MULTI-RATE, MULTI-PROTOCOL, MULTI-PORT LINE INTERFACE FOR A MULTISERVICE SWITCHING PLATFORM

摘要

Methods and apparatus for enabling a line card to support multiple ports, multiple rates, and multiple protocols within an optical network system are disclosed. According to one aspect of the present invention, a line card tha t is suitable for incorporation into one of a multi-slot broadband digital cro ss- connect system or a multiservice provisioning platform includes a first port and a plurality of devices. The first port is arranged to be provisioned to accept an input signal which may be one of a signal of a first protocol and a signal of a second protocol. The plurality of devices being arranged to process the input signal to create an output signal which has a SONET payloa d. In one embodiment, the signal of the first protocol is an OC-n signal and th e signal of the second protocol is a Gigabit Ethernet signal.