Patent Document

RELATED APPLICATION(S)  
       [0001]     This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/929,210, filed Aug. 13, 2001. The entire teachings of the above application(s) are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     This invention relates to inter-network communications, and more particularly relates to fault-tolerant communications between networks.  
         [0003]     The SONET standard provides for inter-working between ring networks. The SONET ring inter-working has two versions: (1) drop and continue and (2) dual transmit. SONET ring inter-working was not designed with mesh networks in mind, and therefore cannot be employed “as-is” to mesh networks. SONET ring inter-working must be substantially modified in order to provide resilience to mesh-to-mesh or mesh-to-ring or ring-to-mesh communications.  
         [0004]     Ring-based networks in general do not consist of just one ring, but contain multiple rings. Mesh networks, on the other hand, typically are addressed as one large mesh, even though the mesh in fact comprises multiple meshes. If the mesh is perceived as one large mesh, then there is no need for mesh inter-working. Contrary to this conventional wisdom about mesh networks, the applicants have discovered that mesh inter-working is an important aspect of mesh networks. Mesh inter-working is needed for at least three reasons:  
         [0005]     (1) Networks owned by different companies need to communicate with each other, while remaining separate entities, to avoid visibility into each other&#39;s internal workings and to avoid faults in one network from affecting another network.  
         [0006]     (2) Sub-networks resulting from the break up of one large network to facilitate management also need to communicate with each other.  
         [0007]     (3) As network managers migrate from ring networks to mesh networks, there will be a need to inter-work the resulting mesh networks.  
         [0008]     None of the foregoing problems is subject to an obvious solution. The present invention addresses these problems and provides a solution.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0009]     A preferred apparatus embodiment is useful in a communication system comprising a first network including a source arranged to transmit data and a second network including a destination arranged to receive the data. At least one of the first network and the second network is a mesh network. In such an environment, interruptions in communication between the source and destination can be reduced by providing a first primary node and a first secondary node in the first network. A second primary node and a second secondary node are provided in the second network. A first set of primary routes are provided within the first network and are arranged to facilitate delivery of a first set of the data to the first primary node and a second set of the data to the first secondary node. Inter-network routes between the first and second networks are arranged to deliver the first and second sets of the data to the second primary node and the second secondary node. A second set of primary routes within the second network are arranged to facilitate delivery of at least one of the first and second sets of data to the destination node. A selector within the second network is arranged to select one of the first and second sets of data. A first secondary route is located within the first network between the source and the first secondary node. A first route selector is arranged to select the first secondary route in the event that a primary route within the first set of primary routes is disabled. A second secondary route within the second network is located between the second secondary node and the destination. A second route selector is arranged to select the second secondary route in the event that a primary route within the second set of primary routes is disabled.  
         [0010]     A preferred method embodiment of the invention is useful in a communication system comprising a first network including a source arranged to transmit data and a second network including a destination arranged to receive the data. At least one of the first network and the second network is a mesh network. The system also comprises a first primary node in the first network, a first secondary node in the first network, a second primary node in the second network, a second secondary node in the second network, a first set of primary routes within the first network, a second set of primary routes within the second network, a first secondary route within the first network between the source and the first secondary node, and a second secondary route within the second network between the second secondary node and the destination. In such a system, interruptions in communication between the source and destination can be reduced by generating a first set of the data and a second set of the data. The first set of the data is delivered to the first primary node, and the second set of the data is delivered to the first secondary node. The first and second sets of the data are delivered to the second primary node and the second secondary node. At least one of the first and second sets of data are delivered to the destination node. One of the first and second sets of data is selected, and the first set of data is delivered to the first secondary node over the first secondary route in the event that a primary route within the first set of primary routes is disabled. At least one of the first and second sets of data is delivered to the destination over the second secondary route in the second network in the event that a primary route within the second set of primary routes is disabled.  
         [0011]     By using the foregoing techniques, communications may be transmitted between networks involving at least one mesh network with a degree of accuracy and reliability previously unattainable. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]     The foregoing will be apparent from the following more particular description of example embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating embodiments of the present invention.  
