Patent ID: 6163527
Filing Date: 2000-12-19
Classification: H04J,H04Q

Abstract:
A multiple fiber optical bi-directional line switched ring capable of transporting N wavelengths of signals comprising a plurality of optical add/drop multiplexer nodes, each optical add/drop multiplexer node comprising:multiple input demultiplexer/output multiplexer sections, each section comprising an input demultiplexer and an output multiplexer coupled to one of the multiple fibers;a command and control channel having multiple fibers wherein each command and control channel fiber is coupled to one of the input demultiplexer/output multiplexer sections; andup to N-1 slave circuits, each slave circuit comprising a plurality optical switching circuits coupled to the multiple input demultiplexer/output multiplexer sections such that the optical switching circuits are operable to carry up to N wavelengths of traffic;wherein the command and control channel monitors signals on the plurality of fibers and controls the operation of the N-1 slave circuits in response to the signals sensed on the plurality of fibers.