JP7159752B2 - Transmitting device, transmitting device, method for controlling transmitting device, and method for controlling transmitting device - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a communication system and its control method, and more particularly to a redundant configuration of a main signal path of transmission equipment.

An optical communication system is configured by connecting a transmitting device and a facing receiving device via an optical transmission line such as an optical fiber cable. For two-way communication, the transmitting device and the receiving device are configured as communication devices capable of transmitting and receiving. In communication equipment of such an optical communication system, signal transmission becomes impossible when a line-side transmitting/receiving circuit incorporated in the optical signal transmitting/receiving section fails. Therefore, in order to improve the reliability of communication equipment of such an optical communication system, there is a demand for a means for automatically switching to a redundant path when a mounted device fails.

As a countermeasure against failure, it is conceivable to construct a redundant path in which the signal input to the optical signal transmitting/receiving unit passes through another board via a wired medium such as an optical fiber cable or a coaxial cable. However, in this case, since the different boards are physically connected by cables, it is necessary to consider cable routes and wiring. Also, when replacing the board, it is necessary to remove and insert the cable.

Patent Document 1 relates to a redundant configuration of an optical transmission line, in which an optical/wireless switching device is installed at both ends of an optical line, and when a failure such as an optical line disconnection occurs, it is detected and the optical line is used. It has been proposed to switch from optical transmission to radio transmission using radio links.

JP 2015-115751 A

However, the redundant configuration of the optical transmission line of Patent Document 1 described above cannot cope with the occurrence of a failure in the main path of the electrical signal such as the optical signal transmitting/receiving unit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a communication system capable of constructing a detour route and continuing communication via the detour route when a failure occurs in the main path of electrical signals of communication equipment connected to an optical transmission line. and its control method.

In order to achieve the above object, the transmitting device according to the present invention comprises:
An optical transceiver connected to the main signal path for converting an input electrical signal into an optical signal and sending it out, and a radio transmitter connected to the signal sub path for converting an input electrical signal into a radio signal and sending it out. ,
a switch for switching an output destination of an electrical signal converted from an optical signal between a signal main path to the optical transceiver and a signal sub path to the radio transmission unit.

A method for controlling a transmitting device according to the present invention includes:
An optical transceiver connected to the main signal path for converting an input electrical signal into an optical signal and sending it out, and a radio transmitter connected to the signal sub path for converting an input electrical signal into a radio signal and sending it out. and a switch for switching an output destination of an electrical signal converted from an optical signal between a signal main path to the optical transceiver and a signal sub path to the radio transmission unit, wherein ,
When a problem occurs in the signal main path, the switch switches the output destination of the electrical signal converted from the optical signal to the signal sub path to the radio transmission section.

According to the present invention, when a fault occurs in the signal main path, the output destination of the electrical signal converted from the optical signal is switched to the signal sub path to the radio transmission section, and the signal sub path to the radio transmission section is switched. Communication can continue via the route.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a communication system according to an embodiment; FIG. 1 is an overview diagram showing a configuration example of a terminal device belonging to a communication system according to an embodiment; FIG. 1 is an overview diagram showing a configuration example of a terminal device belonging to a communication system according to an embodiment; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an optical signal transmission/reception unit 105 and an optical signal transmission/reception unit 111 according to the embodiment; FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of an optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 116 according to the embodiment; FIG. 4 is a block diagram for explaining the operation of the optical signal transmitter/receiver 105 and the optical signal transmitter/receiver 111 of the embodiment when a failure occurs in the main signal path; FIG. 3 is a block diagram for explaining the operation of the optical signal transmitter/receiver 116 of the embodiment when a failure occurs in the main signal path of the optical signal transmitter/receiver 105; FIG. 4 is a sequence chart for explaining the operation of the communication system according to the embodiment; 1 is an overview diagram showing a configuration example of a terminal device belonging to a communication system; FIG.

Before describing the preferred embodiments of the present invention, a general concept of transmitting equipment and its control method will be described.

A transmission device, which is a generic concept, is connected to an opposing reception device via an optical transmission line such as an optical fiber cable to form an optical communication system. Transmitting equipment in a broader concept includes an optical transceiver that is connected to the main signal path, converts an input optical signal into an electrical signal, converts the electrical signal to an optical signal again, and transmits the signal, and a sub signal path that is connected to the input signal. and a wireless transmitter for converting the received electric signal into a wireless signal and transmitting the wireless signal. Furthermore, the transmission equipment of a broader concept includes a switch for switching the output destination of the electrical signal converted from the optical signal between the signal main path to the optical transceiver and the signal sub path to the radio transmission section.

