Patent ID: 9252904
Filing Date: 2016-02-02
CPC Classification: H04J

Claim Text:
1. A computer-implemented method of planning a distribution of timing in an optical mesh network, the computer-implemented method comprising, by a processor and associated memory: identifying, according to a planned timing distribution, a source node associated with an external timing source in the optical mesh network; identifying, according to the planned timing distribution, optical light paths between nodes in the optical mesh network; and for nodes other than the source node, selecting, according to the planned timing distribution, optical light paths within the optical mesh network originating either directly or indirectly from the source node to use to derive timing information, wherein identifying optical light paths includes identifying at least two first optical light paths traversing diverse paths originating at the source node and terminating at one or more nodes of a first set of nodes, the first set of nodes being network nodes other than the source node, further comprising identifying primary and secondary timing sources for a given node, the secondary timing source being used to derive timing information if the primary timing source is unavailable; determining which one of the optical light paths used to derive timing information for the given node has more desirable optical characteristics, compared with at least one other of the optical light paths used to derive timing information; and selecting the determined optical light path as the primary timing source.