Smart small form-factor pluggable transceiver for data networks

摘要

In one embodiment, a smart small form-factor pluggable (SSFP) transceiver—compatible with SFP size, power, and interconnection standards—includes an optical transceiver, an electrical connector, a protocol processing engine, and a CPU. The SSFP transceiver is configured for use at a client site having no network interface device (NID). The SSFP transceiver (1) mates to a client's network device at an electrical interface within the network device and (2) connects to a network provider's central office (CO) node via an optical cable at an optical interface. The SSFP transceiver is configured to (1) be powered by the network device, (2) power-up upon mating with the network device, (3) be configured by a remote management agent (RMA) of the network provider for communication with the provider network, (4) respond to/generate Operation, Administration, and Management (OAM) messages from/for the CO node, and (5) provide OAM demarcation functions of a conventional NID.

主权项

1. A pluggable device adapted to plug into a receptacle of a client network device, the pluggable device comprising:
an optical transceiver configured to (i) optically connect to a provider network node via a first optical link, (ii) convert incoming downlink optical signals received from the network node via the first optical link into incoming downlink electrical signals, and (iii) convert outgoing uplink electrical signals into outgoing uplink optical signals for transmission to the network node via the first optical link; an electrical connector configured to (i) electrically connect to the receptacle of the client network device, (ii) transmit outgoing downlink electrical signals to the client network device via the receptacle, and (iii) receive incoming uplink electrical signals from the client network device via the receptacle; and a processing module configured to process one or more of (i) the incoming downlink electrical signals and (ii) the incoming uplink electrical signals to implement at least one operations, administration, and maintenance (OAM) function, wherein:
the provider network node is part of a provider network;the client network device is part of a client network; andthe electrical connector establishes a network demarcation boundary between the provider network and the client network.