Patent ID: 7319663

Claim:
A method for controlling switching in a bidirectional line-switched ring network configured with a plurality of optical fibers and a plurality of nodes where a switch request is transferred by using only K bytes, wherein (a) under a first state where a first node receives as input an LP-S (lockout of protection (span)) command and a second node adjacent to the first node receives the switch request from the first node via the optical fibers, said method comprises the steps of: i) when the second node detects a failure on a line over which the second node receives a signal from the first node, and receives the switch request but cannot differentiate—by the K bytes therein—whether the switch request contains the LP-S command or an SF-P, signal fail protection, command the second node transmitting a ring switch request to one or more other of the plurality of nodes; and ii) each of the one or more other nodes that receives the ring switch request placing a protection channel of itself in a K byte pass-through state allowing only the K bytes to pass therethrough, and wherein (b) under a second state where the first node detects a failure in a receiving protection channel from the adjacent second node and the second node receives the switch request from the first node via, the optical fibers, said method comprises steps i) and ii) and further comprises the steps of: iii) the first node transmitting the ring switch request to the one or more other nodes after receiving the ring switch request from the second node; iv) each of the one or more other nodes that receives the ring switch request placing the protection channel of itself in a full pass-through state to connect one span on one side and another span on another side thereof; v) the second node, after receiving the ring switch request from the first node, executing a ring switch and transmitting the ring switch request; and vi) the first node executing the ring switch after receiving the ring switch request from the second node.