Automated physical network systems based on robotic control and management of fiber optic interconnects
Applications of robotics applied to patch-panels and cross-connects to improve operational processes within data centers and communications networks. Systems and architectures to perform frequent, accurate and low-cost reconfigurations and measurements of the physical network are described, thereby eliminating labor and time delays when completing routine tasks such physical network provisioning and reconfiguration.
1 . In a system of operating a data center physical fiber-optic interconnect fabric, the system providing automated network services, including some or all of: provisioning, verification, audit, troubleshooting, and/or authentication using distributed robotic fiber cross-connects, the system comprising:
a multiplicity of optical fiber signal carrying cables; and
a software control system that generates a sequence of movement and sensing based instructions communicated to multiple distributed robotic fiber cross-connects to perform robot services; and
the multiple distributed robotic fiber cross-connects having internal robots configured to plug and unplug signal carrying cables in accordance with a non-entangling algorithm to enable said robot services, the software control system further configured to confirm, authenticate, and track robot services and input them into a data file for storage,
a method of measuring one or more optical characteristics of a fiber-optic link with multiple serially arranged fiber-optic cable segments and connected end-to-end, within a dynamic fiber-optic interconnect fabric managed by an interconnect control system, with one of more of the fiber-optic cable segments connected to a multiplicity of user ports of an NTM (Network Topology Manager), the NTM containing a multiplicity of reconfigurable internal fiber-optic strands, each with a fixed connector at one end and a moveable connector at the other end, the moveable connector being movable between one or more test ports and the multiplicity of user ports, each port associated with an external receptacle and internal receptacle joined midway along a central axis, and further with an OTDR (Optical Time-Domain Reflectometer) connected to one or more external test ports on the NTM through fiber-optic test cables, with any internal fiber-optic connector able to be moved and inserted in an internal side of any port, the method comprising:
instructing the interconnect control system to measure one or more optical characteristics of a particular fiber-optic link;
determining a particular user port on the NTM to which the particular fiber-optic link is attached;
creating an internal fiber-optic strand connection between the particular user port and an available test port; and
launching OTDR pulses down the particular fiber-optic link in a first direction and measuring a backreflected light signal to generate a first set of data.
2 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising: processing the first set of data to determine insertion loss, back reflection and location of loss events along the particular fiber-optic link.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the particular fiber-optic link is a duplex fiber pair with transmit and receive fibers that terminates within a first customer cage at its first end.
4 . The method of claim 3 , further comprising: connecting a tail cable through the NTM to receive the OTDR pulses returning from the first customer cage.
5 . The method of claim 3 , wherein the particular fiber-optic link terminates within a second customer cage at its second end, with the NTM located along the particular fiber-optic link between the first end and the second end.
6 . The method of claim 5 , further comprising:
connecting transmit and receive lines at the first end of the fiber-optic link within the first customer cage;
connecting transmit and receive lines of a second end of the fiber-optic link within the second customer cage;
launching OTDR pulses down the fiber-optic link in the opposite direction and measuring the backreflected light signal to generate a second set of data; and
processing the first set of data and the second set of data to determine insertion loss, back reflection, and location of loss events along the fiber-optic link.
7 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising: connecting a tail cable through the NTM to receive the OTDR pulses returning from the second customer cage.
8 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the robot services include one or more of: a fiber connection; a fiber disconnection; an optical power measurement; and/or an optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) trace.
9 . In a system of operating a data center physical fiber-optic interconnect fabric, the system providing automated network services including some or all of: provisioning, verification, audit, troubleshooting, and/or authentication using distributed robotic fiber cross-connects, the system comprising:
a multiplicity of optical fiber signal carrying cables; and
a software control system that generates a sequence of movement and sensing based instructions communicated to multiple distributed robotic fiber cross-connects to perform robot services; and
the multiple distributed robotic fiber cross-connects having internal robots configured to plug and unplug signal carrying cables in accordance with a non-entangling algorithm to enable said robot services, the software control system further configured to confirm, authenticate, and track robot services and input them into a data file for storage,
a method of visually identifying an end of a particular fiber-optic link with multiple fiber-optic cable segments connected end-to-end, within a dynamic fiber-optic interconnect fabric managed by an interconnect control system, with one of more of the fiber-optic cable segments connected to user ports of an NTM (Network Topology Manager), the NTM containing a multiplicity of reconfigurable internal fiber-optic strands with a fixed connectors at one end and a moveable connector at an other end, a movable connector being movable between one or more test ports and the user ports, each port associated with an external receptacle and internal receptacle joined midway along a central axis, and further with an OTDR (Optical Time-Domain Reflectometer) connected to one or more external test ports on the NTM through fiber-optic test cables, with any internal fiber-optic connectors able to be moved and inserted in an internal side of any port, the method comprising:
instructing the interconnect control system to identify a particular fiber-optic link endpoint; and
connecting the particular fiber-optic link to a visual laser at an intermediate point connected to the NTM, such that a dust cap at the end of the particular fiber-optic link is illuminated.
10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the robot services include one or more of: a fiber connection; a fiber disconnection; an optical power measurement; and/or an optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) trace.
11 . A system of operating a data center physical fiber-optic interconnect fabric, the system providing automated network services, including some or all of: provisioning, verification, audit, troubleshooting, and/or authentication using distributed robotic fiber cross-connects, the system comprising:
a multiplicity of optical fiber signal carrying cables; and
a software control system that generates a sequence of movement and sensing based instructions communicated to multiple distributed robotic fiber cross-connects to perform robot services; and
the multiple distributed robotic fiber cross-connects having internal robots configured to plug and unplug signal carrying cables in accordance with a non-entangling algorithm to enable said robot services, the software control system further configured to confirm, authenticate and track robot services and input them into a data file for storage, wherein
an internal connection within the robotic fiber cross-connect has an allocated state, in which the connection exhibits an insertion loss of less than 1 dB, and
an internal connection also has an unallocated state, in which the connection exhibits an attenuation of greater than 30 dB, and
the robotic fiber cross-connect is configured to autonomously transition internal connections between allocated and unallocated states, allowing interconnects to be disconnected, stored, and reconfigured without entanglement or performance degradation, and
the system records connectivity history and a current physical interconnect state of individual cables and connectors to track provisioning, disconnection, and reconfiguration events.
12 . The system of claim 11 , wherein the robot services include one or more of: a fiber connection; a fiber disconnection; an optical power measurement; and/or an optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR) trace.