A method of controlling a transmission device, which is a general concept, is a method of controlling a transmission device configured as described above. The output destination is switched to the signal sub-path to the radio transmission unit.

As a result, if there is a problem or failure in the main signal path, for example, if there is a problem in the optical transceiver that is connected to the main signal path and converts an input electrical signal into an optical signal and sends it out, the above optical signal is converted. It is possible to switch the output destination of the electrical signal that has been received to the signal sub-path to the radio transmission unit, and to continue communication via the signal sub-path to the radio transmission unit. Hereinafter, more specific embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Embodiment]
A communication system, a transmitting device, a control method thereof, and the like according to embodiments will be described.

The optical signal transmitting/receiving units 105, 116, and 111 are examples of transmitting equipment.

For example, FIG. 4 shows a more specific configuration of the optical signal transmission/reception unit 105 of FIG. and a UWB transmission unit 411 as an example of a wireless transmission unit connected to the signal sub-path and configured to convert an input electrical signal into a wireless signal and transmit the wireless signal. Furthermore, the optical signal transmission/reception unit 105 in FIG. 4 includes a switch 407 that switches the output destination of the electrical signal converted from the optical signal between the signal main path to the optical transceiver 409 and the signal sub path to the UWB transmission unit 411. include.

5 shows a more specific configuration of the optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 116 of FIG. and a UWB transmission unit 511 as an example of a wireless transmission unit connected to the signal sub-path and configured to convert an input electrical signal into a wireless signal and transmit the wireless signal. Further, the optical signal transmission/reception unit 116 of FIG. 5 includes a switch 507 that switches the output destination of the electrical signal converted from the optical signal between the signal main path to the optical transceiver 509 and the signal sub path to the UWB transmission unit 511. include.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a communication system to which terminal equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention belongs.

The client devices 101, 102, 114, 115 are communication devices. More specifically, the client devices 101, 102, 114, and 115 are communication devices such as transmission devices conforming to SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy) and Ethernet (registered trademark) routers.

The optical signal transmitting/receiving units 105 and 116 are communication devices that perform optical communication, which is transmission of optical signals or reception of optical signals, with the opposing optical signal transmitting/receiving units 111 via optical fibers. The optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 105 receives transmission signals output as optical signals from a plurality of connected client devices (client devices 101 and 102 in FIG. 1), multiplexes them internally, and converts them to the optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 111 facing each other as optical signals. Output to The received optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 111 demultiplexes the multiplexed signal and sends it to the connected client devices 114 and 115 . Conversely, the optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 111 receives transmission signals output as optical signals from a plurality of connected client devices (client devices 114 and 115 in FIG. 1), multiplexes them internally, and converts them into opposing optical signals. Output to the transmission/reception unit 105 . The received optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 105 demultiplexes the multiplexed signal and sends it to the connected client devices 101 and 102 . By the above method, the client devices 101 and 102 and the client devices 114 and 115 can communicate bidirectionally.

The optical signal transmitter/receiver 116 in FIG. 1 is also the same optical signal transmitter/receiver as the optical signal transmitter/receivers 105 and 111 . However, the optical signal transmission/reception unit 116 in FIG. 1 is prepared as a spare for the optical signal transmission/reception unit 105, and constitutes a redundant path for the main signal when the optical signal transmission/reception unit 105 fails.

The optical signal transmitting/receiving units 105, 111, and 116 are composed of electric circuit boards, and are generally installed in a telephone office building or the like.

Here, the optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 105 and its standby optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 116 are installed in the same station building. In general, one office is equipped with a plurality of optical signal transmitting/receiving units. Further, the optical signal transmitting/receiving units 105, 111, and 116 are housed in a housing called a shelf having a function of accommodating a circuit board and supplying power to the accommodated circuit board. FIG. 9 is a general view showing a configuration example of a terminal equipment belonging to a communication system, and shows a storage state of an optical signal transmitting/receiving unit in a shelf. The shelf 701 in FIG. 9 stores the optical signal transmitter/receiver and is formed of a metal housing, and grooves for inserting and holding the circuit boards 702 and 703 of the optical signal transmitter/receiver are provided in the upper and lower parts of the housing. is provided. One circuit board has the function of one optical signal transmitting/receiving section. The circuit board 702 of this optical signal transmitter/receiver is inserted from the outside as shown in FIG. After insertion, it is fixed inside the shelf 701 like the circuit board 703 of the optical signal transmitting/receiving unit. The circuit boards 702 and 703 of the optical signal transmitting/receiving unit receive power from a circuit board called a backplane mounted inside the shelf 701 after being inserted into and fixed to the shelf.

