IP Library Granted Patent US 12,308,885
Granted Patent B2
US 12,308,885 · App. 18/441,562 · Granted May 20, 2025

Optical domain controller of a telecommunications network

Inventors: William Feight (Bennett, CO); Tara Joseph-Labrie (Centennial, CO); James M. Adkins, III (Bennett, CO); Clyde David Cooper, III (Louisville, CO)
Assignee: Level 3 Communications, LLC.
H04B10/27H04B10/00H04B10/25
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,308,885
App. No.
18/441,562
Granted
May 20, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

Implementations described and claimed herein provide systems and methods for an optical domain controller for managing and maintaining a record of network component configuration and interconnections. The optical domain controller detects changes in a configuration of optical network elements in response to a requested service from the network, coordinates additional changes in configurations to optical network elements that may be affected by the detected change, communicates with the optical network elements to incorporate the changes to the configurations of the network element, and stores the configurations and states of the network elements. The use of the optical domain controller may thus replace or supplement a database storing network configuration information by automatically managing changes to the network as new services are instantiated directly on the optical network elements.

Claims (15)

1. A method for managing a network, the method comprising:

receiving, at an optical domain controller, a configuration change notification from a first optical network device, wherein the configuration change notification comprises a first communication format corresponding to an operating system of the first optical network device;

converting the configuration change notification to a common communication format different than the first communication format;

accessing a network infrastructure database storing configuration information of an optical network to determine a network component associated with the configuration change to the first optical network device, the network component separate from the first optical network device;

generating a configuration instruction to configure the network component based on the configuration change notification from the first optical network device;

transmitting, to an activation controller associated with the network component, the configuration instruction; and

transmitting, to the first optical network device and a second optical network device, service connection instructions configuring an inter-device connection between the first optical network device and the second optical network device.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

receiving, at the optical domain controller and from a device associated with a first network, a request for an optical connection service of the first network to a second network via the optical network.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

transmitting, to a network path computation device, a request for a network path via the optical network based on the request for the optical connection service; and

receiving, in response to the request for the network path, an indication of the first optical network device and the second optical network device comprising the network path.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the service connection instructions are based on a network business rule comprising a shortest connection path, a lowest cost connection path, or a quality of service threshold associated with a connection path.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the configuration instruction comprises the common format, the method further comprising:

converting the configuration instruction to a second communication format different than the common format, the second communication format corresponding to an operating system of the second optical device.

Assignments (3)
NOTICE OF GRANT OF SECURITY INTEREST IN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (SECOND LIEN) Recorded Nov 4, 2024
From: LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC; GLOBAL CROSSING TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INC
To: WILMINGTON TRUST, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 069295/0749 →
NOTICE OF GRANT OF SECURITY INTEREST IN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (FIRST LIEN) Recorded Nov 4, 2024
From: LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC; GLOBAL CROSSING TELECOMMUNICATIONS, INC.
To: WILMINGTON TRUST, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS COLLATERAL AGENT
Reel/Frame 069295/0858 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 20, 2024
From: FEIGHT, WILLIAM; JOSEPH-LABRIE, TARA; ADKINS, JAMES M., III; COOPER, CLYDE DAVID, III
To: LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC
Reel/Frame 066500/0810 →
Continuity (6)
Continuation 17698366 · Mar 18, 2022
Continuation 17222658 · Apr 5, 2021
Continuation 16798184 · Feb 21, 2020
Provisional Application 62948706 · Dec 16, 2019
Provisional Application 62915587 · Oct 15, 2019
Related Publication 20240195507A1 · Jun 13, 2024
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