Patent ID: 7519055
Filing Date: 2009-04-14
Classification: H04L,H04Q

Abstract:
1. An ingress edge router coupled between a set of input links carrying information packets and a set of output optical links in an optical network carrying optical data bursts and related control information, comprising: a plurality of input line cards coupled to said set of input links, wherein said input line cards receive information packets from said set of input links; a plurality of output line cards coupled to at least one of said output optical links, wherein said output line card assemble information packets into data bursts, generate burst header packets for respective data bursts, and transmit said data bursts as optical data bursts and separate burst header packets on one or more of said output optical links, wherein each of the plurality of output line cards includes: a switching matrix for transferring packets from the input line cards to the output line cards for transmission on the desired output optical link.