On the other hand, the optical signal transmitter/receiver 105 and the optical signal transmitter/receiver 111 are installed in different stations and used for signal transmission between stations.

Optical fiber pair cables 103, 104, 106, 108, 110, 112, 113, and 117 are transmission media for optical communication between devices. Two optical fibers are contained in one cable of the optical fiber pair cable, and two-way optical communication is possible with one cable. In general, optical fiber pair cables 103, 104, 112, and 113 between the client device and the optical signal transmitter/receiver and optical fiber pair cables 106, 110, and 117 between the optical signal transmitter/receiver and the wavelength demultiplexer are connected between devices in the same office. to connect. Also, the optical fiber pair cable 108 between the wavelength demultiplexers is used as a transmission line between different office buildings.

The wavelength demultiplexers 107 and 109 have a function of multiplexing a plurality of optical signals with different wavelengths and a function of demultiplexing signals of predetermined wavelength bands from the multiplexed optical signals. The wavelength demultiplexers 107 and 109 multiplex a plurality of optical signals with different wavelengths output by the connected optical signal transmitting/receiving units, and transmit the multiple optical signals to the opposing wavelength demultiplexers 109 and 107 via one optical fiber. . The wavelength demultiplexers 109 and 107 on the opposite side that have received the wavelength-multiplexed optical signals separate signals in a predetermined wavelength band from the multiplexed optical signals, and transmit and receive the separated optical signals. output to the department.

A HUB 121 is a HUB used in a network such as Ethernet. Optical signal transmitting/receiving units 105, 111, 116, wavelength demultiplexer 107, and HUB 121 are connected by network lines 118, 119, 120, 122 constituting networks such as LANs (Local Area Networks) and WANs (Wide Area Networks). .

FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of a terminal equipment system to which this embodiment is applied. FIG. 2 is an overview diagram showing a configuration example of a terminal device belonging to the communication system according to the embodiment.

A circuit board 200 in FIG. 2 is a circuit board called a backplane, mounted inside the shelf 701 in FIG. 9, and supplied with power from an external power supply circuit. A plurality of connectors 201 to 206 are mounted on this circuit board 200 . A circuit board 207 is inserted into these connectors 201 to 206 as shown in FIG. When the circuit board 207 is inserted into the connector 201 , power supplied to the circuit board 200 is supplied to the circuit board 207 via the connector 201 . FIG. 3 is a general view showing a configuration example of a terminal device belonging to a communication system according to the embodiment, showing a state in which circuit boards 308 to 313 are inserted into a plurality of connectors 301 to 306 of a circuit board 300 called a backplane. show. It should be noted that FIG. 3 shows one configuration example, and it is not necessary to use the circuit board inserted into all the connectors as in FIG. Circuit boards 308 to 313 in FIG. 3 are circuit boards of the optical signal transmitting/receiving units (optical signal transmitting/receiving units 105, 111, and 116 in FIG. 1) according to the present embodiment, respectively. Circuit boards 308-313 receive power supply from circuit board 300 through connectors 301-306. In this embodiment, the optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 105 and its spare optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 116 are inserted as one of circuit boards 308 to 313 into the same circuit board 300 called a backplane. Only one optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 116 of the terminal equipment is inserted and used as a spare for a plurality of other optical signal transmitting/receiving units.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the optical signal transmitting/receiving section 105 and the optical signal transmitting/receiving section 111 of the communication system of FIG. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the optical signal transmitting/receiving section 116 of the communication system of FIG. The block diagram of FIG. 5 is an internal electric circuit block diagram of the optical signal transmitting/receiving section to which the embodiment of the present invention is applied, and shows an example of the configuration of signal transmission. These figures show block diagrams of the optical signal transmitter/receiver 105, the optical signal transmitter/receiver 111, and the optical signal transmitter/receiver 116 shown in FIG. The internal electrical circuits of these devices are the same, but the optical signal transmitting/receiving section 116 is shown as a separate drawing (FIG. 5) for later explanation of the operation.

