JP6451648B2 - Optical node device, optical communication system, and optical communication path switching method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an optical node device, an optical communication system, and an optical communication path switching method, and more particularly to an optical node device, an optical communication system, and an optical communication path switching method used for a backbone optical network.

  The backbone optical network is configured by connecting node devices through optical fiber communication paths. The backbone optical network provides a function of receiving a client signal via an interface between a node device and a client device and transferring the traffic of the client device with a contract quality of service (service class). Furthermore, the backbone optical network provides a function of communicating via a larger capacity trunk transmission line after multiplexing a plurality of client signals using various multiplexing schemes. The multiplexing scheme includes a wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) scheme, a time division multiplexing (TDM) scheme, and an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) scheme.

  In the backbone optical network, communication of ultra-high capacity traffic of 100 Gbps per channel is performed. Therefore, failure recovery technology for failures caused by disconnection of optical fibers, failure of optical node devices, and the like becomes important. As a failure recovery technique, a 1 + 1 protection method and a shared protection method are known (see, for example, Patent Document 1 ([0009] to [0022])).

  In the 1 + 1 protection method, an optical path that can accommodate the same traffic as that of the active system is set as a backup path, and the path is switched when a failure occurs. According to the 1 + 1 protection method, the path can be switched in a very short time of 50 ms or less, so that communication interruption can be prevented and a highly reliable network can be constructed. However, since the reliability required for each communication traffic is different, if all the traffic is uniformly assigned a backup path, excessive resources are provided, which is inefficient.

  On the other hand, by defining a reliability measure (class, priority, minimum guaranteed communication capacity, etc.) for each traffic and allocating resources to the backup path according to that measure, a highly reliable network can be made highly efficient. It is possible to provide. For example, shared protection schemes that share backup paths, such as 1: N protection schemes and M: N protection schemes, are schemes that share a backup path with multiple operational paths, and realize high efficiency of redundant resources. can do.

  However, in the shared protection method, since the protection path is shared by a plurality of operation paths, when a failure occurs, it can be recovered only in a form in which one operation path among the plurality of operation paths occupies the protection path. Therefore, there is a problem that communication on other operation paths is interrupted. Note that, in actual operation, the priority of traffic accommodated by a plurality of operation paths in which a failure has occurred is clearly defined, and it may be necessary to recover from a failure for only one operation path. However, it is difficult to apply the above-described method when the working paths have the same priority and it is desired to process a plurality of working paths on an equal basis. Also, when using a small granularity switching device that switches all communication paths in units of frames, the processing amount of the device increases in proportion to the increase in the line bandwidth. There was a problem of increasing.

  A technique for solving such a problem is described in Patent Document 1 ([0034] to [0051]). 25A and 25B are block diagrams showing a schematic configuration of a related optical communication system described in Patent Document 1. FIG. The related optical communication system is configured by connecting a related node device 50 and a node device 60 to a communication network 70.

  Each of the node devices 50 and 60 includes both the small granularity switching devices 52 and 62 and the large granularity switching devices 51 and 61. Here, the small granularity switching devices 52 and 62 switch the low-order communication path in units of small-capacity switching. The large granularity switching devices 51 and 61 are connected to the higher order communication path and switch the higher order communication path in units of large capacity switching.

  In the normal state shown in FIG. 25A, the large capacity communication paths A and B are connected to the communication network 70 (working communication path) such as an optical fiber through the large granularity switching devices 51 and 61, and the large capacity communication paths A and B are small granularity. It does not pass through the switching devices 52 and 62. On the other hand, when a failure occurs, the large capacity communication paths A and B are connected to the communication network 70 (detour communication path) via the small granularity switching devices 52 and 62 as shown in FIG. 25B. At this time, the traffic on the low-order communication path is filtered to the designated band, and thereafter, the small granularity switching devices 52 and 62 are configured to switch the low-order communication path in units of small-capacity switching.

Since the time during which the communication path is in the failure state is significantly shorter than the time in the normal state, according to the related optical communication system, the time for using the small granularity switching devices 52 and 62 is greatly reduced to reduce power consumption. I can do it.
Moreover, there exists a technique described in patent documents 2-4 as a related technique.

JP 2013-026803 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-258851 JP 2007-014031 A JP 2009-206797 A

  In the related optical communication system described above, the small granularity switching device is operated when the communication path is in a failure state. At this time, it is necessary to convert the received signal light into an electric signal, and then to convert the signal light into a signal light again for transmission over an optical fiber (Optical to electrical, Electrical to Optical: OEO) conversion. Become. For this reason, there is a problem in that power consumption increases correspondingly and latency increases. Further, in the related optical communication system, the node device of the communication path in which the failure has occurred reduces the bandwidth of the signal light in the higher-order communication path serving as the bypass communication path. Therefore, the bandwidth of the signal light in the higher order communication path other than the bypass communication path does not change. As a result, there is a problem that the optical frequency utilization efficiency of the entire optical network is lowered.

  As described above, the backbone optical network has a problem that it is difficult to switch the optical communication path without causing an increase in power consumption and a decrease in the optical frequency utilization efficiency of the entire optical network.

  The object of the present invention is the above-described problem, and in the backbone optical network, it is difficult to switch the optical communication path without causing an increase in power consumption and a decrease in the optical frequency utilization efficiency of the entire optical network. It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical node device, an optical communication system, and an optical communication path switching method that solve the above problem.

