Directionless Optical Architecture for Resilient ROADM Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current optical network architectures face challenges in maintaining high availability and resiliency due to static connectivity, which leads to prolonged downtime and increased maintenance complexity, especially in the event of fiber failures, and are limited by the need for costly high-speed interfaces and manual reconfiguration.
Innovation Solution
A directionless optical architecture that utilizes a wavelength switch between client devices and reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers (ROADMs) to eliminate hard-wired connections, enabling automatic rerouting and minimizing costly optical transceivers, while integrating with existing mesh restoration schemes for enhanced resiliency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If static connectivity is used in optical networks, then device complexity is reduced, but reliability deteriorates due to prolonged downtime during failures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic connectivity by enabling ROADMs to reconfigure optical paths in real-time based on network conditions and failures. The system transitions from static hard-wired connections to dynamic software-controlled routing, allowing automatic rerouting around failures while maintaining manageable complexity through centralized control.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where the control plane continuously monitors network status and automatically adjusts optical paths in response to detected failures. This closed-loop control enables rapid restoration of service by detecting failures and reconfiguring connections without manual intervention.
2Device complexity
If manual reconfiguration is used for network restoration, then device complexity is reduced, but loss of time increases due to prolonged restoration duration
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements self-service automation where the network automatically detects failures, calculates alternative paths, and reconfigures optical connections without human intervention. The intelligent control plane performs these restoration functions autonomously, eliminating manual reconfiguration delays while keeping individual device complexity low.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-calculates and prepares alternative routing paths before failures occur. When a failure is detected, the pre-computed restoration paths enable immediate switching, significantly reducing restoration time while avoiding complex real-time decision-making at each device.
3Productivity
If high-speed interfaces are deployed for capacity expansion, then productivity is improved, but cost increases due to expensive optical transceivers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes optical transceivers universal and multi-functional by enabling a single transceiver to serve multiple routing destinations through dynamic ROADMs. Instead of requiring dedicated high-speed interfaces for each possible destination, a single transceiver can be dynamically switched to different paths, reducing the total number of expensive transceivers needed while maintaining high network capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates virtual copies of connectivity paths through optical switching rather than physical copies of transceivers. A single physical transceiver can be logically switched to serve multiple destinations sequentially, effectively copying its functionality across different routes without requiring duplicate hardware for each path.
Data Source
AI summary
A directionless optical architecture is described for reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers (ROADMs) and wavelength selective switches (WSSs). The directionless architecture utilizes a directionless wavelength switch coupled between client devices and ROADMs/WSSs to eliminate the need to hard-wire client devices to a wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) network. Accordingly, client device connections can be automatically routed without manual intervention to provide a highly resilient network design which can recover route diversity during failure scenarios. Additionally, the present invention minimizes deployments of costly optical transceivers while providing superior resiliency. Further, the present invention couples the directionless optical architecture and associated optical protection mechanisms with existing mesh restoration schemes to provide additional resiliency.