Optical transceivers 401 and 402 in FIG. 4 receive optical signals transmitted by external client devices 101 and 102 (114 and 115) and received via optical fiber pair cables 103 and 104 (112 and 113), and convert them into electrical signals. It is an optical-to-electrical conversion module that outputs to a device OTN (Optical Transport Network) framer 405 in the subsequent stage after conversion to . Conversely, it also has a function of converting an electrical signal received from the OTN framer 405 into an optical signal and outputting it to the external client devices 101, 102 (114, 115) via the optical fiber pair cables 103, 104 (112, 113). Prepare. The optical fiber pair cables 103, 104 (112, 113) between the client devices 101, 102 (114, 115) and the optical signal transmitter/receiver 105 (111) shown in FIG. Optical transceivers include modules such as XFP (10G Small Form-Factor Pluggable), SFP (Small Form-Factor Pluggable), and SFP+ (Small Form-Factor Pluggable Plus).

The signal lines 403 and 404 are mediums for exchanging electrical signals between the optical transceivers 401 and 402 and the OTN framer 405, and are patterns on the circuit board.

The OTN framer 405 is composed of, for example, an integrated circuit. After superimposing a plurality of client signals received from the optical transceivers 401 and 402, the OTN framer 405 converts them into the signal frame format of the optical transport network OTN having an error correction function, and transmits the electrical signals to the subsequent stage. to the switch 407 of . Conversely, it also has a function of separating the bundled client signals after error correction of the electrical signals in the OTN signal frame format received from the switch 407 and outputting them to the optical transceivers 401 and 402 .

The signal line 406 is a medium for exchanging electrical signals between the OTN framer 405 and the switch 407, and is a pattern on the circuit board.

The switches 407 and 507 are switches having a function of switching the output direction when outputting an electric signal input from the outside. In this embodiment, the switches 407 and 507 select the input signal and the output destination of the output signal. The input signal of switch 407 is selected from OTN framer 405 or UWB receiver 413 . The input signal of switch 507 is selected from OTN framer 505 or UWB receiver 513 . Also, the output destination of the switches 407 and 507 can be selected from the optical transceivers 409 and 509 or the UWB transmission units 411 and 511 . These selections are made according to settings made from CPUs (Central Processing Units) 415 , 515 via buses 416 , 416 .

The signal lines 408 , 508 are patterns on the circuit board for exchanging electrical signals between the optical transceivers 409 , 509 and the switches 407 , 507 .

The optical transceivers 409 and 509 are electrical-to-optical conversion modules that convert electrical signals output by the switches 407 and 507 into optical signals and output the optical signals. Optical fiber pair cables 106, 110 and 117 are connected to the optical transceivers 409 and 509, and the optical signals are output to the wavelength multiplexing/demultiplexers 107 and 109 in the subsequent stages of the system via the optical fiber pair cables. . Conversely, the optical signal output from wavelength demultiplexer 107 is input to optical transceivers 409 and 509 via optical fiber pair cables 106 , 110 and 117 . The optical transceiver 409 in FIG. 4 converts an optical signal input via the optical fiber pair cable 106 (110) into an electrical signal, and then outputs the electrical signal to the switch 407 . The optical transceiver 509 in FIG. 5 converts an optical signal input via the optical fiber pair cable 117 into an electrical signal, and then outputs the electrical signal to the switch 507 .

UWB (Ultra Wide Band) transmission units 411 and 511 have built-in antennas, convert electrical signals from the OTN framer 405 received via switches 407 and 507 into a UWB wireless communication system, It is a module that radiates to In this wireless transmission, the signal band is the same as the signal band of the electrical signal from the OTN framer or wider than the signal band of the electrical signal from the OTN framer. In this embodiment, the transmitted radio signal is received and demodulated by a UWB (Ultra Wide Band) receiver installed in another optical signal transmitter/receiver in the same shelf, thereby enabling communication with the other optical signal transmitter/receiver. configure the signal path;

Signal lines 410 and 510 are patterns on a circuit board for transmitting electrical signals output from switches 407 and 507 to UWB transmission units 411 and 511 .

The UWB receivers 413 and 513 are modules that receive UWB radio waves and convert them into electric signals. The converted electric signal is output to switches 407 and 507 in the subsequent stage.

Signal lines 412 and 512 are patterns on a circuit board for transmitting electrical signals output from UWB receivers 413 and 513 to switches 407 and 507 .

Network interfaces 414 and 514 are interfaces for communicating with the outside via Ethernet LAN. This interface section has a LAN port and is connected to a HUB 121 via network lines 118, 119, and 120 connected to this LAN port.

CPUs 415 and 515 are central processing units, which control devices and modules mounted in the optical signal transmitting/receiving unit and communicate with external devices via network interfaces.