  An optical node device according to the present invention includes a large granularity switching unit that switches a plurality of communication paths in units of optical carrier frequencies, a plurality of optical transponder devices that transmit and receive client signals via the communication path, a large granularity switching unit, and an optical transponder device The optical transponder device includes a bandwidth variable unit that reduces the signal bandwidth of the client signal, and the control unit detects a trigger for switching a plurality of communication paths. The granularity switching unit and the optical transponder device are notified, the large granularity switching unit switches the communication path when receiving the notification, and the optical transponder device receives the notification of the client signal in the bandwidth variable unit when receiving the notification. The signal light whose bandwidth has been reduced is transmitted to the communication path after the large-grain switching unit has switched.

  The optical communication system of the present invention includes a first optical node device, a second optical node device, a first communication path that connects the first optical node device and the second optical node device, and a second communication. A first optical node device and a second optical node device, wherein the first optical node device and the second optical node device switch the first communication path and the second communication path in units of optical carrier frequency. A first and second optical transponder device that transmits and receives a client signal via the first communication path and the second communication path, a first and second large granularity switching unit, and a first and second light First and second control units that control the operation of the transponder device, respectively, and the first and second optical transponder devices are first and second band variable units that reduce the signal band of the client signal. The first and second control units are respectively provided with When an opportunity to switch from the first communication path to the second communication path is detected, the first and second large granularity switching units and the first and second optical transponder devices are notified, and the first and second The second large granularity switching unit switches from the first communication path to the second communication path when the notification is received, and the first and second optical transponder devices receive the first and second communication paths when the notification is received. The signal light whose bandwidth of the client signal is reduced in the second bandwidth variable section is transmitted to the second communication path switched by the first and second large granularity switching sections.

  In the optical communication path switching method of the present invention, when an opportunity to switch a plurality of communication paths is detected, the plurality of communication paths are switched in units of optical carrier frequency, and the signal light after reducing the bandwidth of the client signal is switched. Send to the communication path.

  According to the optical node device, the optical communication system, and the optical communication path switching method of the present invention, in the backbone optical network, optical communication can be performed without causing an increase in power consumption and a decrease in optical frequency utilization efficiency as the entire optical network. The road can be switched.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the optical node apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure in the normal state of the optical communication system which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure at the time of the failure generation of the optical communication system which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the variable band optical transponder with which the optical communication system which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention is provided. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating operation | movement of the variable large particle size switching apparatus with which the optical communication system which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention is provided. It is a figure which shows an example of the management table of the network resource management part with which the optical communication system which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention is provided. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating the path | route switching operation | movement at the time of a failure generation in the optical communication system which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. 10 is a flowchart for explaining a method for determining the number of slot slots at time of failure in the optical communication system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the result of having allocated the slot number at the time of a failure in the optical communication system which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example at the time of making the minimum guarantee zone | band slot number differ according to the number of failures in the optical communication system which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure in the normal state of the optical communication system which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure at the time of the failure generation of the optical communication system which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating the path | route switching operation | movement at the time of a failure generation in the optical communication system which concerns on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure in the normal state of the optical communication system which concerns on the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure at the time of the failure generation of the optical communication system which concerns on the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the zone variable optical transponder with which the optical communication system which concerns on the 4th Embodiment of this invention is provided. It is a figure which shows an example of the management table with which the network resource management part of the optical communication system which concerns on the 4th Embodiment of this invention is provided. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the allocation method of the time slot | zone at the time of a failure in the optical communication system which concerns on the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the result of having allocated the number of slot slots at the time of a failure in the optical communication system which concerns on the 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure in the normal state of the optical communication system which concerns on the 5th Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure at the time of the failure generation of the optical communication system which concerns on the 5th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the calculation method of the fragmentation rate by the optical frequency band fragmentation monitoring part with which the optical communication system which concerns on the 5th Embodiment of this invention is provided. It is a figure which shows the example of the time change of the fragmentation rate in an optical network. It is a figure which shows an example of the management table with which the network resource management part of the optical communication system which concerns on the 5th Embodiment of this invention is provided. It is a figure which shows the result of having allocated the fault time zone slot in the optical communication system which concerns on the 5th Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure in the normal state of the optical communication system which concerns on the 6th Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure at the time of the failure generation of the optical communication system which concerns on the 6th Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the zone variable optical transponder with which the optical communication system which concerns on the 6th Embodiment of this invention is provided. It is a figure which shows an example of the management table with which the network resource management part of the optical communication system which concerns on the 6th Embodiment of this invention is provided. It is a figure which shows the change of the increase rate of a frequency utilization efficiency when the roll-off rate is changed in the zone | band variable optical transponder with which the optical communication system which concerns on the 6th Embodiment of this invention is provided. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the setting procedure of the slot number at the time of a fault, and a roll-off rate in the optical communication system which concerns on the 6th Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the result of having set the number of slot slots at the time of failure, and the roll-off rate at the time of failure in the optical communication system according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure in the normal state of the optical communication system which has arrange | positioned the variable large-granularity node apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention in mesh shape. It is a block diagram which shows the structure at the time of the failure generation of the optical communication system which has arrange | positioned the variable large-granularity node apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention in mesh shape. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure in the normal state of the related optical communication system. It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure in the failure state of a related optical communication system.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an optical node device 1000 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The optical node device 1000 includes a large granularity switching unit 1100 that switches a plurality of communication channels 1400 in units of optical carrier frequencies, a plurality of optical transponder devices 1200 that transmit and receive client signals via the communication channel 1400, and a control unit 1300.

  The optical transponder device 1200 includes a band variable unit 1220 that reduces the signal band of the client signal.

  The control unit 1300 controls the operations of the large granularity switching unit 1100 and the optical transponder device 1200. That is, the control unit 1300 notifies the large granularity switching unit 1100 and the optical transponder device 1200 when detecting an opportunity to switch a plurality of communication paths 1400.

