Patent ID: 6731648
Filing Date: 2004-05-04
Classification: H04L,H04Q

Abstract:
A method of operating an optical communications system comprising a plurality of routing nodes, each routing node being configurable to direct a received optical packet onwards via a selected one of two or more output paths, and an optical network interconnecting the plurality of routing nodes, the method comprising:a) outputting an optical packet from an originating routing node onto the optical network; b) configuring the optical network and the routing nodes to provide a unidirectional looped transmission path from the originating routing node to a destination routing node and back to the originating routing node, and further including one or more other of the routing nodes; c) receiving the optical packet at the destination routing node; and d) transmitting a return signal from the destination routing node to the originating routing node in a time slot on the unidirectional looped transmission path which was occupied by the optical packet output in (a).