AN OPTICAL NETWORK ARCHITECTURE WITH REDUCED EQUIPMENT

摘要

An optical network with at least two nodes is provided comprising optical fiber, at least two active fiber-bays (17) per node optically coupled to the fiber, and at least one redundant fiber-bay (19) per node optically coupled to the fiber. When an active fiber-bay (17) fails, the network changes from the failed fiber-bay (17) to a redundant fiber-bay (19). Further, the number of redundant fiber-bays (19) is less than the number of active fiber-bays (17).