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is a schematic block diagram illustrating one form of a drop and continue embodiment of the invention.  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is a schematic block diagram illustrating another form of a drop and continue embodiment of the invention.  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  is a schematic block diagram illustrating one mode of operation of the embodiment shown in  FIG. 2  when a primary data route of the embodiment is interrupted.  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  is a schematic block diagram illustrating a preferred form of a dual transmit embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0017]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , one embodiment of the invention comprises a communication system  5  that includes two telecommunications networks  10  and  30 , each comprising a collection of geographically dispersed network elements called nodes. Inter-network routes  20 , including routes  22  and  23 , connect networks  10  and  30 .  
         [0018]     Network  10  includes a source node  11 , a primary node  12  and a secondary node  13 , which are connected to one another by communication links or routes (e.g., fiber, wireless links or routes). For example, a set of primary routes  14 , including primary routes  15  and  16 , links source node  11 , primary node  12  and secondary node  13  as shown. A secondary route  18  may link source node  11  with secondary node  13 . In all embodiments, a primary route is disjoint from its corresponding secondary route. Otherwise, if the primary and secondary routes intersect, a failure at the intersection point(s) would be a single failure that would disable both routes, defeating one purpose of the embodiments.  
         [0019]     Network  30  includes a destination node  31 , a primary node  32  and a secondary node  33 , which are connected to one another by communication links or routes (e.g., fiber, wireless links or routes). For example, a set of primary routes  34 , including primary routes  35  and  36 , links destination node  31 , primary node  32  and secondary node  33  as shown.  
         [0020]     The topology of each network may be a ring or an arbitrary mesh. Traffic may be intra-network, i.e., staying entirely within network  10  or entirely within network  30 , or it may be inter-network, i.e., originating in network  10  and terminating in network  30  (or vice versa). For inter-network traffic that needs to be transmitted with high reliability, it is important that the transition between networks  10  and  30  be effected in a way that has no single point of failure. In the case where networks  10  and  30  are both SONET rings, standard ring inter-working methods have been developed (see the ANSI standard T1.105.01-1998, SONET Automatic Protection Switching). The embodiment of  FIG. 1  covers the case in which networks  10  and  30  are arbitrary mesh networks and the case in which one is a ring and the other is a mesh.  
         [0021]     In the example of  FIG. 1 , it is assumed that source node  11  is the source of the inter-network data and that destination node  31  in network  30  is the destination for the data.  
         [0022]     In each network, two nodes are selected to be dual-homing nodes. One dual-homing node is designated to be the primary node (i.e., nodes  12  and  32 ) and the other is designated to be the secondary node (i.e., nodes  13  and  33 ). In each node, a network element, such as a cross-connect, is configured to perform various functions that will be described.  
         [0023]     Still referring to  FIG. 1 , under normal operation, source node  11  sends a first set of data to primary node  12  in network  10 . Primary node  12  performs a drop-and-continue function in a well known manner: node  12  creates a copy of the data from source node  11  (i.e., a second set of the data) and “drops” (i.e., transmits) the first set of the data over to one of the dual-homing nodes in network  30 , and primary node  12  “continues” (i.e., transmits) the second set of the data onto secondary node  13 . (If primary node  12  drops to the primary node in network  30 , this is called same-side routing; if primary node  12  drops to the secondary node in network  30 , this is called opposite-side routing.)  FIG. 1  illustrates opposite-side routing. There may exist intermediate nodes between source node  11  and primary node  12 , and between primary node  12  and secondary node  13  (not shown). Secondary node  13  then drops the second set of the data to the other dual-homing node in network  30 . The net effect is for network  10  to send two sets (1+1) of the inter-network data to network  30 , one to each dual-homing node in network  30  (i.e., to nodes  32  and  33  as shown in  FIG. 1 ).  
         [0024]     During normal operation, secondary node  33  in network  30  sends one set of the data to primary node  32  in network  30 . Primary node  32  then performs a service selection (SS) function  40 : node  32  chooses one of the two incoming sets of data (i.e., the data from secondary node  33  in network  30  or the set of data coming directly from secondary node  13 ). Primary node  32  then forwards the chosen data set to destination node  31 .  