Buses 416 , 516 exchange data between OTN framer 405 , switches 407 , 507 , optical transceivers 409 , 509 , UWB transmitters 411 , 511 , UWB receivers 413 , 513 , network interfaces 414 , 514 , CPUs 415 , 515 . It is a bus line for

(Description of normal operation)
As an operation of the communication system of this embodiment in a normal state, the operation of transmitting data from the client device 101 to the client device 114 and from the client device 102 to the client device 115 in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. to explain.

The client devices 101 and 102 output data to be transmitted as optical signals as client signals conforming to the SDH system, Ethernet, and OTN. The optical signal output by the client device 101 reaches the optical signal transmission/reception unit 105 via the optical fiber pair cable 103 . Similarly, the optical signal output by the client device 102 reaches the optical signal transmission/reception unit 105 via the optical fiber pair cable 104 .

The optical fiber pair cable 103 is connected to the optical transceiver 401 shown in FIG. 4 on which the optical signal transmission/reception unit 105 is mounted, and the optical fiber pair cable 104 is connected to the optical transceiver 402 shown in FIG. ing. An optical signal output by the client device 101 in FIG. 1 is converted into an electrical signal by the optical transceiver 401, and an optical signal output by the client device 102 is converted into an electrical signal by the optical transceiver 402, and both are sent to the OTN framer 405 in the subsequent stage. be done. The OTN framer 405 superimposes these two received electrical signals, converts them into an OTN signal frame format, and sends the electrical signals to the switch 407 in the subsequent stage. When the communication system is normal, switch 407 is set to output the signal from OTN framer 405 to optical transceiver 409 .

The electrical signal output from the switch 407 is sent to the optical transceiver 409 via the signal line 408 and converted from the electrical signal to the optical signal by the optical transceiver 409 . The optical signal converted in this manner is sent to the subsequent wavelength division multiplexer 107 via the optical fiber pair cable 106 connected to the optical transceiver 409 . The wavelength demultiplexer 107 wavelength-multiplexes a plurality of optical signals having different wavelengths output from the optical signal transmitting/receiving units 105 and 116 and other optical signal transmitting/receiving units connected but not shown in FIG. Output to pair cable 108 .

A wavelength multiplexed optical signal transmitted via the optical fiber pair cable 108 is received by the wavelength multiplex demultiplexer 109 on the opposite side. The wavelength demultiplexer 109 internally demultiplexes for each wavelength band for one data communication, and transmits the optical signal of the optical wavelength band received by the optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 111 to the optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 111 in the subsequent stage. do. The optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 111 receives the optical signal output from the wavelength demultiplexer 109 by the optical transceiver 409 containing the optical signal. The optical signal is converted into an electrical signal by optical transceiver 409 and then sent to OTN framer 405 via signal line 408 , switch 407 and signal line 406 . The OTN framer 405 separates the multiplexed OTN signal frame format into the original SDH, Ethernet, or OTN-compliant client signals, and distributes the client signals to signal lines 403 and 404 so that the client signals reach desired client devices 114 and 115 . to the optical transceivers 401 and 402 via. The optical transceivers 401 and 402 convert the received electrical signals into optical signals and output them to the client devices 114 and 115 from the optical fiber pair cables 112 and 113 connected to the optical connectors mounted thereon. Data is transmitted from the client devices 101 and 102 to the client devices 114 and 115 as described above.

(Description of operation when a failure occurs in the main signal path of the optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 105)
Next, as an example of when a failure occurs in the main signal path of the optical signal transmission/reception unit 105, which is a feature of this embodiment, the operation of the communication system when the optical transceiver 409 mounted in the optical signal transmission/reception unit 105 fails. will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 5 and 6. FIG. Similarly, a case of transmitting data from the client device 101 to the client device 114 and from the client device 102 to the client device 115 in FIG. 1 will be described as an example. In this embodiment, when the optical transceiver 409 fails, data is transmitted using a redundant path using the spare optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 116 .

