Optical Core Network with Fast-Switching Planes
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current network infrastructure faces performance degradation due to large network diameters and the need for complex protocols, limiting the capacity and throughput of routers, which hinders the realization of high-performance, broadband capabilities.
Innovation Solution
A network architecture featuring multiple independent fast-switching optical switch planes with a full mesh structure, where each switch plane has dual channels from edge nodes, and a switch-plane controller for simplified control and flow-rate allocation, enabling direct paths between edge nodes and reducing the number of hops.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional packet-switching routers are used in multi-hop networks, then network coverage can be achieved, but performance degrades due to large network diameter and cumulative degradation across multiple routers
Solution Approach 1:
The network is segmented into optical core nodes and edge nodes, with optical core nodes forming a reduced-diameter backbone that handles high-speed traffic between major cities. This segmentation allows the network to achieve both wide coverage and small diameter by separating the functions of coverage expansion (edge nodes) from performance-critical traffic routing (optical core nodes).
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from traditional electronic packet switching to optical domain switching, adding an optical dimension to the network architecture. Optical core nodes switch traffic at the optical level rather than converting to electronic packets, enabling faster switching speeds and reducing the number of hops needed between major destinations.
2Length of moving object
If router dimension and capacity are increased to reduce network diameter, then performance improves, but device complexity and manufacturing challenges increase
Solution Approach 1:
The switching function is segmented between optical core nodes (handling high-speed optical switching) and edge nodes (handling connection to access networks). This allows the system to achieve large capacity without requiring every node to be a high-dimensional electronic router, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining small network diameter.
Solution Approach 2:
Electronic packet switching mechanisms are replaced with optical switching mechanisms at the core level. Optical switches can handle much higher capacities with simpler electronics, reducing the complexity requirements for achieving large router dimension and capacity needed to minimize network diameter.
3Productivity
If electronic domain processing is used for signal switching, then routing control is simplified, but throughput is limited by processing speed and conversion requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The invention substitutes electronic signal processing with optical signal switching in the core network. Optical core nodes switch modulated optical carrier signals directly without extracting baseband signals for electronic processing and re-modulation, achieving much higher throughput while simplifying the processing requirements through optical-domain operations.
Solution Approach 2:
Optical signals can be switched continuously at high speeds without the discrete packet processing steps required in electronic domains. The optical core nodes maintain continuous optical carrier signals and switch them directly to destination edge nodes, eliminating the throughput-limiting conversion steps and enabling sustained high-speed data transmission.
4Adaptability or versatility
If complex routing protocols are used to handle performance issues, then network adaptability improves, but control scheme complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The network is divided into optical core nodes that handle high-speed traffic routing and edge nodes that provide service access. This segmentation allows complex services to be offered at the edge while the core maintains simple optical switching functionality, reducing control scheme complexity at the core level while preserving service adaptability through edge node capabilities.
Data Source
AI summary
Multiple switch planes, each having meshed bufferless switch units, connect source nodes to sink nodes to form a communications network. Each directed pair of source and sink nodes has a first-order path traversing a single switch unit in a corresponding switch plane and multiple second-order paths each traversing two switch units in one of the remaining switch planes. To reduce processing effort and minimize requisite switching hardware, connectivity patterns of source nodes and sink nodes to the switch planes are selected so that each pair of source node and sink node connects only once to a common switch unit. Widely-varying flow rates may be allocated from each source node to the sink nodes. To handle frequent changes of flow-rate allocations, in order to follow variations of traffic distribution, a high-throughput scheduling system employing coordinated multiple scheduler units is provided in each switch plane.