ROADM Protection Light Path Rerouting
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing optical networks face challenges in maintaining communication integrity when primary light paths fail, particularly in scenarios where direct protection light paths are not available or are damaged, leading to potential disruptions in wavelength division multiplexing systems.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a redundant protection light path system where colorless, directionless, and contentionless reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers (ROADMs) are connected by both primary and protection light paths, allowing for automatic switching to indirect protection paths through additional ROADMs when direct paths are unavailable, ensuring continuous communication by activating alternative directions and internal paths.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If direct protection light paths are implemented between ROADMs, then network reliability is improved, but device complexity increases due to requiring additional protection paths and switching mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a controller as an intermediary component that manages protection light paths between ROADMs. The controller receives indications of primary path failures and automatically configures protection paths through the ROADMs, eliminating the need for complex manual switching mechanisms at each ROADM while maintaining high network reliability through automated failover
2Reliability
If multiple protection light paths are configured, then network reliability is improved, but loss of time increases due to path switching operations when failures occur
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-configures protection light paths in advance through the controller, so that when a primary path failure occurs, the switch to protection paths can happen rapidly without requiring time-consuming path setup operations. The protection paths are prepared beforehand but remain inactive until needed, minimizing switching time while maintaining reliability
3Reliability
If redundant protection paths are implemented, then network reliability is improved, but use of energy increases due to maintaining multiple active light paths
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically activates or deactivates protection light paths based on the operational status of primary paths. The controller monitors primary path health and selectively activates protection paths only when failures are detected, rather than maintaining all protection paths in a permanently active state. This dynamic approach ensures network reliability through available protection paths while minimizing energy consumption by keeping them dormant during normal operation
Data Source
AI summary
A first reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexers (ROADM) and a second ROADM are connected by a primary light path and a protection light path. The first ROADM includes a first direction and a second direction, and the second ROADM includes a third direction and a fourth direction. The primary light path is coupled between the first direction and the third direction, and the protection light path is coupled between the second direction and the fourth direction. Transmissions on the primary light path are monitored, and when a problem is detected on the primary light path, the first and third directions are deactivated and the second and fourth directions are activated so that additional light signals are sent on the protection light path and not on the primary light path.