First, when the optical transceiver 409 fails, the signal path is switched. FIG. 6 is a sequence chart for explaining the route switching sequence. A CPU 415 on the optical signal transmission/reception unit 105 constantly monitors the operation status of the optical transceiver 409 . Therefore, the CPU 415 issues a status acquisition request (S601) to the optical transceiver 409, and in response to the request, the optical transceiver 409 sends a status response (S602) for returning the internal status to the CPU 415. FIG. Here, if there is a problem in the internal state of the optical transceiver 409 and the CPU 415 responds that the optical transceiver 409 cannot operate normally, and determines that the response will interfere with the signal conduction, the CPU 415 will cause the optical transceiver 409 to is requested to stop optical output to the external optical fiber pair cable 106 (S603). After receiving this output stop request, the optical transceiver 409 stops output and outputs a response to the CPU 415 (S604). Next, the CPU 415 requests the UWB transmission unit 411 to start transmission (S605). Upon receiving the transmission start request, the UWB transmission unit 411 makes settings for outputting the data output from the switch 407 and received via the signal line 410 by the UWB wireless communication method, and then returns a response to the CPU 415 (S606). Next, the CPU 415 issues a path switching request to the switch 407 (S607). The switch 407 that has received the path switching request switches the internal selector, changes the output destination of the signal input from the OTN framer 405 from the optical transceiver 409 to the UWB transmission unit 411, and then returns a response to the CPU 415. (S608). As a result of the above switching, the signal that was output as an optical signal from the optical transceiver 409 when the communication system was normal is instead output from the UWB transmission unit 411 via UWB wireless communication. After that, the CPU 415 issues a path switching request to the wavelength demultiplexer 107 (S609). This path switching request reaches the wavelength demultiplexer 107 from the CPU 415 via the bus 416 , network interface 414 , network line 118 , HUB 121 and network line 122 . Until then, the wavelength demultiplexer 107 had received the optical signal output from the optical signal transmitter/receiver 105 and sent via the optical fiber pair cable 106. However, based on the path switching request (S609), the wavelength demultiplexer 107 107 switches the internal selector so that the optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 116 instead receives the optical signal sent via the optical fiber pair cable 117, and returns a response (S610). The CPU 415 makes a reserve use request to the CPU 515 of the reserve optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 116 (S611). This reserve use request reaches the CPU 515 from the CPU 415 via the bus 416 , the network interface 414 , the network line 118 , the HUB 121 , the network line 120 , the network interface 514 of the optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 116 , and the bus 516 . In this request, settings are also sent so that the output optical signal from the optical transceiver 509 mounted in the standby optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 116 is the same as the output, wavelength, etc. of the optical signal output from the original optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 105. be done. The CPU 515 that has received the preliminary use request issues a reception start request to the UWB receiver 513 (S612). The UWB receiving unit 513 that has received the request to start reception performs UWB reception and performs internal settings to output the received data to the signal line 512 . After that, a response is returned to the CPU 515 (S613). Next, the CPU 515 performs path switching setting for the switch 507 (S614). The switch 507 switches the internal selector to receive the signal from the signal line 512 and output it to the optical transceiver 509 based on the setting, and returns a response (S615). Next, the CPU 515 issues an operation start request to the optical transceiver 509 (S616). After receiving the operation start request, the optical transceiver 509 initializes the inside, starts operation, and returns a response to the CPU 515 (S617). This response reaches the CPU 415 from the CPU 515 via the bus 516 , the network interface 514 of the optical signal transmitter/receiver 116 , the network line 120 , the HUB 121 , the network line 118 , the network interface 414 and the bus 416 .

As described above, when a failure occurs in the main signal path of the optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 105, such as a failure of the optical transceiver 409 of the optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 105, the electrical signal bypasses the path passing through the optical transceiver 409, and the backup optical signal A route passing through the transmitting/receiving unit 116 is constructed.

(Description of the operation when reaching via the constructed detour route)
Next, the operation when the signals output from the client devices 101 and 102 reach the client devices 114 and 115 via the constructed detour routes will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 5. FIG.

The client device 101 outputs data to be transmitted as an optical signal as a client signal conforming to the SDH system, Ethernet, or OTN. The optical signal output by the client device 101 reaches the optical signal transmission/reception unit 105 via the optical fiber pair cable 103 . Similarly, the optical signal output by the client device 102 reaches the optical signal transmission/reception unit 105 via the optical fiber pair cable 104 . The optical fiber pair cable 103 is connected to an optical transceiver 401 mounted on the optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 105, and the optical fiber pair cable 104 is connected to an optical transceiver 402. The optical signal output by 102 is converted into an electrical signal by the optical transceiver 402 and sent together to the OTN framer 405 in the subsequent stage. The OTN framer 405 superimposes these two received electrical signals, converts them into an OTN signal frame format, and sends the electrical signals to the switch 407 in the subsequent stage.