         [0025]     The  FIG. 1  embodiment is designed to survive any single node or link failure, except for a failure of the source or the destination, which cannot be survived in any case. More specifically, if there is any failure between source  11  and primary node  12  in network  10 , secondary node  13  uses a detector function to detect the failure and notify source node  11 , which uses a selector function  42  to switch its data traffic to an alternate (protection) path  18  to secondary node  13 . If secondary node  13  in network  10  fails, source node  11  and primary node  12  in network  10  continue to operate normally. If one of the links or routes between the two networks fails, the nodes in network  10  continue to act normally; however, if primary node  32  in network  30  was selecting the data set coming directly from network  10  and this data is lost, primary node  32  switches over to selecting the data set from secondary node  33 . Similarly, if secondary node  33  in network  30  loses its data set from network  10 , node  33  stops sending data traffic to primary node  32 . If secondary node  33  in network  30  fails, or if any node or link between the primary and secondary nodes in network  30  fails, then all the remaining nodes will continue to act as they would under normal operation, except that if primary node  32  in network  30  was selecting the data set coming from secondary node  33  in network  30 , node  32  will switch over to the data set that received directly from network  10 . If there is a failure between primary node  32  in network  30  and destination node  31 , then destination node  31  detects the failure and notifies secondary node  33  in network  30 , which will uses a selector function  44  to switch data traffic to a protection path  38  to destination node  31 . As may be seen from  FIG. 1 , in all these cases, the data traffic continues to be transmitted from source node  11  to destination node  31 .  
         [0026]     Referring to  FIG. 2 , another form of the invention using a drop and continue mode of operation is embodied in a communication system  105  including two telecommunications networks  110  and  130 , each comprising a collection of geographically dispersed network elements, called nodes. Inter-network routes  120 , including routes  122  and  123 , connect networks  110  and  130 .  
         [0027]     Network  110  includes a source node  111 , a primary node  112  and a secondary node  113 , which are connected to one another by communication links or routes (e.g., fiber, wireless links or routes). For example, a set of primary routes  114 , including primary routes  115 - 116 , links source node  111 , primary node  112  and secondary node  113  as shown. A secondary route  118  links source node  111  with secondary node  113 , and a secondary route  118 A links primary node  112  with secondary node  113 .  
         [0028]     Network  130  includes a destination node  131 , a primary node  132  and a secondary node  133 , which are connected to one another by communication links or routes (e.g., fiber, wireless links or routes). For example, a set of primary routes  134 , including primary routes  135 - 136 , links destination node  131 , primary node  132  and secondary node  133  as shown. Secondary routes  137 - 138  also are provided.  
         [0029]     The topology of each network  110  and  130  may be a ring or an arbitrary mesh. Traffic may be intra-network, i.e., staying entirely within network  110  or entirely within network  130 , or it may be inter-network, i.e., originating in network  110  and terminating in network  130  (or vice versa). The embodiment of  FIG. 2  covers the case in which networks  110  and  130  are arbitrary mesh networks and the case in which one is a ring and the other is a mesh.  
         [0030]     In the example of  FIG. 2 , it is assumed that source node  111  is the source of the inter-network data and that destination node  131  in network  130  is the destination for the data.  
         [0031]     In each network, two nodes are selected to be dual-homing nodes. One dual-homing node is designated to be the primary node (i.e., nodes  112  and  132 ) and the other is designated to be the secondary node (i.e., nodes  113  and  133 ). In each node, a network element, such as a cross-connect, is configured to perform various functions that will be described.  
         [0032]     Still referring to  FIG. 2 , under normal operation, source node  111  sends a first set of data to primary node  112  over route  115  in network  110 . Primary node  112  performs a drop-and-continue function in a well known manner: node  112  creates a copy of the data from source node  111  (i.e., a second set of the data) and “drops” (i.e., transmits) the first set of the data over to primary node  132 , and primary node  112  “continues” (i.e., transmits) the second set of the data onto secondary node  113  via route  116 .  FIG. 2  illustrates a case of same-side routing. (There may exist intermediate nodes between source node  111  and primary node  112 , and between primary node  112  and secondary node  113  (not shown).) Secondary node  113  then drops a set of the data to the other dual-homing node in network  130  (i.e., secondary node  133 ). The net effect is for network  110  to send two sets (1+1) of the inter-network data to network  130 , one to each dual-homing node in network  130  (i.e., to nodes  132  and  133  as shown in  FIG. 2 ).  
