ASON Route Inquiry via Protocol Intermediary
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing route inquiry methods in automatic switched optical networks (ASON) fail when a network element lacks a routing controller (RC), as they rely on complete routing information that may not be available at every node, leading to incomplete route calculations and failures in route inquiry.
Innovation Solution
A method where a connection controller (CC) of a node without an RC sends a Route Request protocol message to a remote node with a PC and RC, which forwards the request to the RC for route calculation, and returns the result through protocol messages, allowing route inquiry even when a node lacks a RC by interacting with other nodes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a node in ASON is designed without a Routing Controller (RC) to simplify network element structure, then device complexity is reduced, but the node cannot perform route inquiry independently
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a Protocol Controller (PC) as an intermediary component that enables nodes without RC to perform route inquiry. The PC acts as a mediator between the Connection Controller (CC) and remote nodes with RC, allowing the node to send route requests and receive route responses through protocol message forwarding without having its own RC.
2Measurement precision
If each node stores complete routing information for the entire ASON, then route calculation accuracy is improved, but memory requirements and information storage complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the routing information storage function across multiple nodes in the network. Instead of requiring each node to store complete routing information, the system divides the routing database among different nodes, with each node storing only its local routing information. The PC coordinates with remote nodes to obtain additional routing information when needed, thereby maintaining route calculation accuracy while reducing individual node storage requirements.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the system uses distributed control where any node may lack certain components like RC, then system flexibility and adaptability are improved, but route inquiry reliability deteriorates when a node lacks RC
Solution Approach 1:
The PC serves as a reliable intermediary that ensures route inquiry functionality even when a node lacks RC. The PC maintains the capability to perform route inquiry and can forward requests to remote nodes with RC, thereby ensuring route inquiry reliability while allowing nodes to have flexible configurations without required RC components.
Data Source
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AI summary
A route inquiry method in ASON for implementing the route inquiry by the network element NE1 which has a protocol controller (PC) and a connection controller (CC) but without a route controller (RC) or routing database (RDB) having no enough information includes: NE1 sends a protocol message of Route Request to the remote NE2, then the NE2 obtains the route result according to the Route Request, and returns the result to NE1 which launches the Route Request by protocol message of Route Response; the PC of NE1 sends the route result to the CC of local network element after receiving the Route Response protocol message. The method of the present invention enables the route inquiry to be done even if the present network element hasn't a RC by interacting with the remote network elements by protocol, meanwhile, it is compatible with the prior route inquiry technique, easy and reliable. The invention can be implemented in the field of data and ASON.