The built-in selector of the switch 407 is switched by the route switching request (S607) from the CPU 415 in FIG. The electrical signal sent to the UWB transmission unit 411 via the signal line 410 is modulated by the UWB system in the UWB transmission unit 411 and radiated as a radio signal from the built-in antenna. This radio signal is received by the UWB receiver 513 of the optical signal transmitter/receiver 116 . Here, as already explained, the optical signal transmitting/receiving units 105 and 116 are any of the circuit boards 308 to 313 shown in FIG. 3, and the maximum distance between the boards is about several tens of centimeters. The received radio signal is demodulated by UWB receiver 513 and converted into an electric signal, which is then sent to switch 507 via signal line 512 . Here, the selector incorporated in the switch 507 has already been set to receive the electrical signal from the signal line 512 and output it to the optical transceiver 509 by the path switching request (S614) from the CPU 515 in FIG. . The electrical signal output from the switch 507 is sent to the optical transceiver 509 via the signal line 508, converted from the electrical signal to the optical signal by the optical transceiver 509, and then connected to the optical fiber pair cable connected to the optical transceiver 509. 117 to the subsequent wavelength demultiplexer 107 . The wavelength demultiplexer 107 wavelength-multiplexes a plurality of optical signals having different wavelengths output from the optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 116 and other optical signal transmitting/receiving units connected but not shown in FIG. 108. A wavelength multiplexed optical signal transmitted via the optical fiber pair cable 108 is received by the wavelength multiplex demultiplexer 109 on the opposite side. The wavelength demultiplexer 109 internally demultiplexes each wavelength band for one data communication, and transmits the optical signal of the optical wavelength band received by the optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 111 to the optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 111 in the subsequent stage. do. The optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 111 receives the optical signal output from the wavelength demultiplexer 109 by the built-in optical transceiver 409 . The optical signal is converted into an electrical signal by optical transceiver 409 and then sent to OTN framer 405 via signal line 408 , switch 407 and signal line 406 . The electrical signal is separated from the OTN signal frame format multiplexed by the OTN framer 405 into the original SDH, Ethernet, and OTN-compliant client signals, and the client signals are routed through signal lines so that they reach desired client devices 114 and 115 . 403, 404 to the optical transceivers 401, 402. The optical transceivers 401 and 402 convert the received electrical signals into optical signals and output them to the client devices 114 and 115 from the optical fiber pair cables 112 and 113 connected to the optical connectors mounted thereon.

As described above, data is transmitted from the client devices 101 and 102 to the client devices 114 and 115 via the standby optical signal transmission/reception unit 116 .

(Description of effects of the embodiment)
When a failure occurs in the main signal path of the optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 105, such as when the signal is no longer conducted due to a device failure, the signal is automatically transmitted wirelessly to the adjacent substrate circuit, thereby switching to the redundant path circuit. Signal continuity can continue.

More specifically, when the optical transceiver on the main signal path fails, it is possible to construct a signal path different from the optical transceiver on the main signal path and use this signal path to continue signal continuity. be.

It is characterized in that when the line-side transmission/reception circuit on the main signal path fails, the signal to be transmitted is transmitted to another nearby circuit board by wireless communication to form a redundant path and continue signal transmission.

In the communication system of the present embodiment, a standby system board is provided separately from the active system board, and the active system board and the standby system board are connected by wireless communication. As a result, there is no need to consider wiring routes, as compared with the case of constructing redundant routes via wired media.

In addition, in the communication system of the present embodiment, one standby system board is redundantly provided for a plurality of active system boards. For example, compared to the method of realizing redundancy by providing a plurality of optical transceivers in the operating system infrastructure, the number of optical transceivers to be provided in the entire apparatus can be reduced. Since optical transceivers are expensive, it is not desirable to provide a plurality of standby transceivers, and the communication system of this embodiment can also reduce costs.

[Other embodiments]
Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these, and various modifications are possible. For example, the transmission wavelength of the optical signal output from the optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 116, which is the standby system infrastructure, may be the same as or different from that of the optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 105 in which the fault has occurred. If the transmission wavelength of the optical signal output by the optical signal transmission/reception unit 116, which is the standby system infrastructure, is set to the same wavelength as that of the optical signal transmission/reception unit 105 in which the fault has occurred, the standby use request (S611) in FIG. 8 is output. An optical signal is notified, and the optical transceiver 509 is set to output an optical signal of the notified wavelength. At this time, there is no need to change the input wavelength on the side of the opposite receiving station. The optical transceiver 509 outputs a fixed wavelength, and when it outputs a wavelength different from that of the failed optical transceiver, it notifies the receiving end office of the wavelength of the optical signal output by the optical transceiver 509 and It is necessary to change the settings so that the wavelengths notified by can be received.

