Patent ID: 6574386
Filing Date: 2003-06-03
Classification: H04Q

Abstract:
An optical switching system for use on an optical network, the switching system comprising:an optical switching fabric having a plurality of input ports and a plurality of output ports wherein the switching fabric is controllable to direct an optical signal from an input port to an output port, wherein the input port is any one of the plurality of input ports and the output port is any one of the plurality of output ports; an optical demultiplexer having an input port for receiving a multi-wavelength optical signal and a plurality of output ports, each output port for transmitting a distinct single wavelength signal, wherein the input port of the demultiplexer is optically connected to an output port of the switching fabric and wherein each output port of the demultiplexer is optically connected to an input port of the switching fabric; an optical multiplexer having a plurality of input ports, each input port receiving a single-wavelength signal of a distinct frequency, and an output port for transmitting a multi-wavelength signal, wherein each input port is optically connected to an output port of the switching fabric and the output port of the multiplexer is optically connected to an input port of the switching fabric; an external fiber connector comprising an incoming multi-wavelength connector for recieving a multi-wavelength signal from the network and an outgoing multi-wavelength connector for transmitting a multi-wavelength signal to the network; an optical connection between the incoming multi-wavelength connector and an input port of the switching fabric and an optical connection between an output port of the switching fabric and the outgoing multi-wavelength connector; a switching node controller connected to a management infrastructure of the optical network and connected to the switching fabric to provide instructions to control the switching fabric; and further comprising an optical signal conditioner wherein an input port of the optical signal conditioner is optically connected to an output port of the switching fabric and wherein an output port of the optical signal conditioner is optically connected to an input port of the switching fabric.