Optical cross-connect device, optical transmission system, and optical transmission line connection error detection method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11812205-B2
Application number	US-201917625028-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 12, 2019
Priority date	Jul 12, 2019
Publication date	Nov 7, 2023
Grant date	Nov 7, 2023

Abstract

A monitoring control unit ( 22 ) of an OXC ( 20 d ) stores a management table ( 22 a ) in which pieces of information regarding a modulation mode, an FEC, and a frame mode of an optical signal are associated with each other, and sequentially changes the modulation mode, the FEC, and the frame mode according to the management table ( 22 a ) upon an LOS alert from a relay-side optical input/output unit ( 24 ) or an LOF alert from a DSP ( 25 ) being input thereto. Upon successfully receiving an appropriate optical signal according to the change, the monitoring control unit ( 22 ) acquires transmission source information included in the optical signal, and detects an occurrence of erroneous connection of an optical transmission line in an OXC ( 20 g ), which serves as a relay apparatus, when the acquired transmission source information indicates an optical cross-connect apparatus that is a transmission source different from an original transmission source.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An optical cross-connect apparatus comprising:
a monitoring control unit including one or more processors, the monitoring control unit connected to an OpS (Operation System) that is configured to perform control related to operation and maintenance of a plurality of optical cross-connect apparatuses that are connected to an optical network;
a relay-side optical input/output unit, including one or more processors, configured to output an LOS (Loss of Signal) alert to the monitoring control unit when an optical signal that has received after being relayed by a relay apparatus that relays an optical signal transmitted from another optical cross-connect apparatus has insufficient optical power;
a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) unit configured to perform processing to change a modulation mode of an optical signal received from the relay-side optical input/output unit, and output an LOF (Loss of Frame) alert to the monitoring control unit when the modulation mode of the optical signal relayed by the relay apparatus is non-conforming; and
a framer unit, including one or more processors, configured to perform processing to change a frame mode and an FEC (Forward Error Correction) of the optical signal processed by the DSP unit, output an LOF alert to the monitoring control unit when the frame mode and the FEC of the optical signal are detected as being non-conforming, and acquire unique transmission source information of another optical cross-connect apparatus included in the optical signal and notifies the monitoring control unit of the transmission source information when the frame mode and the FEC are detected as being conforming,
wherein the monitoring control unit is configured to store, in a storage unit, a management table in which pieces of information regarding the modulation mode, the FEC, and the frame mode are associated with each other, sequentially change the modulation mode, the FEC, and the frame mode according to the management table upon the LOS alert or the LOF alert being input thereto, and, upon successfully receiving an appropriate optical signal according to the change, acquire transmission source information included in the optical signal, and detects an occurrence of erroneous connection of an optical transmission line of the relay apparatus when the acquired transmission source information indicates an optical cross-connect apparatus that is a transmission source different from an original transmission source.

2. An optical transmission system comprising:
one or more optical cross-connect apparatuses according to claim 1 , the optical cross-connect apparatuses each transmitting and receiving an optical signal to and from a client;
a relay apparatus to which the plurality of optical cross-connect apparatuses are connected via an optical network, and is configured to relay optical signals transmitted and received by the optical cross-connect apparatuses thus connected; and
an OpS that is connected to the relay apparatus and the optical cross-connect apparatuses via the optical network, and configured to perform control related to operation and maintenance of the relay apparatus and the optical cross-connect apparatuses thus connected.

3. The optical transmission system according to claim 2 ,
wherein the OpS includes:
an OpS management table in which pieces of unique information regarding a plurality of transponders and pieces of transponder information are registered in association with each other for each of different optical signal patterns, each of the pieces of transponder information including information regarding a modulation mode, an FEC, and a frame mode for the same optical signal pattern; and
an update unit, including one or more processors, configured to collect pieces of transponder information registered in transponders of all of the optical cross-connect apparatuses that are connected to the optical network and registers the pieces of transponder information in the OpS management table, and, when transponder information in a transponder is updated, update transponder information in the OpS management table corresponding to the updated transponder information so as to correspond one-to-one to the updated transponder information.

4. The optical transmission system according to claim 3 , wherein:
the OpS further includes a transfer unit configured to, when an additional transponder is provided, transfer transponder information that is associated with the additional transponder, acquired from the OpS management table, to the additional transponder, and
the update unit is configured to register transponder information regarding the newly added transponder in the OpS management table as transponder information regarding an additional target transponder, in association with a new pattern.

5. An optical transmission line erroneous connection detection method that is performed by an optical cross-connect apparatus that includes a monitoring control unit that is connected to an OpS that performs control related to operation and maintenance of a plurality of optical cross-connect apparatuses that are connected to an optical network,
wherein the transmission line erroneous connection detection method comprises:
a step of outputting an LOS alert to the monitoring control unit when an optical signal that has been received after being relayed by a relay apparatus that relays an optical signal transmitted from another optical cross-connect apparatus has insufficient optical power;
a step of performing processing to change a modulation mode of the received optical signal, and outputting an LOF alert to the monitoring control unit when the modulation mode of the optical signal relayed by the relay apparatus is non-conforming;
a step of performing processing to change a frame mode and an FEC of the received optical signal, outputting an LOF alert to the monitoring control unit when the frame mode and the FEC of the optical signal are detected as being non-conforming, and acquiring unique transmission source information of another optical cross-connect apparatus included in the optical signal and notifying the monitoring control unit of the transmission source information when the frame mode and the FEC are detected as being conforming; and
a step performed by the monitoring control unit, of sequentially changing the modulation mode, the FEC, and the frame mode upon the LOS alert or the LOF alert being input thereto, and, upon successfully receiving an appropriate optical signal according to the change, acquiring transmission source information included in the optical signal, and detecting an occurrence of erroneous connection of an optical transmission line of the relay apparatus when the acquired transmission source information indicates an optical cross-connect apparatus that is a transmission source different from an original transmission source.

Assignees

• Nippon Telegraph & Telephone

Inventors

• Namiki Masatoshi
• Yokota Masahiro
• Kawahara Hiroki
• Takechi Hiroto
• Araya Katsuhiro
• Inami Masaaki
• Shimazaki Daisaku
• Maeda Hideki

Classifications

• H04Q11/0062 Primary

  Network aspects · CPC title

• H04Q11/0005

  Switch and router aspects · CPC title

• H04Q2011/0043

  Fault tolerance · CPC title

• H04Q2011/0081

  Fault tolerance; Redundancy; Recovery; Reconfigurability · CPC title

• H04Q2011/0083

  Testing; Monitoring · CPC title