical transceivers 311 and 321, the control signal may be transmitted from an optical transceiver 321 other than the optical transceiver 311 that detected the fault. As in the second embodiment, the diagnosis result of the fault content may be notified using the control signal path of another optical transceiver 321, or the control signal including the diagnosis result of the fault content may be transmitted via the main signal path. Depending on the configuration of the optical communication systems 1, 1A to 1E and the fault content, an alternative path that can be notified to the controller device 100 may be used.

[0120] The configurations shown in the above embodiments are examples of the contents of the present disclosure, and may be combined with other known technologies, or embodiments may be combined with each other, and some of the configurations may be omitted or modified within the scope of the gist of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0121] 1, 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E Optical communication system, 90 Control circuit, 91 Processor, 92 Memory, 93 Processing circuit, 100 Controller device, 101 User device management control manager, 102 Transceiver management control manager, 200, 200B Gateway device, 201, 201-1, 201-2, 201-3, 201-4, 313, 323, 413, 423, 513 Multiplexing and demultiplexing unit, 202, 202-1, 202-2 Main signal processing unit, 203-1, 203-2, 203-3, 203-4 Control signal photoelectric conversion unit, 300, 300A, 300B, 400, 400B, 500 User device, 310, 410, 510 User equipment management control unit, 311, 311A, 321, 411, 421, 511 Optical transceiver, 312, 322, 412, 422, 512 L2 / L3 switch, 314, 324, 414, 424, 514, 3114, 3324 Control signal transceiver, 315, 325, 415, 425, 515 Main signal transceiver, 316, 326, 416, 516 Switch, 317, 327, 417, 427, 517 PHY, 318, 328, 418 Transceiver management control unit.

Claims

1. a user device including an optical transceiver for communicating with an external device using optical signals; a controller device for controlling the user equipment using a control signal; a gateway device that demultiplexes and multiplexes optical signals transmitted and received on a communication path between the user device and the controller device; It is an all-photonics network that includes When a failure occurs in communication of the control signal between the user device and the controller device, the user device diagnoses the content of the failure, changes a path for transmitting the control signal between the user device and the controller device, and notifies the controller device of the diagnosis result by transmitting the control signal including the diagnosis result via the changed path; the controller device detects the type of failure based on the diagnosis result notified from the user device; An optical communication system comprising:

2. The controller device generates a control signal to the user device based on the diagnosis result notified from the user device, and transmits the generated control signal to the user device using the route changed by the user device.

2. The optical communication system according to claim 1.

3. A user device including an optical transceiver that communicates with an external device using optical signals; a controller device for controlling the user equipment using a control signal; a gateway device that demultiplexes and multiplexes optical signals transmitted and received on a communication path between the user device and the controller device; It is an all-photonics network that includes When a failure occurs in communication of the control signal between the user device and the controller device, the user device diagnoses the content of the failure and notifies the controller device of the diagnosis result; the controller device detects the content of the failure based on the diagnosis result notified from the user device; The optical transceiver includes: a control signal transceiver for transmitting and receiving the control signal to and from the controller device; a main signal transceiver for transmitting and receiving a main signal including data to be transmitted between the opposite user equipment; and The user device a switching unit that switches an output destination between a path of a control signal system including the control signal transceiver and a path of a main signal system including the main signal transceiver according to an identification result of a destination of an input signal; Furthermore, Based on the identification result, it is possible to transmit a signal from the path of the control signal system through the path of the main signal system, and to transmit a signal from the path of the main signal system through the path of the control signal system. An optical communication system comprising:

4. a plurality of user devices including a first user device and a second user device; each of the first optical transceiver accommodated in the first user device and the second optical transceiver accommodated in the second user device includes a control signal transceiver for transmitting and receiving the control signal to and from the controller device, and a main signal transceiver for transmitting and receiving a main signal including data to be transmitted between the opposing user device and the controller device; When the first user equipment detects that a failure has occurred in transmission of the control signal, reception of the control signal, or reception of the main signal and the control signal, the first user device transmits the control signal including the diagnosis result from the main signal transceiver of the first optical transceiver to the second user device; The second user device transmits the control signal, including the diagnosis result received by the main signal transceiver of the second optical transceiver, from the control signal transceiver of the second optical transceiver to the controller device.

