Patent ID: 8326143

Claim:
An optical communication network node apparatus in an optical communication network including a first optical ring and a second optical ring each having at least two annular optical fibers, the optical communication network node apparatus setting a transmission path of wavelength multiplexed light including a plurality of wavelengths within the first optical ring or the second optical ring and between the first optical ring and the second optical ring, the apparatus comprising: a plurality of group demultiplexers that demultiplex for each wavelength group and respectively output the wavelength multiplexed lights respectively input from the pairs of the annular optical fibers; a plurality of wavelength demultiplexers that demultiplex for each wavelength and respectively output an optical signal of a wavelength group containing only light of wavelength preliminarily set for the intra-ring transmission among the wavelength groups output from the plurality of the group demultiplexers; a plurality of group multiplexers that multiplex lights of wavelength groups respectively input for transmission to the pairs of the annular optical fibers to respectively output the lights to the pairs of the annular optical fibers; a plurality of wavelength multiplexers that multiplex lights of wavelengths respectively input for the intra-ring traffic into wavelength groups to respectively output the wavelength groups to the plurality of the group multiplexers; a plurality of intra-ring traffic switch devices that branch/insert as needed and distribute lights of respective wavelengths respectively output from the plurality of the wavelength demultiplexers to the wavelength multiplexers performing output to the optical ring that has transmitted the light among the plurality of the wavelength multiplexers; a plurality of inter-ring transmission wavelength group switch devices that respectively distribute to the plurality of the group multiplexers the wavelength groups containing only lights of wavelengths preliminarily set for the inter-ring transmission among a plurality of wavelength groups respectively output from the plurality of the group demultiplexers; and a type-mixed wavelength group multiplexing/demultiplexing device that demultiplexes a type-mixed wavelength group including wavelengths having mutually different traffic types of the inter-ring transmission among a plurality of wavelength groups respectively output from the plurality of the group demultiplexers into lights of respective wavelengths, the type-mixed-wavelength group multiplexing/demultiplexing device performing routing by using a switch device to multiplex and output new respective wavelength groups including lights of wavelengths having the same traffic types of the inter-ring transmission from the demultiplexed lights with multiplexers to the plurality of the wavelength group multiplexers through the inter-ring transmission wavelength group switch devices.