Out-of-band signalling apparatus and method for an optical cross connect

摘要

A signaling architecture for a cross connect switch utilizes out-of-band communications channels to transmit status information from line modules to the switch module. The out-of-band communication channels are separate from the in-band payload data connections routinely used to connect line modules to the switch module. A framer is used to extract payload data for transmission on the in-band payload data connections. The framer also extracts status information that may be encoded before sending to the switch module via the out-of-band communications channels. The switch module logically pairs STS-1s into working/protect pairs and utilizes the STS-1 granular status information to decide which of the pair is a better copy which is output as the working copy after the cross-connect switch fabric is configured according to user demands. A redundant switch module may also be used for equipment protection.