Fujitsu Corporation

David W Terwilliger

Maitreya Mukhopadhyay

Snigdho Chandra Bardalai

Li Mo

Edward T Sullivan

Nimer Yaseen

Edward Alton Harbin

Francois G Moore

David W Wynn

Abed Mohd Jaber

Roy Charles McNeil, Jr

George E Bucklin

Qiang Li

Michael Joseph Mezeul

Edwin Jay Burger

Niranjan Mahabaleshwar

Cris Villarma

Kai Chung Ko

Eric Siegel

Daniel Berger

Sridevi Palacharla

Scott Hart

A disaggregated network element of an optical transport network, addressable at a single IP address, includes an active management and control unit (MCU) communicatively coupled to a standby MCU by physical cables and multiple tributary units, each of which performs a function in a data plane that carries user traffic and is communicatively coupled to both MCUs by respective physical cables. The MCUs host respective copies of configuration information for the network element and synchronize the information between them. In response to a loss of communication between the MCUs, a tributary unit designated as a witness tributary unit is consulted to determine the status of the MCUs, after which actions are taken to provide control plane redundancy. In response to a failure of an MCU, a backup copy of the configuration information is stored on the witness tributary unit and subsequently synchronized with a copy stored on the remaining MCU.

Management and control plane redundancy in a disaggregated network element

Disclosed is a method of commissioning a tributary blade in a disaggregated network system, including assigning a port ID to a port of an MCU, mapping to a port map a virtual slot ID to the port ID, receiving a registration request from a tributary blade, and assigning the virtual slot ID to the tributary blade. Disclosed is a method of determining whether a mis-cabling condition exists, including determining the whether a virtual slot ID is mapped to a port ID in a port map. Disclosed is a disaggregated network system including an MCU, a first and second tributary blade coupled to the MCU at a first and second port. The MCU is operable to assign a first and second virtual slot ID to the first and second tributary blades. The MCU is operable to map a first and second virtual slot ID to a first and second port ID.

Systems and methods for virtual shelf management of disaggregated network elements

In accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure, a method for initializing a network interface comprises monitoring a stream of data sent to a network interface and determining that a provisioning update for the network interface is complete. The method may further comprise sending provisioning data to a local file of the network interface, storing the provisioning data in the local file, and initializing an interface control module of the network interface based on the provisioning data stored in the local file.

Initializing a network interface based on stored data

According to one embodiment, providing a bitstream to one or more programmable devices of a service unit card includes receiving the bitstream at a snooper of the service unit card. The snooper determines whether the bitstream is current. If the bitstream is current, the bitstream is loaded onto the programmable devices. If the bitstream is not current, the received bitstream is discarded, and a substitute bitstream is identified. The substitute bitstream is loaded onto the programmable devices.

Providing code to a programmable device

A transport network includes a flexible topology for internally defining transport elements. The transport elements each include a port group having a plurality of geographically distributed ports from the transport network. Point-to-multipoint connectivity is defined between the ports in a port group. An identifier represents the port group as a single element to internal and/or external elements for protocol exchanges.

Transport network and method

Growing community of inventors

Garland, TX, United States of America

David W Terwilliger