In the above-described embodiments, the optical signal transmission/reception unit 116 shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 has the same configuration as the optical signal transmission/reception unit 105, which is the operating system, on the substrate. is not limited to In the above-described embodiment, the same configuration is used in FIGS. 1 and 5 for the purpose of allowing both of the optical signal transmitting/receiving units 105 and 116 to be used as active systems. The minimum configuration required for the optical signal transmission/reception unit 116 as a standby system base is an optical transceiver for receiving client signals and an OTN framer.

Components other than the optical transceiver and the OTN framer, which are the minimum configuration necessary for the optical signal transmitting/receiving unit 116 as a standby system board, may be mounted on a circuit board 200 called a backplane.

101, 102, 114, 115 client device 105, 111, 116 optical signal transmitter/receiver 107, 109 wavelength demultiplexer 121 HUB
401, 402, 409, 509 optical transceiver 405, 505 OTN framer 407, 507 switch 411, 511 UWB transmitter 413, 513 UWB receiver 414, 514 network interface 415, 515 CPU

Claims (8)

an optical transceiver that is connected to the main signal path and converts an input electrical signal into an optical signal for transmission;
a radio transmission unit connected to the signal sub-path and configured to convert an input electrical signal into a radio signal and transmit the signal;
a selection switch that switches an output destination of an electrical signal converted from an optical signal between a signal main path to the optical transceiver or a signal sub path to the wireless transmission unit;
a radio receiving unit that receives a radio signal from a radio transmitting unit of another transmitting device;
The selection switch selects an output destination of the electrical signal converted from the optical signal or the electrical signal from the radio receiving section between the signal main path to the optical transceiver or the signal sub path to the radio transmission section. Switching, transmitting equipment. A plurality of transmission devices according to claim 1 ,
When the selection switch of the first transmission device among the plurality of transmission devices switches the output destination of the electrical signal converted from the optical signal to the signal sub-path to the wireless transmission unit,
The transmission device according to claim 1, wherein a selection switch of a second transmission device among the plurality of transmission devices switches an output destination of the electrical signal from the radio reception unit to a signal main path to an optical transceiver. 3. The transmitting device according to claim 2 , wherein a radio signal from a radio transmitting section of said first transmitting device is received by radio reception of said second transmitting device. An optical signal from the optical transceiver of the first transmission equipment and an optical signal from the optical transceiver of the second transmission equipment are input, and the input optical signals are multiplexed and sent to an optical transmission line. 4. The transmission device according to claim 2 , further comprising a wavelength multiplexer. An optical transceiver connected to the main signal path for converting an input electrical signal into an optical signal and sending it out, and a radio transmitter connected to the signal sub path for converting an input electrical signal into a radio signal and sending it out. , a selection switch for switching the output destination of the electrical signal converted from the optical signal between the signal main path to the optical transceiver and the signal sub path to the radio transmission unit, and from the radio transmission unit of other transmission equipment A method of controlling a transmitting device including a radio receiving unit that receives a radio signal of
The selection switch selects an output destination of the electrical signal converted from the optical signal or the electrical signal from the radio receiving section between the signal main path to the optical transceiver or the signal sub path to the radio transmission section. is to switch,
A method of controlling a transmission device, wherein when a problem occurs in the main signal path, the selection switch switches the output destination of the electrical signal converted from the optical signal to the sub signal path to the wireless transmission unit. Including a plurality of transmission devices to which the transmission device control method according to claim 5 is applied,
When the selection switch of the first transmission device among the plurality of transmission devices switches the output destination of the electrical signal converted from the optical signal to the signal sub-path to the wireless transmission unit,
A control method for a transmission device, wherein a selection switch of a second transmission device among the plurality of transmission devices is switched to a signal main path to an optical transceiver for an output destination of an electrical signal from the wireless reception unit. 7. The method of controlling a transmission device according to claim 6 , wherein a radio signal from a radio transmission unit of said first transmission device is received by radio reception of said second transmission device. A wavelength multiplexing unit that receives an optical signal from the optical transceiver of the first transmission device and an optical signal from the optical transceiver of the second transmission device, multiplexes the input optical signals, and outputs the input optical signals to an optical transmission line. 8. The method of controlling a transmission device according to claim 6 , further comprising:

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