Method and system for fast virtual concatenation setup in a communication network
View Patent ↗The invention is directed to optimizing setup of a VCAT connections using (largest) CCAT containers so as to minimize the number of cross-connection commands needed to enable data transfer. A system and method are provided for enhancing VCAT networks to include faster service restoration rates and faster connection setup times. One embodiment includes expanding available VCAT timeslots to include available CCAT timeslots. A routing and signaling control module alerts a source network element, internal network elements and a destination network element that the data transmission includes VCAT payloads rather than the expected CCAT payloads. By issuing this alert, the routing and signaling control module instructs an end-point monitoring function to overlook any mismatch between the expected CCAT rate and the received VCAT traffic. Otherwise, if the mismatch is not overlooked, then the end-point monitoring function will squelch the received VCAT traffic, which terminates the data communication.
1. A method of establishing a fast virtual concatenation (VCAT) connection, the method comprising:
receiving at a network element a data signal having a VCAT path computation for a virtual concatenation network;
analyzing available contiguous concatenation (CCAT) timeslots at the network element for transporting the data signal through the virtual concatenation network;
adjusting the VCAT path computation at the network element to include transporting the data signal using the available CCAT timeslots; and
issuing at least one command from the network element to route the data signal through the VCAT network using the available CCAT timeslots.
2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising using auto-concatenation at network nodes traversed by the data signal.
3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein using auto-concatenation includes signaling to the network element that the data signal is transported using VCAT rates that differ from indicated CCAT rates.
4. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising selecting at least one largest available CCAT timeslot to transport the data signal.
5. The method according to claim 4 , further comprising modifying the selected at least one largest available CCAT timeslot to comply with bandwidth availability of the VCAT network.
6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein issuing at least one command to route the data signal through the VCAT network includes providing cross-connections between ports of the network element.
7. A network element for establishing a fast virtual concatenation (VCAT) connection, the network element comprising:
an input port;
a transceiver operable to receive a data signal from the input port having a VCAT path computation for a virtual concatenation network; and
a processor electrically connected to the transceiver, the processor operable to:
analyze available contiguous concatenation (CCAT) timeslots for transporting the data signal through the virtual concatenation network;
adjust the VCAT path computation to include transporting the data signal using the available CCAT timeslots; and
issue at least one command to route the data signal through the VCAT network using the available CCAT timeslots, wherein the network element is operable to establish fast VCAT connections.
8. The network element according to claim 7 , wherein the transceiver is operable to access expanded available CCAT timeslots.
9. The network element according to claim 8 , wherein the processor is further operable to use auto-concatenation for the network element traversed by the data signal, wherein the auto-concatenation signals to the network element that the data signal is transported using VCAT rates that differ from indicated CCAT rates.
10. The network element according to claim 7 , wherein the processor is further operable to select at least one largest available CCAT timeslot to transport the data signal.
11. The network element according to claim 10 , wherein the processor is further operable to modify the selected at least one largest available CCAT timeslot to comply with bandwidth availability of the VCAT network.
12. The network element according to claim 7 , further comprising an output port, wherein the processor issues at least one command to route the data signal through the VCAT network by providing cross-connections between the input port and the output port of the network element.
13. A network element for establishing a fast virtual concatenation (VCAT) connection, the network element comprising:
an input port;
a path computation module that receives a data signal from the input port having a VCAT path computation for a virtual concatenation network, the path computation module analyzing available contiguous concatenation (CCAT) timeslots for transporting the data signal through the virtual concatenation network, the path computation module adjusting the VCAT path computation to include transporting the data signal using the available CCAT timeslots; and
a routing and signaling control module, the routing and signaling control module issuing at least one command to route the data signal through the VCAT network using the available CCAT timeslots.
14. The network element according to claim 13 , wherein the path computation module selects at least one largest available CCAT timeslot to transport the data signal.
15. The network element according to claim 14 , wherein the path computation module modifies the selected at least one largest available CCAT timeslot to comply with bandwidth availability of the VCAT network.
16. The network element according to claim 13 , wherein the path computation module accesses expanded available CCAT timeslots.
17. The network element according to claim 13 , wherein the routing and signaling control module uses auto-concatenation at the network element traversed by the data signal to signal to the network element that the data signal is transported using VCAT rates that differ from indicated CCAT rates.
18. The network element according to claim 13 , wherein the routing and signaling control module issues at least one command to route the data signal through the VCAT network by installing cross-connections between ports of the network element.
19. The network element according to claim 13 , wherein the path computation module routes the data signal using a plurality of connections.
20. The network element according to claim 13 , wherein the path computation module operates on a Synchronous Optical Network.