  The large granularity switching unit 1100 switches the communication path 1400 when receiving this notification. Further, when receiving the notification, the optical transponder device 1200 transmits the signal light whose bandwidth of the client signal has been reduced by the bandwidth varying unit 1220 to the communication path 1400 after the large granularity switching unit 1100 has switched.

  With such a configuration, according to the optical node device 1000 of the present embodiment, the switching of the communication path 1400 can be performed by the large granularity switching unit 1100, so that the optical / electrical / optical (OEO) conversion is performed. There is no need. Therefore, an increase in power consumption accompanying switching of the communication path 1400 can be suppressed.

  Furthermore, in the optical node device 1000 according to the present embodiment, the optical transponder device 1200 includes a bandwidth varying unit 1220 that reduces the signal bandwidth of the client signal. That is, since the bandwidth of the signal light is reduced at the transmission / reception end of the optical network, the bandwidth of the signal light can be reduced in all the communication paths that pass. As a result, the optical frequency utilization efficiency of the entire optical network can be improved.

  Note that the control unit 1300 can perform the above-described notification when a failure in the communication path 1400 is detected. Then, the control unit 1300 determines the number of slots at the time of failure, which is the number of minimum optical frequency bandwidths that can be used in the communication path 1400 after switching by the large granularity switching unit 1100. At this time, the optical transponder device 1200 can be configured such that the bandwidth varying unit 1220 transmits the signal light in which the bandwidth of the client signal is reduced based on the number of bandwidth slots at the time of failure.

  Next, the optical communication system according to the present embodiment will be described. The optical communication system according to the present embodiment includes a first optical node device, a second optical node device, a first communication path that connects the first optical node device and the second optical node device, and a second communication. Has a road. Here, the first optical node device and the second optical node device have the same configuration as the optical node device 1000 described above.

  The optical communication system according to the present embodiment can be configured to further include a network management unit that manages the number of minimum optical frequency bandwidths that can be used for each of the first communication path and the second communication path. In this case, the control unit included in each of the first optical node device and the second optical node device detects the failure in the first communication path, and then controls the large granularity switching unit, the optical transponder device, and the network management unit. The above-mentioned notification is performed for each.

  When the network management unit receives the above notification, the network management unit sets the number of slots at the time of failure, which is the number of minimum optical frequency bandwidths usable in the second communication path, to the first optical node device and the second optical node device. To the optical node device. At this time, the optical transponder device can be configured to transmit the signal light in which the bandwidth variable unit has reduced the bandwidth of the client signal based on the number of bandwidth slots at the time of failure to the second communication path.

  Next, the optical communication path switching method according to the present embodiment will be described. The optical communication path switching method according to the present embodiment first switches a plurality of communication paths in units of optical carrier frequencies when an opportunity to switch a plurality of communication paths is detected. Then, the signal light from which the band of the client signal is reduced is sent to the communication path after switching.

  Further, when a failure in the communication path is detected, a plurality of communication paths can be switched in units of optical carrier frequency. Then, the number of slots at the time of failure, which is the number of minimum optical frequency bandwidths that can be used in the communication channel after switching, is determined, and the signal light with the reduced bandwidth of the client signal is transmitted based on the number of slots at the time of failure It can be set as the structure to do.

  As described above, according to the optical node device, the optical communication system, and the optical communication path switching method of the present embodiment, in the backbone optical network, the power consumption increases and the optical frequency utilization efficiency as the entire optical network decreases. The optical communication path can be switched without incurring

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. 2A and 2B show the configuration of an optical communication system according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the optical communication system according to the present embodiment includes an operation path connected to the network resource management unit 101, the variable large granularity node devices 210-1 and 210-2, and the variable large granularity node devices 210-1 and 2. 117-1 and 2 and a backup path 118. The network resource management unit 101 is the network management unit, the variable large granularity node devices 210-1 and 210-2 are the first optical node device and the second optical node device, and the operation paths 117-1 and 2 are the first communication paths. The backup paths 118 correspond to the second communication paths, respectively.

  The variable large granularity node device 210-1 includes a variable large granularity switching device 105-1, bandwidth variable optical transponders (TPND) 107-1 and 107-1, and a control function unit 113-1. Similarly, the variable large granularity node device 210-2 includes a variable large granularity switching device 105-2, bandwidth variable optical transponders (TPND) 107-3 to 4, and a control function unit 113-2. Here, the variable large granularity switching devices 105-1 and 105-2 are used as the large granularity switching unit, the variable bandwidth optical transponders (TPND) 107-1 and 4 are used as the first and second optical transponder devices, and the control function unit 113-1. ˜2 correspond to the first and second control units, respectively.

  Notification signals 109-1 and 109-2 are transmitted and received between the network resource management unit 101 and the control function units 113-1 and 113-2. The notification signals 109-1 and 109-2 include network resource management information, a failure notification when a failure occurs in the operation paths 117-1 and 118 and the backup path 118, and communication establishment between the variable large-grain node devices 210-1 and 210-2. Notifications, etc. are included.

  The control function unit 113-1 sends a notification signal 109-1 to the band variable optical TPNDs 107-1 and 102-2 and the variable large granularity switching device 105-1. Similarly, the control function unit 113-2 sends a notification signal 109-2 to the band variable optical TPNDs 107-3 to -4 and the variable large granularity switching device 105-2.

  As shown in FIG. 2C, the variable bandwidth optical TPND 107 includes a variable bandwidth unit 106, an optical transmission / reception device 119, and a client interface 120. The optical transmitter / receiver 119 and the band variable unit 106 receive the control signal from the control function unit 113. The bandwidth variable unit 106 transmits a traffic suppression signal transmission command 123 to the client interface 120.

