Optical Coax Bridge Emulating ONUs for EPON and Coax Integration
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing communication networks struggle to seamlessly integrate Ethernet passive optical networks (EPON) with coaxial cable-based access networks, as standard Optical Line Terminals (OLTs) lack the ability to distinguish between Optical Network Units (ONUs) and Coaxial Network Units (CNUs), leading to issues in network provisioning, management, and data transmission across different media types.
Innovation Solution
A standard OLT is deployed with ONUs, and a converter, such as an Optical-to-Coax Bridge (OCB) device, is used to translate the behavior of CNUs into that of ONUs, allowing the OLT to communicate with both types of units without differentiation, enabling interoperability and concurrent operation of optical and coaxial cable networks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a standard OLT is deployed to communicate with both ONUs and CNUs, then network versatility is improved, but the OLT cannot distinguish between different network unit types leading to provisioning and management issues
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an Optical-to-Coax Bridge (OCB) as an intermediary device between the OLT and CNUs. The OCB translates Coaxial signals to Optical signals, allowing the OLT to communicate with CNUs through optical fiber infrastructure. This mediator enables the OLT to treat CNUs as ONUs transparently, resolving the distinction problem while maintaining network versatility.
2Reliability
If optical fiber is deployed to all customers, then network quality is improved, but deployment cost increases for areas without existing optical infrastructure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the OLT universal by enabling it to serve both optical fiber customers (through ONUs) and coaxial cable customers (through OCBs). This multi-functionality allows the same OLT infrastructure to support diverse access technologies, avoiding the need to deploy optical fiber to every customer premise while maintaining high network quality where optical is available.
Solution Approach 2:
The OCB acts as a bridge that allows coaxial cable customers to access the optical network through the OLT. By using the OCB as an intermediary, customers without optical fiber infrastructure can still benefit from the optical network's high quality without requiring direct optical fiber deployment to their premises.
3Measurement precision
If the OLT treats ONUs and CNUs differently, then network management precision is improved, but system complexity increases due to differentiation requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The OCB translates Coaxial signals to Optical signals in a way that is transparent to the OLT. From the OLT's perspective, both ONUs and CNUs appear as identical optical network units. This translation mechanism allows precise network management through unified treatment while avoiding the complexity of differentiation logic in the OLT.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for unifying an EPON network and a coax-based access network may include, in a network with an Ethernet passive optical network (EPON) optical line terminal (OLT), coaxial network units (CNUs), and an optical coax bridge (OCB) with a plurality of virtual optical network units (vONUs) each comprising a plurality of logical link identifiers (LLIDs) and having its own MAC address, each vONU corresponding to one CNU: forming, in the OCB, each of the plurality of vONUs when a respective CNU is admitted to a coax network coupled to the OCB; communicating data transmissions from an optical fiber network to the coax network, and data transmissions from the coax network to the optical fiber network, via said OCB; and transmitting and receiving data packets between the OLT and the at least one CNU. The OCB may emulate an optical network unit (ONU) relative to the OLT.