| 摘要 |
Logical hybrid ring arrangements are disclosed which can withstand a cut communication path or a failed node. A logical ring is formed by a cascade of (i) physical hybrid ring segments (301-304), each composed of a pair of unidirectional communication paths (e.g., 3011 and 3012) propagating multiplexed subchannels and interposed add-drop multiplexer nodes (311-319), and (ii) cross-connect nodes (320, 330) terminating the segments. Each cross-connect node routes an incoming subchannel from one segment to an outgoing subchannel on another segment. Each segment may operate at a different multiplexed signal rate, so a logical ring can be composed of segments operating at different rates. Moreover, subchannels on an incoming segment may be allocated to a plurality of outgoing segments, thereby configuring multiple logical rings which may serve to balance communication traffic over the logical rings.
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