  Here, the variable large granularity switching device 105 switches the communication path in units of optical carrier frequency. That is, the variable large granularity switching device 105 is a device that performs path switching with a granularity equal to or greater than the minimum optical frequency bandwidth of the backbone transmission communication path. For example, when the backbone transmission channel is a wavelength path, the granularity of the minimum optical frequency bandwidth is the granularity of the optical carrier frequency grid. In this case, the variable bandwidth optical cross-connect device corresponds to the large granularity switching device. Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, the variable large granularity switching device 105 switches the communication 126-1 to 126-3 on the communication paths 117-1 to 11-4 having different numbers of optical band slots to different paths.

  Next, the operation of the optical communication system according to the present embodiment will be described in detail. According to the optical communication system of the present embodiment, even when a failure occurs in a plurality of operation paths, it is possible to perform failure recovery that realizes switching to a backup path while preventing communication interruption.

  First, the operation during the normal operation shown in FIG. 2A will be described.

  The network resource management unit 101 determines a predetermined minimum optical frequency bandwidth (hereinafter referred to as “bandwidth”) that can be used for communication between two sites according to the communication traffic between sites and the network resources that can be used on the optical communication system. The number of allocations in units is determined. Then, the network resource management unit 101 notifies the determined allocation numbers to the control function units 113-1 and 113-2, respectively. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the network resource management unit 101 manages the number of contracted bandwidth slots (the number of minimum guaranteed bandwidth slots) during normal operation and when a failure occurs for each communication between bases.

  In the variable large-granularity node devices 210-1 and 210-2, the band variable unit 106 included in the band variable optical TPNDs 107-1 to 10-4 multiplexes / separates client signals according to the notified number of band slots. Then, communication between the two sites is established using the band variable optical TPNDs 107-1 to -4.

  Since the maximum bandwidth that can be accommodated in the communication path is usually equal to or less than the total value of the bandwidth of the client signal, the bandwidth variable unit 106 functions as a simple multiplex circuit or a separation circuit. For example, when the maximum bandwidth of the optical transponder is 100 Gb / s, ten 10 Gb / s signals or four 25 Gb / s signals can be accommodated as client signals.

  In the present embodiment, a case will be described in which communication using one operational path is performed using the band variable optical TPND 107 facing one-to-one. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is possible to aggregate (aggregate) a plurality of opposed band-fixed optical transponders to establish communication using one operational path. That is, communication with four band slots may be performed using two sets of band-fixed optical transponders for communication with two band slots.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, when a failure occurs in the operation paths 117-1 and 11-2, notification signals 109-1 and 109-2 are sent from the control function units 113-1 and 113-2 to the network resource management unit 101. The network resource management unit 101 sets the traffic volume, priority, and minimum so that the sum of the number of bandwidth slots at the time of failure of the plurality of working paths accommodated on the protection path is equal to or less than the number of bandwidth slots allocated for the protection path. The number of bandwidth slots at the time of failure is determined according to the number of guaranteed bandwidth slots. Then, the control function units 113-1 and 113-2 are notified of the determined failure time band slot number.

  The bandwidth variable unit 106 included in the bandwidth variable optical TPNDs 107-1 to 4 can narrow down the bandwidth of the client signal according to the number of bandwidth slots at the time of failure, so that traffic can be accommodated in the bandwidth according to the number of bandwidth slots at the time of failure. It becomes. Specifically, the bandwidth variable unit 106 included in the bandwidth-variable optical TPND on the transmission side transmits the traffic suppression signal transmission command 123 to the client interface 120, thereby suppressing the traffic of the client signal.

  FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram for explaining a path switching operation when a failure occurs. The variable large granularity node devices 210-1 and 210-2 perform path switching in units of bandwidth slots when a failure occurs.

  When the variable large-granularity node devices 210-1 and 210-2 detect that a failure has occurred in the operation paths 117-1 and 1-2, they send a notification signal 109 to the network resource management unit 101 (step S115-1). When receiving the failure occurrence notification signal 109, the network resource management unit 101 refers to the network resource management table (for example, FIG. 4) and determines the number of bandwidth slots at the time of failure by a method described later (step S115-2). Next, the switching band and the detour communication path to be connected in the variable large granularity switching device 105-1 and 10-2 are determined (step S115-3 to 4). The network resource management unit 101 notifies the control function units 113-1 and 113-2 of the failure setting information.

  The control function units 113-1 and 113-2 of the variable large granularity node devices 210-1 and 210-2 that have received the failure setting information notify the failure large setting information to each unit of the variable large granularity node devices 210-1 and 2 (step S115-5). Based on the failure time setting information, the bandwidth variable unit 106 included in the bandwidth variable optical TPNDs 107-1 to TPND-4 is set (step S115-6). Then, the switching band of the variable large granularity switching devices 105-1 and 105-2 is set with the granularity of the band slot (step S115-7), and the communication path connected to the variable large granularity switching devices 105-1 and 105-2 is changed to the bypass communication path. Switching (step S115-8).

  Next, an example of a method for determining the number of slot slots during failure will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a method of determining the number of slot slots at the time of failure.

  The network resource management unit 101 refers to the minimum guaranteed bandwidth slot number in the network resource management table shown in FIG. 4 (step S111-1). Then, the same number of bandwidth slots as the minimum guaranteed slot number are allocated to the communication having the minimum guaranteed bandwidth slot number of 1 or more (step S111-2). Next, one bandwidth slot is allocated to communication with the minimum guaranteed bandwidth slot number being zero (step S111-3A). If the remaining bandwidth slot number is not zero, the bandwidth slot number is further determined based on the normal bandwidth slot number (step S111-4A).

