Sub-IP Network Architecture for Scalable Metro Data Center Traffic
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Solution Overview
Problem
Broadband network service providers face challenges in scaling their infrastructure to meet growing video traffic demands while maintaining profitability, as conventional solutions like DWDM and IP router upgrades are limited by cost and power density constraints, and existing hybrid packet-optical architectures lack efficient automatic resource configuration and scalability across wide area networks.
Innovation Solution
A scalable broadband metro network architecture that minimizes IP routing by using a programmable sub-IP network with reconfigurable add/drop multiplexers and SDN control, allowing direct user access to data centers for traffic aggregation and grooming, reducing the need for complex IP routers and enhancing network density and cost efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If DWDM transmission capacity is increased through spectral efficiency improvements, then transmission capacity is improved, but transmission distance becomes severely limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex IP routing with optical circuit switching, substituting electronic packet processing with optical wavelength multiplexing and demultiplexing. This allows direct optical paths for aggregated traffic flows, eliminating the need for electronic conversion and re-routing at each node, thereby extending transmission distance while maintaining high capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments traffic flows into aggregate connections that are routed optically through dedicated wavelength paths. By dividing the network into optical transport segments and electrical processing segments, traffic is aggregated and transmitted over long distances optically, then processed electrically only at endpoints, resolving the distance-capacity tradeoff.
2Adaptability or versatility
If IP router complexity is increased to manage large numbers of flows, then flow management capability is improved, but cost and power consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes electronic IP routing with optical circuit switching, replacing complex electronic packet processing and forwarding logic with optical wavelength-based path selection. This eliminates the need for high-power electronic ASICs and buffer memory, dramatically reducing power consumption while maintaining flow management capability through optical add/drop multiplexers.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the flow management function from complex IP routers and implements it through simpler optical add/drop multiplexers that handle aggregated traffic. By separating flow aggregation (optical) from individual packet processing (electrical), the system reduces power consumption while maintaining adaptability.
3Ease of manufacture
If functional integration of transmission and switching is implemented, then network cost is reduced, but overall system density is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network into distinct optical transport functions (DWDM multiplexing, optical switching) and electrical processing functions (IP routing, packet processing). This functional segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently, achieving high density in optical layers while maintaining cost-effectiveness through specialized hardware rather than integrated multi-functional devices.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
A data center 10, 50 utilizing an architecture minimizing Internet Protocol (IP) routing therein includes one or more service edge network elements 68 located in the data center, wherein a sub-IP network 74 communicatively couples the one or more service edge network elements to one or more customer edge network elements 66 located at or near demarcation points between a customer edge network 62 and a service provider network, wherein the one or more customer edge network elements and the one or more service edge network elements are configured to provide direct user access to the data center for a plurality of users 46; and a control system 80 communicatively coupled to the one or more service edge network elements and the sub-IP network, wherein the control system is configured to control resources on the sub-IP network and the data center for the plurality of users.