Predictive Path Protection for Optical Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional optical networks face challenges in dynamically managing bandwidth and recovering from failures, particularly in metropolitan area/core networks, where real-time rerouting recovery is slow and requires costly dedicated 1+1 protection resources.
Innovation Solution
A path protection method that predicts potential failures by monitoring optical performance indicators and proactively reserves resources for backup paths, allowing for fast service recovery without the need for double resources, using a combination of RSVP-TE and FFP apparatuses to establish temporary protection groups within 50 ms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If real-time rerouting recovery is performed after fiber failure, then service recovery is achieved, but recovery time is slow (order of hundreds of milliseconds)
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by predicting potential fiber failures before they occur and pre-establishing protection paths in advance. When a failure is predicted, the system proactively sets up backup routes and reserves resources, so that when actual failure occurs, service switching can happen immediately without waiting for real-time rerouting calculations, thus reducing recovery time from hundreds of milliseconds to much faster levels.
2Reliability
If dedicated 1+1 protection is configured to implement fast service switching, then service recovery speed is improved, but resource cost doubles
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts protection resource allocation based on predicted failure risks. Instead of statically allocating double resources for all paths (dedicated 1+1 protection), the system selectively activates protection paths only for connections that are predicted to fail, and only reserves resources when needed. This dynamic approach maintains fast service switching capability while significantly reducing overall resource consumption compared to universal dedicated protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the state of protection resources from always-active (dedicated 1+1) to conditionally-active based on failure prediction parameters. By monitoring fiber health parameters and predicting failures, the system transitions protection resources from a static double-resource state to a dynamic state where resources are allocated based on actual risk assessment, thus reducing resource requirements while maintaining recovery speed.
3Ease of operation
If conventional optical network uses centralized management with manual intervention, then connection establishment is simple, but network bandwidth cannot adapt to growth of IP data services
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables the optical network to serve itself by implementing automated failure prediction and protection path establishment. Instead of requiring manual intervention for connection management and bandwidth allocation, the system autonomously monitors fiber health, predicts failures, calculates protection paths, and establishes backup connections without human involvement. This self-service capability maintains operational simplicity while providing dynamic bandwidth adaptation to IP data service growth.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms by continuously monitoring fiber performance parameters and using this information to predict failures and adjust protection strategies. The feedback loop allows the network to automatically adapt bandwidth allocation and protection resource distribution based on real-time conditions, enabling flexibility in responding to IP data service growth while maintaining simple centralized management through automated decision-making.
Data Source
AI summary
A path protection method includes receiving, by a source node of a first path, a path event notify message from a first node on the first path. The path event notify message includes indication information that the first path is predicted to fail. The path protection method further includes obtaining, by the source node, information about a predicted protection path. The information about the predicted protection path includes resource information of a second path useable to protect a service on the first path. The first path and the second path include the source node and a same sink node. The path protection method further includes storing, by the source node, the resource information of the second path.