4. The optical communication system according to claim 3.

5. A user device including an optical transceiver for communicating with an external device using optical signals; a controller device for controlling the user equipment using a control signal; a gateway device that demultiplexes and multiplexes optical signals transmitted and received on a communication path between the user device and the controller device; It is an all-photonics network that includes When a failure occurs in communication of the control signal between the user device and the controller device, the user device diagnoses the content of the failure and notifies the controller device of the diagnosis result; the controller device detects the content of the failure based on the diagnosis result notified from the user device; The optical transceiver includes: a control signal transceiver for transmitting and receiving the control signal to and from the controller device; a main signal transceiver for transmitting and receiving a main signal including data to be transmitted between the opposite user equipment; a switching unit that switches an output destination between a path of a control signal system including the control signal transceiver and a path of a main signal system including the main signal transceiver according to an identification result of a destination of an input signal; and Based on the identification result, it is possible to transmit a signal from the path of the control signal system through the path of the main signal system, and to transmit a signal from the path of the main signal system through the path of the control signal system. An optical communication system comprising:

6. A user device including an optical transceiver for communicating with an external device using optical signals; a controller device for controlling the user equipment using a control signal; a gateway device that demultiplexes and multiplexes optical signals transmitted and received on a communication path between the user device and the controller device; It is an all-photonics network that includes When a failure occurs in communication of the control signal between the user device and the controller device, the user device diagnoses the content of the failure and notifies the controller device of the diagnosis result; the controller device detects the content of the failure based on the diagnosis result notified from the user device; The user device housing a first optical transceiver and a second optical transceiver; each of the first optical transceiver and the second optical transceiver includes a control signal transceiver for transmitting and receiving the control signal to and from the controller device; When detecting that a failure has occurred in the transmission of the control signal by the first optical transceiver, a control signal including the diagnosis result transmitted from the control signal transceiver of the second optical transceiver; An optical communication system comprising:

7. A system comprising: a plurality of user devices each containing an optical transceiver for communicating with an external device using an optical signal; a controller device for controlling the user equipment using a control signal; a gateway device that demultiplexes and multiplexes optical signals transmitted and received on a communication path between the user device and the controller device; It is an all-photonics network that includes When a failure occurs in communication of the control signal between the user device and the controller device, the user device diagnoses the content of the failure and notifies the controller device of the diagnosis result; the controller device detects the content of the failure based on the diagnosis result notified from the user device; a plurality of user devices including a first user device accommodating a first optical transceiver and a second optical transceiver, a second user device facing the first optical transceiver, and a third user device facing the second optical transceiver and accommodating a third optical transceiver; each of the first optical transceiver, the second optical transceiver, and the third optical transceiver includes a control signal transceiver for transmitting and receiving the control signal to and from the controller device, and a main signal transceiver for transmitting and receiving a main signal including data to be transmitted to and from a corresponding user device; When a first user device detects that a failure has occurred in transmission of the control signal, reception of the control signal, or reception of the main signal and the control signal by a first optical transceiver accommodated in the first user device, the first user device transmits the control signal including the diagnosis result from the main signal transceiver of the second optical transceiver to the main signal transceiver of a third optical transceiver accommodated in the third user device; The third user device transmits the control signal, including the diagnosis result received by the main signal transceiver of the third optical transceiver, from a control signal transceiver of the third optical transceiver to the controller device. An optical communication system comprising:

8. A plurality of user devices each containing an optical transceiver for communicating with an external device using an optical signal; a controller device for controlling the user equipment using a control signal; a gateway device that demultiplexes and multiplexes optical signals transmitted and received on a communication path between the user device and the controller device; It is an all-photonics network that includes When a failure occurs in communication of the control signal between the user device and the controller device, the user device diagnoses the content of the failure and notifies the controller device of the diagnosis result; the controller device detects the content of the failure based on the diagnosis result notified from the user device; a plurality of user devices including a first user device accommodating a first optical transceiver and a second optical transceiver, a second user device accommodating a third optical transceiver opposite the second optical transceiver, and a fourth optical transceiver; each of the first optical transceiver, the second optical transceiver, the third optical transceiver, and the fourth optical transceiver includes a control signal transceiver for transmitting and receiving the control signal to and from the controller device, and a main signal transceiver for transmitting and receiving a main signal including data to be transmitted to and from a corresponding user device; When a first user device detects that a failure has occurred in transmission of the control signal, reception of the control signal, or reception of the main signal and the control signal by a first optical transceiver accommodated in the first user device, the first user device transmits the control signal including the diagnostic result from the main signal transceiver of the second optical transceiver to the main signal transceiver of the third optical transceiver; The second user device transmits the control signal, including the diagnosis result received by the main signal transceiver of the third optical transceiver, from a control signal transceiver of the fourth optical transceiver to the controller device. An optical communication system comprising:

9. In the optical communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, Detecting the fault content based on the diagnosis result notified from the user device; receiving a control signal including the diagnosis result in which a path for transmitting the control signal is changed by the user device; A controller device characterized by:

10. In the optical communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, If a failure occurs in communication of the control signal with the controller device, the content of the failure is diagnosed and the controller device is notified of the diagnosis result; When notifying the diagnostic result, a path for transmitting the control signal between the controller device and the control device is changed, and the control signal including the diagnostic result is transmitted through the changed path. A user device characterized in that:

11. A user device including an optical transceiver for communicating with an external device using optical signals; a controller device for controlling the user equipment using a control signal; a gateway device that demultiplexes and multiplexes optical signals transmitted and received on a communication path between the user device and the controller device; An optical communication method executed by an optical communication system that is an all-photonics network comprising: a step of diagnosing the content of the failure when a failure occurs in communication of the control signal between the user device and the controller device; the user device notifying the controller device of a diagnosis result; the controller device detecting a fault content based on the diagnosis result notified from the user device; Including, In the step of notifying the diagnosis result, the user device changes a path for transmitting the control signal between the user device and the controller device, and transmits the control signal including the diagnosis result through the changed path. An optical communication method comprising:

12. generating a control signal to the user device based on the diagnosis result notified by the user device; The controller device transmits the generated control signal to the user device using the route changed by the user device; Also includes 12. The optical communication method according to claim 11.

13. The optical transceiver includes: a control signal transceiver for transmitting and receiving the control signal to and from the controller device; a main signal transceiver for transmitting and receiving a main signal including data to be transmitted between the opposite user equipment; and The user equipment changes the path for transmitting the control signal by using a function of transmitting a signal from a path of a control signal system including the control signal transceiver through a path of a main signal system including the main signal transceiver, and transmitting a signal from the path of the main signal system through a path of the control signal system.

13. The optical communication method according to claim 11 or 12.

14. A user device including an optical transceiver for communicating with an external device using optical signals; a controller device for controlling the user equipment using a control signal; a gateway device that demultiplexes and multiplexes optical signals transmitted and received on a communication path between the user device and the controller device; An optical communication method executed by an optical communication system that is an all-photonics network comprising: a step of diagnosing the content of the failure when a failure occurs in communication of the control signal between the user device and the controller device; the user device notifying the controller device of a diagnosis result; the controller device detecting a fault content based on the diagnosis result notified from the user device; Including, The user device a plurality of the optical transceivers; When it is detected that a failure has occurred in the transmission of the control signal by one of the optical transceivers, In the step of notifying the diagnostic result, the control signal including the diagnostic result is transmitted from an optical transceiver other than the optical transceiver in which the failure occurred. An optical communication method comprising:

15. A user device including an optical transceiver for communicating with an external device using optical signals; a controller device for controlling the user equipment using a control signal; a gateway device that demultiplexes and multiplexes optical signals transmitted and received on a communication path between the user device and the controller device; An optical communication method executed by an optical communication system that is an all-photonics network comprising: a step of diagnosing the content of the failure when a failure occurs in communication of the control signal between the user device and the controller device; the user device notifying the controller device of a diagnosis result; the controller device detecting a fault content based on the diagnosis result notified from the user device; Including, the optical communication system comprises a plurality of user devices including a first user device and a second user device; When it is detected that a failure has occurred in transmission of the control signal, reception of the control signal, or reception of the main signal and the control signal in the first user device, In the step of notifying the diagnosis result, the first user device transmits the diagnosis result from a main signal transceiver of the first user device to the second user device; The second user device transmits the control signal, including the diagnosis result received by the main signal transceiver of the second user device, from the control signal transceiver of the second user device to the controller device. An optical communication method comprising:

16. A user device including an optical transceiver for communicating with an external device using optical signals; a controller device for controlling the user equipment using a control signal; a gateway device that demultiplexes and multiplexes optical signals transmitted and received on a communication path between the user device and the controller device; An optical communication method executed by an optical communication system that is an all-photonics network comprising: a step of diagnosing the content of the failure when a failure occurs in communication of the control signal between the user device and the controller device; the user device notifying the controller device of a diagnosis result; the controller device detecting a fault content based on the diagnosis result notified from the user device; Including, the optical communication system comprises a plurality of user devices, including a first user device accommodating a first optical transceiver and a second optical transceiver, a second user device facing the first optical transceiver, and a third user device facing the second optical transceiver and accommodating a third optical transceiver; each of the first optical transceiver, the second optical transceiver, and the third optical transceiver includes a control signal transceiver for transmitting and receiving the control signal to and from the controller device, and a main signal transceiver for transmitting and receiving a main signal including data to be transmitted to and from a corresponding user device; When a first user device detects that a failure has occurred in transmission of the control signal, reception of the control signal, or reception of the main signal and the control signal by a first optical transceiver accommodated in the first user device, In the step of notifying the diagnosis result, the first user device transmits a control signal including the diagnosis result from the main signal transceiver of the second optical transceiver to the main signal transceiver of a third optical transceiver accommodated in the third user device; The third user device transmits a control signal including the diagnosis result received by the main signal transceiver of the third optical transceiver from a control signal transceiver of the third optical transceiver to the controller device. An optical communication method comprising:

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