Fiber Optic Cabinet Backup Connectivity via Mobile Switching
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Solution Overview
Problem
Fiber optic networks face disruptions when a central office or mobile switching center fails due to catastrophic events, leading to service outages for connected premises.
Innovation Solution
Equipping remote cabinets with equipment to receive and distribute service from a secondary source via cabling, allowing a mobile switching center in the form of a vehicle to provide temporary service while the central office is repaired, utilizing external patch panels and hardened fiber optic cables to maintain network connectivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a central office or mobile switching center fails due to catastrophic events, then service continuity is disrupted, but equipping remote cabinets with backup equipment increases device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by pre-installing backup reception equipment and secondary source interfaces in remote cabinets before failures occur. This allows the cabinets to immediately receive and distribute service from alternative sources when the central office fails, eliminating service disruption without requiring complex real-time decision-making or reconfiguration during the failure event.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses remote cabinets as intermediary nodes that can receive service from either the central office or a secondary source. These cabinets act as mediators that distribute service to premises regardless of which source is active, enabling seamless failover while keeping the overall system architecture relatively simple through standardized interface points.
2Reliability
If backup equipment is installed in remote cabinets to receive service from a secondary source, then service reliability improves, but manufacturing and installation complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by designing remote cabinets with multi-functional capability to receive service from both the central office and secondary sources through standardized interfaces. The same cabinet infrastructure serves dual purposes under different operational conditions, eliminating the need for separate backup cabinet installations and simplifying manufacturing through standardized, versatile components.
3Loss of time
If a mobile switching center in vehicle form is deployed to provide temporary service, then service restoration time is reduced, but the complexity of deploying and managing mobile units increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies segmentation by dividing the network into independent segments where remote cabinets can operate autonomously with backup equipment. This modular approach allows the mobile switching center to connect to specific cabinet segments as needed, enabling rapid deployment to affected areas without requiring complex system-wide reconfiguration or centralized control infrastructure.
Data Source
AI summary
A fiber optic network (10) includes a mobile switching center (MSC) (12) which distributes fiber optic signals to one or more remote cabinets (40, 42, 44). The remote cabinets (40, 42, 44) distribute signals to one or more customers. The cabinets (40, 42, 44) receive service from the MSC (12) or from a temporary service provider, such as a vehicle (500), in the event of a catastrophic failure of the MSC (12). The cabinets (40, 42, 44) include equipment which allows patching to a temporary service provider through a patch panel (200), and sub-racks (154, 156, 158) and supporting cabling (134, 136) to provide service to each of the cabinets in the network.