         [0033]     During normal operation, secondary node  133  in network  130  sends the second set of the data to primary node  132  in network  130  via route  136 . Primary node  132  then performs a service selection (SS) function  140 : node  132  chooses one of the two incoming sets of data (i.e., the data from secondary node  133  in network  130  or the set of data from primary node  112 ). Primary node  132  then forwards the chosen data set to destination node  131 .  
         [0034]     The  FIG. 2  embodiment is designed to survive any single node or link failure per network, except for a failure of the source or the destination, which cannot be survived in any case. For most failures, two sets of data continue to be sent from network  110  to network  130 .  
         [0035]     One exemplary failure is shown in  FIG. 3 . More specifically, if there is a failure between source  111  and primary node  112  in network  110  (indicated by the X across route  115  in  FIG. 3 ), primary node  112  uses a detector function to detect the failure and notify source node  111 . Source node  111  uses a selector function  142  to switch its data traffic to an alternate (protection) path  118  to secondary node  113 . The data is routed to primary node  112  over secondary routes  118  and  118 A. Primary node  112  generates a second set of the data and sends the second set to secondary node  113  over route  116 . The first set of data is sent (“dropped”) by node  112  to primary node  132  over route  122 , and the second set of the data is sent from secondary node  113  to secondary node  133  over route  123 .  
         [0036]     If primary node  112  fails, then secondary node  113  detects the failure and informs source  111 . Source  111  sends its data along route  118  and secondary node  113  now stops receiving data from route  116  and switches over to receive data from route  118 .  
         [0037]     If secondary node  113  in network  110  fails, source node  111  and primary node  112  in network  110  continue to operate normally, and node  112  drops the first set of data across route  122  as before. If any node or link between the primary and secondary nodes in network  110  fails, then secondary node  113  detects the failure and notifies primary node  112 , which switches its second set of data traffic from route  116  to secondary routes  118 B and  118 . Secondary node  113  switches over to receiving data from route  118  and sends this traffic to secondary node  133  over route  123  as before. If one of the links or routes between the two networks fails, the nodes in network  110  continue to act normally; however, if primary node  132  in network  130  was selecting the data set coming directly from network  110  and this data is lost, primary node  132  switches over to selecting the data set from secondary node  133 . Similarly, if secondary node  133  in network  130  loses its data set from network  110 , node  133  stops sending data traffic to primary node  132 . If secondary node  133  in network  130  fails, then all the remaining nodes will continue to act as they would under normal operation, except that if primary node  132  in network  130  was selecting the data set coming from secondary node  133  in network  130 , node  132  will switch over to the data set received directly from network  110 . If any node or link between the primary and secondary nodes in network  130  fails, then primary node  132  detects the failure and notifies secondary node  133 , which switches its data traffic from route  136  to secondary routes  138  and  138 B. Primary node  132  switches over to receiving data from route  138 B instead of route  136  and performs its service selection function on the data traffic on route  122  and the data traffic on route  138 B.  
         [0038]     If there is a failure between primary node  132  in network  130  and destination node  131  (as indicated by the X across route  135  in  FIG. 3 ), then destination node  131  detects the failure and notifies primary node  132 , which sends the first set of data along a secondary route  137  to secondary node  133  that sends a set of the data along a protection path  138  to destination node  131 . As may be seen from  FIG. 3 , in all these cases, the data traffic continues to be transmitted from source node  111  to destination node  131 .  
         [0039]     Still referring to  FIG. 3 , if primary node  132  fails, then destination node  131  detects the failure and informs secondary node  133 . Secondary node  133  and destination node  131  then re-establish communication along route  138 .  
         [0040]     Referring to  FIG. 4 , another form of the invention using a dual transmit mode of operation is embodied in a communication system  205  including two telecommunications networks  210  and  230 , each comprising a collection of geographically dispersed network elements, called nodes. Inter-network routes  220 , including routes  222  and  223 , connect networks  210  and  230 .  
         [0041]     Network  210  may include a source node  211 , a primary node  212  and a secondary node  213 , which are connected to one another by communication links or routes (e.g., fiber, wireless links or routes). For example, a set of primary routes  214 , including primary routes  215 - 216 , links source node  211 , primary node  212  and secondary node  213  as shown. Secondary routes  218 - 219  link source node  211  with primary node  212  and secondary node  213  as shown.  