  When allocation fails due to a shortage of backup path resource resources (allocation is complete: NO), optical frequency bands can be allocated by the First-Fit method (steps S111-3B to 4B). Not limited to this, it is also possible to allocate the number of remaining bandwidth slots based on the Most-Used system, the equal allocation system, and the system in which the path length of the backup path is allocated in the descending order.

  The setting of the number of slots at the time of failure is completed (step S111-5) by the above-described routine for setting the number of slots at the time of failure (step S111-7). The network resource management unit 101 notifies the variable large granularity node devices 210-1 and 210-2 of the allocation of the failure time slot number (step S111-6).

  FIG. 7 shows the result of assigning the number of slot slots at the time of failure by the failure recovery method in the present embodiment. Since the number of bandwidth slots of the backup path 118 is 4, three of the minimum guaranteed slots are assigned to the communication on the working path 117-1 first. Next, only one remaining bandwidth slot of the backup path 118 is allocated to communication on the working path 117-2.

  Instead of assigning the number of band slots, the optical frequency band to be assigned may be designated by an absolute value of the optical frequency bandwidth (for example, 35 GHz). Thereby, the optical frequency bandwidth for accommodating the operation path can be continuously varied.

  In general, there is communication that is highly urgent depending on the service content, but there is also communication that places importance on ensuring sufficient bandwidth with a small bandwidth or conversely. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 8, it is conceivable to make a contract for different numbers of minimum guaranteed bandwidth slots for the traffic on the operation path according to the number of failures for multiple failures. In this case, the network resource management unit 101 notifies the control function units 113-1 and 113-2 of the minimum guaranteed bandwidth slot number corresponding to the number of failures. Then, communication using the signal light narrowed down to the communication band corresponding to the minimum guaranteed bandwidth slot number is performed by the band variable optical TPNDs 107-1 to TPNDs 107-1 to 4.

  As described above, according to the optical communication system of the present embodiment, when a failure occurs in the operation path, the bandwidth variable unit narrows down the bandwidth of the client signal according to the number of bandwidth slots at the time of failure. As a result, traffic can be accommodated in a band corresponding to the number of slot slots at the time of failure. At this time, since the variable large granularity switching device performs path switching according to the number of bandwidth slots, communication interruption can be prevented without increasing power consumption or device scale even for large-capacity communication.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. 9A and 9B show the configuration of an optical communication system according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9A is a block diagram showing a configuration in a normal state of the optical communication system according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 9B is a block diagram showing a configuration when a failure occurs.

  The optical communication system according to the present embodiment includes variable large-grain node devices 214-1 and 214-2, and control function units 113-1 and 113-2 included in the variable large-grain node devices 214-1 and 21-2 directly transmit and receive the notification signal 109. This configuration is different from the optical communication system according to the second embodiment. The notification signal 109 includes node resource management information of the variable large-grain node devices 214-1 and 21-2, a failure notification when a failure occurs in the operation paths 117-1 and 117-2 and the backup path 118, and the variable large-grain node device 214-1. Notification of communication establishment between ˜2 is included.

  Next, the operation of the optical communication system according to the present embodiment will be described in detail. According to the optical communication system of the present embodiment, even when a failure occurs in a plurality of operation paths, it is possible to perform failure recovery that realizes switching to a backup path while preventing communication interruption.

  First, the operation during the normal operation shown in FIG. 9A will be described.

  The control function units 113-1 and 113-2 determine a predetermined minimum light that can be used for communication between the two sites according to the amount of communication traffic between the variable large-grain node devices 214-1 and 21-2 and the available network resources. The number of allocations in units of frequency bandwidth is notified to each other. This minimum optical frequency bandwidth is hereinafter referred to as a “band slot”. The control function units 113-1 and 113-2 manage the number of contract bandwidth slots during normal operation and when a failure occurs between the variable large granularity node devices 214-1 and 214-2. The band variable unit 106 included in the band variable optical TPNDs 107-1 to NPND 10-1 to 4 multiplexes / demultiplexes client signals according to the notified number of band slots. Then, communication between the two sites is established using the band variable optical TPNDs 107-1 to -4.

  As shown in FIG. 9B, when a failure occurs in the operation paths 117-1 and 112-2, the control function units 113-1 and 113-2 send out a notification signal 109. The control function units 113-1 and 113-2 control the traffic amount and priority so that the sum of the number of bandwidth slots at the time of failure of the plurality of working paths accommodated on the protection path is equal to or less than the number of bandwidth slots allocated for the protection path. The number of bandwidth slots at the time of failure is determined according to the minimum number of guaranteed bandwidth slots. The control function units 113-1 and 113-2 configure a partial table for communication that passes through the variable large granularity node devices 214-1 and 214-2 in the network resource management table managed by the network resource management unit 101 in the second embodiment. To do. Each control function unit 113-1 and 113-2 determines the number of bandwidth slots at the time of failure with reference to this partial table.

  The bandwidth variable unit 106 included in the bandwidth variable optical TPNDs 107-1 to 4 can narrow down the bandwidth of the client signal according to the number of bandwidth slots at the time of failure, so that traffic can be accommodated in the bandwidth according to the number of bandwidth slots at the time of failure. It becomes. Specifically, the bandwidth variable unit 106 included in the bandwidth-variable optical TPND on the transmission side transmits the traffic suppression signal transmission command 123 to the client interface 120, thereby suppressing the traffic of the client signal.

  FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram for explaining a path switching operation when a failure occurs. When the variable large granularity node device 214-1 detects the occurrence of a failure, it sends a failure notification 109 to the variable large granularity node device 214-2 on the communication partner side (step S116-1). After receiving the failure notification 109, the variable large granularity node devices 214-1 and 214-2 refer to the resource management tables held by them and notify each other of the bandwidth usage status and the minimum guaranteed bandwidth slot number (step S 116). -2A-2B).

  The variable large granularity node devices 214-1 and 214-2 determine the allocation of the fault time band slot based on the notified result (steps S <b> 116-3 </ b> A to 3 </ b> B). Next, the switching band (steps S116-4A to 4B) in the variable large granularity switching devices 105-1 and 105-2 and the detour to which the variable large granularity switching devices 105-1 and 105-2 are connected are determined (steps S116-5A to S116-5A). 5B).

  If the failure time slot allocation succeeds through the above processing steps, the respective units of the variable large granularity node devices 214-1 and 214-2 are set by the procedure after step S 115-5 shown in FIG. Steps S115-9A-9B). On the other hand, if the allocation fails, the procedure of step S116-6 (S115-2A to 5A, 2B to 5B) shown in FIG. 10 is executed again. Subsequent operations are the same as those in the optical communication system according to the second embodiment.

  As described above, according to the optical communication system of the present embodiment, when a failure occurs in the operation path, the bandwidth variable unit narrows down the bandwidth of the client signal according to the number of bandwidth slots at the time of failure. As a result, traffic can be accommodated in a band corresponding to the number of slot slots at the time of failure. At this time, since the variable large granularity switching device performs path switching according to the number of bandwidth slots, communication interruption can be prevented without increasing power consumption or device scale even for large-capacity communication.

[Fourth Embodiment]
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. 11A and 11B show the configuration of an optical communication system according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11A is a block diagram showing a configuration in a normal state of the optical communication system according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 11B is a block diagram showing a configuration when a failure occurs.

  As shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, the variable large-grain node devices 212-1 and 21-2 are connected to the working paths 117-1 and 11-2 and the backup path 118. The variable large granularity node device 212-1 includes a variable large granularity switching device 105-1 and band variable optical TPNDs 128-1 to -3. Similarly, the variable large granularity node device 212-2 includes a variable large granularity switching device 105-2 and bandwidth variable optical TPNDs 128-4 to 6.

  FIG. 11C shows the configuration of the band variable optical TPND 128 included in the variable large-grain node devices 212-1 and 212-2. As shown in FIG. 11C, the band variable optical TPND 128 according to the present embodiment is different from the band variable optical TPND 107 according to the second embodiment in that a band slot allocation setting unit 127 is further provided. Here, the band slot allocation setting unit 127 has a function of notifying the optical transceiver 119 of the band slot allocation of signal light.

  Next, the operation of the optical communication system according to the present embodiment will be described in detail. According to the optical communication system of the present embodiment, even when a failure occurs in a plurality of operation paths, it is possible to perform failure recovery that realizes switching to a backup path while preventing communication interruption.

  First, the operation during the normal operation shown in FIG. 11A will be described.

  The network resource management unit 101 includes, for example, a network resource management table as shown in FIG. 12, and manages the contracted bandwidth slot number (minimum guaranteed bandwidth slot number) for each communication between bases during normal operation and when a failure occurs. During normal operation, the control function units 113-1 and 113-2 are notified of the number of bandwidth slots required for communication between the two sites. The band slot allocation setting unit 127 sets the band slot allocation of the signal light of the optical transceiver 119 according to the notified number of band slots. And communication between two bases is established using band variable optical TPND128-1-6. In addition, as shown to FIG. 11A, it is good also as establishing communication of one working path using several band variable optical TPND128-2-3.

  As shown in FIG. 11B, when a failure occurs in the working paths 117-1 and 11-2, the normal time band slots on the working paths 117-1 and 112-2 are compressed, for example, in the short wavelength direction for each working path. The network resource management unit 101 determines the allocation of the failure time slot (see FIG. 12), and notifies the control function units 113-1 and 113-2 of the determined allocation of the failure time slot. The band slot allocation setting unit 127 performs band allocation of signal light in the optical transmission / reception apparatus 119 according to the notification result of band slot allocation. In the above description, the failure time slot is compressed in the short wavelength direction in communication on the operation path, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  An example of a procedure for assigning a failure time slot according to the minimum guaranteed bandwidth slot number will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining a method of assigning a fault time slot.

  The network resource management unit 101 refers to the minimum guaranteed bandwidth slot number in the network resource management table shown in FIG. 12, and has the same number of bandwidth slots as the minimum guaranteed bandwidth slot number for communications having the minimum guaranteed bandwidth slot number of 1 or more. A number is assigned (step S114-1).

  Next, band slots are continuously allocated to the backup path band according to the allocated number of band slots (step S114-2A). At this time, if allocation of consecutive bandwidth slots fails due to occurrence of fragmentation (assignment is completed: NO), the same number of bandwidth slots as the minimum guaranteed bandwidth slots are discontinuously allocated to the fractional free bandwidth slots. Is assigned (step S114-2B).

  Next, the network resource management unit 101 notifies the variable large granularity node devices 212-1 and 21-2 of band slot allocation. At this time, the band slot allocation setting unit 127 included in the band variable optical TPND 128 allocates at least a part of the signal light to the backup path band discontinuously. Here, the backup path band is composed of a plurality of band slots (minimum optical frequency bandwidth) that can be used in the communication path (backup path) after the variable large granularity switching devices 105-1 and 105-2 are switched.

  In addition, by using a variable large granularity switching device that does not have a path restriction, when the variable large granularity switching device is connected to a plurality of trunk transmission communication paths, discontinuous free optical frequency bands can be assigned to different paths. It is also possible to establish communication between two bases via the basic transmission communication path.

