| 摘要 |
An autonomous optical path management device that allows for failover without human intervention, and externally to the computer systems communicating with one another. In a preferred embodiment, a device is placed in the network between, for example, a server and a storage unit on an optical network. The device preferably contains a plurality of GBICs (though any optical-electrical interface can be used) and logic to control connections between them, as well as a power supply and some type of interface. In the event of a path failure, the logic determines which of the GBICs has a connection to other optical devices (i.e., which of the GBICs is attached to a complete optical path) and routes the electronic logic to the good GBIC. In preferred embodiments, half the GBICs are inbound, half are outbound. The logic preferably connects one of the inbound GBICs to one of the outbound GBICs, providing a single optical connection.
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