         [0042]     Network  230  includes a destination node  231 , a primary node  232  and a secondary node  233 , which are connected to one another by communication links or routes (e.g., fiber, wireless links or routes). For example, a set of primary routes  234 , including primary routes  235 - 236 , links destination node  231 , primary node  232  and secondary node  233  as shown.  
         [0043]     The topology of each network  210  and  230  may be a ring or an arbitrary mesh. Traffic may be intra-network, i.e., staying entirely within network  210  or entirely within network  230 , or it may be inter-network, i.e., originating in network  210  and terminating in network  230  (or vice versa). The embodiment of  FIG. 4  covers the case in which networks  210  and  230  are arbitrary mesh networks and the case in which one is a ring and the other is a mesh.  
         [0044]     In the example of  FIG. 4 , it is assumed that source node  211  is the source of the inter-network data and that destination node  231  in network  230  is the destination for the data.  
         [0045]     In each network, two nodes are selected to be dual-homing nodes. One dual-homing node is designated to be the primary node (i.e., nodes  212  and  232 ) and the other is designated to be the secondary node (i.e., nodes  213  and  233 ). In each node, a network element, such as a cross-connect, is configured to perform various functions that will be described.  
         [0046]     Still referring to  FIG. 4 , under normal operation, source node  211  receives or generates a first set of data and generates a second set of the data. The first set of the data is sent to primary node  212  over route  215 , and the second set of the data is sent to secondary node  213  over route  216 . Primary node  212  transmits the first set of data to primary node  232  over route  222 , and secondary node  213  sends the second set of data to secondary node  233  over route  223 . Thus, the network use same-side routing. (There may exist intermediate nodes between source node  211  and primary node  212 , and between primary node  212  and secondary node  213  (not shown).) The net effect is for network  210  to send two sets (1+1) of the inter-network data to network  230 , one to each dual-homing node in network  230  (i.e., to nodes  232  and  233  as shown in  FIG. 4 ).  
         [0047]     During normal operation, secondary node  233  in network  230  sends the second set of the data to destination node  231  over route  236 , and primary node  232  sends the first set of the data to destination node  231  over route  235 . Destination node  231  then performs a service selection (SS) function: node  231  chooses one of the two incoming sets of data (i.e., the set of data from secondary node  233  in network  230  or the set of data from primary node  232 .  
         [0048]     The  FIG. 4  embodiment is designed to survive any single node or link failure per network, except for a failure of the source or the destination, which cannot be survived in any case. For most failures, two sets of data continue to be sent from network  210  to network  230 .  
         [0049]     If there is a failure between source  211  and primary node  212  in network  210 , primary node  212  uses a detector function to detect the failure and notify source node  211 , which uses a selector function to switch the first set of data traffic to an alternate (protection) path  218 . If there is a failure between source  211  and secondary node  213  in network  210 , secondary node  213  uses a detector function to detect the failure and notify source node  211 , which uses a selector function to switch the second set of data traffic to an alternate (protection) path  219 . In either case, two sets of data continue to be received at nodes  212  and  213 .  
         [0050]     If secondary node  213  in network  210  fails, source node  211  and primary node  212  in network  210  continue to operate normally. If one of the links or routes between the two networks fails, the nodes in network  210  continue to act normally, and data is delivered to network  230  over the unaffected route. If secondary node  233  in network  230  fails, the first set of data is still delivered to destination node  231  over route  235 . If primary node  232  fails, the second set of data is still delivered to destination node  231  over route  236 . If there is a failure between primary node  232  in network  230  and destination node  231 , then destination node  231  detects the failure and informs primary node  232 . Primary node  232  and destination node  231  then re-establish communication along route  239 . If there is a failure between secondary node  233  in network  230  and destination node  231 , then destination node  231  detects the failure and informs secondary node  233 . Secondary node  233  and destination node  231  then re-establish communication along route  238 . As may be seen from  FIG. 4 , in all these cases, the data traffic continues to be transmitted from source node  211  to destination node  231 .  
         [0051]     While the invention has been described with reference to one or more preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will understand that changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular step, structure, or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from its scope. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Technology Category: 5