  Next, the optical communication path switching method according to the present embodiment will be described. In the optical communication path switching method according to this embodiment, first, when an opportunity to switch a plurality of communication paths, for example, when a failure in the communication path is detected, the plurality of communication paths are switched in units of optical carrier frequencies. Then, at least a part of the signal light is discontinuously allocated to a plurality of minimum optical frequency bands that can be used in the communication path after switching at this time.

  FIG. 14 shows a result of assigning the number of slot slots at the time of the failure by the failure recovery method in the present embodiment. First, allocation is performed with reference to the minimum guaranteed bandwidth slot number. The number of bandwidth slots in the backup path 118 is five. For the communication 124-1 between the variable bandwidth optical TPNDs 128-1 and 128-4, the number of bandwidth slots at the time of failure is three, and for the communication 124-2 between the variable bandwidth optical TPNDs 128-2 and 128-5. Allocate only one slot slot during failure. Next, only one remaining bandwidth slot of the backup path 118 is allocated to the communication 124-3 between the bandwidth variable optical TPNDs 128-3 and 128-6.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 14, the communication 124-2 is assigned to the fourth band slot on the protection path 118. Therefore, the communication 124-1 cannot be continuously allocated to the second, third, and fourth band slots after being compressed in the short wavelength direction. Therefore, if communication 124-1 is performed using only the second and third band slots, the fifth band slot is unused (third column (continuous allocation) in FIG. 14). Frequency utilization efficiency will decrease.

  However, in the present embodiment, band slots are allocated discontinuously. Therefore, the communication 124-1 can be performed by the communication 124-1A allocated to the second and third band slots and the communication 124-1B allocated to the fifth band slot. In other words, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to improve the use efficiency of the optical frequency by allocating the band slots discontinuously, rather than continuously accommodating the traffic of the working path on the backup path. Is obtained.

  Further, when a multiple failure occurs, the optical communication system according to the present embodiment is effective even in the case of a contract in which the number of minimum guaranteed bandwidth slots for communication on the operation path varies depending on the number of failures. In this case, the network resource management unit 101 notifies the control function units 113-1 and 113-2 of the minimum guaranteed bandwidth slot number according to the number of failures. Then, communication using the signal light narrowed down to the communication band corresponding to the minimum guaranteed band slot number is performed by the band variable optical TPNDs 128-1 to TPND128-1. The optical communication system according to the present embodiment is particularly effective when the backup path is shared with other operational paths when multiple failures occur.

  As described above, according to the optical communication system of the present embodiment, when a failure occurs in the operation path, it is possible to accommodate traffic even in a discontinuous unused (free) optical frequency band. Become. At this time, since the variable large granularity switching device performs path switching, communication interruption can be prevented without increasing power consumption or device scale even for large-capacity communication.

[Fifth Embodiment]
Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. 15A and 15B show the configuration of an optical communication system according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 15A is a block diagram showing a configuration in a normal state of the optical communication system according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 15B is a block diagram showing a configuration when a failure occurs.

  As shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, the optical communication system according to the present embodiment is different from the optical communication system according to the second embodiment in that the optical communication system includes an optical frequency band fragmentation monitoring unit 108. Here, the optical frequency band fragmentation monitoring unit 108 is connected to the network resource management unit 101.

  Next, the operation of the optical communication system according to the present embodiment will be described in detail. According to the optical communication system of the present embodiment, even when a failure occurs in a plurality of operation paths, it is possible to perform failure recovery that realizes switching to a backup path while preventing communication interruption.

  In the optical communication system of the present embodiment, the optical frequency band fragmentation monitoring unit 108 acquires the network resource state of the backbone optical network managed by the network resource management unit 101. Then, the optical frequency band fragmentation monitoring unit 108 calculates a ratio (fragmentation rate) of the fragmented region of the optical frequency band to the assignable optical frequency band.

  The fragmentation rate calculated by the optical frequency band fragmentation monitoring unit 108 will be described with reference to FIGS. 16A and 16B.

  FIG. 16A is a diagram for explaining a method of calculating a fragmentation rate by the optical frequency band fragmentation monitoring unit 108. When the allocatable optical frequency band is represented by the number of used slot ranges, the fragmented area of the optical frequency band indicates the number of used slots minus the number of used slots (used slot range). Of unused slots). Accordingly, the fragmentation rate is calculated as 23.3% (100 × (60−46) / 60) in the example illustrated in FIG. 16A.

  FIG. 16B shows an example of the temporal change of the fragmentation rate in the optical network. As shown in FIG. 16B, when the fragmentation rate indicating the ratio of the fragmented region of the optical frequency band exceeds a certain threshold (time D in the figure), the optical frequency band fragmentation monitoring unit 108 is a network resource management unit. 101 is requested to perform optical band defragmentation. The network resource management unit 101 rearranges the optical paths in the fragmented region of the optical frequency band for the operation path or backup path whose wavelength assignment can be changed, and aggregates them in a continuous region. Then, the resetting result at this time is notified to the control function units 113-1 and 113-2. The control function units 113-1 and 113-2 change the setting of the optical path route based on the reset result, thereby completing the defragmentation of the optical frequency band.

  In the above description, the optical frequency band fragmentation monitoring unit 108 calculates the fragmentation rate using the number of unused slots within the used slot range. Not limited to this, the optical frequency band fragmentation monitoring unit 108 can also apply the frequency distribution of the bandwidth of the continuous optical frequency band as a scale for measuring the fragmented area of the optical frequency region.

