Optical Network Path Restoration Against Multiple Failures

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current optical transport networks face challenges in quickly recovering from multiple failures without high resource consumption, as existing solutions require locating the failure and often take several seconds to restore services, which can lead to data loss and significant business disruptions.

Innovation Solution

A pre-planned path restoration scheme that pre-calculates multiple recovery paths for each working path, allowing simultaneous request messages to be sent through these paths, enabling quick recovery without needing to know the exact failure location, and utilizing backward resource reservation to establish connections.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Loss of time

If pre-calculated recovery paths are simultaneously used to try to communicate, then recovery speed is improved (less than 200ms), but resource consumption increases due to multiple path attempts

Engineering Contradiction:
Improverecovery timeVSAvoidresource consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of timeVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent pre-calculates multiple recovery paths in advance before failures occur. When a failure is detected, the system simultaneously attempts to establish communication through multiple pre-computed recovery paths, eliminating the need for real-time path calculation and achieving recovery in less than 200ms.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system dynamically selects and activates recovery paths based on real-time failure conditions. Multiple recovery paths are pre-calculated with different characteristics, and the system adaptively chooses which paths to attempt simultaneously based on the specific failure scenario, optimizing both speed and resource usage.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #15Dynamics

2Reliability

If multiple recovery paths are pre-calculated and simultaneously attempted, then reliability against multiple failures is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvesurvival against multiple failuresVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the recovery process into distinct phases: pre-calculation phase where multiple recovery paths are computed in advance, detection phase where failures are identified, and execution phase where pre-calculated paths are simultaneously attempted. This segmentation manages complexity by handling different aspects separately rather than simultaneously.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces a control mechanism that acts as an intermediary to manage the simultaneous attempts across multiple recovery paths. This intermediary coordinates the path selection, activation, and resource allocation, simplifying the overall system complexity while maintaining high reliability.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Quantity of substance

If backward resource reservation is used to establish connections, then resource management is improved, but processing time increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveresource management efficiencyVSAvoidconnection establishment time
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs backward resource reservation in advance, before failures occur. During normal operation, resources along potential recovery paths are pre-reserved and prepared. When a failure occurs, these pre-reserved resources can be immediately activated, eliminating the need for real-time resource allocation and maintaining fast recovery times.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP2666250B1Procedure and system for optical network survival against multiple failures
Publication Date: 2017.04.26 TELEFONICA SA
  • EP2666250B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2666250B1 patent drawingFigure 2~3
  • EP2666250B1 patent drawingFigure 4~5

AI summary

The procedure comprises using a pre-planned path restoration scheme for computing in advance, or pre-calculating, recovery paths for recovering failed working paths, and particularly comprises pre-calculating a set of recovery paths for each working path linking an origin node with a destination node, and simultaneously using the recovery paths of the set of recovery paths to try to communicate the origin node with the destination node, in case of one or more failures have been produced in the working path. The system is arranged for pre-calculating a set of recovery paths for each working path and simultaneously using them to recover a working path failure, and is apt for implementing the procedure.