International Business Machines Corporation

Orckit Communications, Ltd.

Menahem Kaplan

Alain R Blanc

David Zelig

Eli Aloni

Sylvie Gohl

Alain Pinzaglia

Ron Sdayor

Network access apparatus includes a slave unit, including a plurality of subscriber ports adapted to be linked to respective subscriber lines, and a multiplexer for multiplexing among the ports. A master sub-system, is connected to at least one trunk line of a first public network, in a location remote from the slave unit. The master sub-system includes a first master unit, adapted to communicate with the slave unit via an assigned link through a second public network, so as to provide users of the subscriber lines with access to the first public network through the at least one trunk line. The master sub-system also includes a second master unit, coupled through the first master unit to communicate with the slave unit via the assigned link, so as to provide the users with access to the first public network through the at least one trunk line in the event of a failure associated with the first master unit.

Protection against master unit failure in remote network access multiplexing

A Switch Fabric system comprising at least one Switch Fabric subsystem ( ) further including a set of Switch cores elements ( ) that are mounted in a port expansion permitting attachment of at least a first and second sets of Protocol Adapters ( ) under a routing control process. A Primary Switch controller (PSC) has a complete knowledge of the topology of the switch, e.g., the number of subsystems, the nature of the port expansion etc., while each Secondary Switch Controller only has a limited knowledge of that topology. One particular Switch Core ( ) which has a full-duplex communication capability in each Subsystem is assigned the key function to interface communication between the PSC and the other SSC in a same Switch Fabric Subsystem.

Switching fabric system having at least one subsystem including switch core elements arranged in port expansion architecture

Growing community of inventors

Petah-Tikva, Israel

Menahem Kaplan