  In addition, the optical frequency band fragmentation monitoring unit 108 may set a plurality of thresholds for the ratio of fragmented regions. In this case, the condition for performing the optical band fragmentation is any of when both the first threshold value and the second threshold value are exceeded, and when the time exceeding the first threshold value exceeds a preset time. It is possible to satisfy either of them.

  The optical frequency band fragmentation monitoring unit 108 may periodically acquire the network resource state managed by the network resource management unit 101, or may operate when a failure occurs.

  FIG. 17 shows an example of a management table provided in the network resource management unit of the optical communication system according to the present embodiment. Depending on the service, communication quality may deteriorate due to optical band defragmentation. To prevent this, there is communication that does not permit implementation of optical band defragmentation. In the example shown in FIG. 17, the optical band defragmentation is not permitted for the communication between the band variable optical TPNDs 128-2 and 128-4. Therefore, even if fragmentation occurs in the optical frequency band, the optical path assigned to the fourth slot is not rearranged.

  FIG. 18 shows the result of allocation of a failure time slot by the failure recovery method according to the present embodiment. The number of bandwidth slots in the backup path 118 is five. Further, the minimum guaranteed bandwidth slot number is four for the communication 124-1 between the variable bandwidth optical TPND 128-1 and 128-3, and the communication between the variable bandwidth optical TPND 128-2 and 128-4. For 124-2, the minimum guaranteed bandwidth slot number is one.

  Here, the communication 124-2 has been assigned to the fourth slot, and optical band defragmentation is not permitted. However, according to the present embodiment, the band slot allocation setting unit 127 included in the band variable optical TPND 128 allocates at least a part of the signal light to the backup path band in a non-consecutive manner. Therefore, when a failure occurs, as shown in FIG. 18, optical frequency bands may be allocated discontinuously to the first to third band slots (communication 124-1A) and the fifth band slot (communication 124-1B). it can. As a result, communication 124-1 can be performed even when a failure occurs.

  Note that this embodiment can be applied not only when optical band defragmentation is not permitted, but also when fragmentation cannot be completely removed when optical band defragmentation is executed.

  As described above, the optical communication system according to the present embodiment further includes the optical frequency band fragmentation monitoring unit 108. The optical frequency band fragmentation monitoring unit 108 has a fragmented unused frequency region in an optical frequency band that can be used in at least one of the first communication path that is the active path and the second communication path that is the backup path. Monitor whether it has occurred. When an unused frequency region is generated, the optical frequency band fragmentation monitoring unit 108 instructs the network management unit to perform aggregation. At this time, the network management unit sets a continuous unused frequency region by consolidating fragmented unused frequency regions. The first and second optical transponder devices, which are the variable bandwidth optical TPND 128, transmit signal light using a continuous unused frequency region.

  As described above, according to the optical communication system of the present embodiment, when a failure occurs on the operation path in the optical communication system that performs optical band defragmentation, a non-continuous unused band slot is detected. Even traffic can be accommodated. At this time, since the variable large granularity switching device performs path switching, communication interruption can be prevented without increasing power consumption or device scale even for large-capacity communication.

[Sixth Embodiment]
Next, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described. 19A and 19B show the configuration of an optical communication system according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 19A is a block diagram illustrating a configuration in a normal state of the optical communication system according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 19B is a block diagram illustrating a configuration when a failure occurs.

  As illustrated in FIGS. 19A and 19B, the variable large-grain node devices 211-1 and 211-2 are connected to the active paths 117-1 and 11-2 and the backup path 118. The variable large granularity node device 211-1 includes band variable optical TPNDs 126-1 and 1-2. Similarly, the variable large-grain node device 211-2 includes band-variable optical TPNDs 126-3 to -4.

  FIG. 19C shows the configuration of the variable bandwidth optical TPND 126 provided in the variable large-grain node devices 211-1 and 211-2. As shown in FIG. 19C, the band variable optical TPND 126 of the present embodiment is different from the band variable optical TPND 107 according to the second embodiment in that the optical spectrum shaping setting unit 125 is further provided. Here, the optical spectrum shaping setting unit 125 has a function of notifying the optical transmitter / receiver 119 of the setting of the optical spectrum shaping of the signal light.

  Next, the operation of the optical communication system according to the present embodiment will be described in detail. According to the optical communication system of the present embodiment, even when a failure occurs in a plurality of operation paths, it is possible to perform failure recovery that realizes switching to a backup path while preventing communication interruption.

  First, the operation during the normal operation shown in FIG. 19A will be described.

  The network resource management unit 101 includes a network resource management table as shown in FIG. 20, for example, and notifies the control function units 113-1 and 113-2 of the normal communication capacity in communication between the two sites. The optical spectrum shaping setting unit 125 sets, for example, a roll-off rate as a setting parameter for the number of band slots of signal light and the optical frequency utilization efficiency of the optical transceiver 119 according to the notified communication capacity. And communication between two bases is established using band variable optical TPND126-1-4. At this time, the optical spectrum shaping setting unit 125 can vary the communication capacity per unit frequency, that is, the frequency utilization efficiency.

  As illustrated in FIG. 19B, when a failure occurs in the operation paths 117-1 and 112-2, the network resource management unit 101 notifies the control function units 113-1 and 113-2 of the minimum guaranteed communication capacity managed. The optical spectrum shaping setting unit 125 calculates an optical spectrum shaping setting parameter (in the example of FIG. 20, a roll-off rate at the time of failure) so as to satisfy the minimum guaranteed communication capacity according to the notification result of the minimum guaranteed communication capacity. Notify the transmission / reception device 119.

A roll-off rate (r) of the Nyquist pulse will be described as an example of setting parameters for optical spectrum shaping. FIG. 21 shows a change in the increase rate (ΔC) of the frequency utilization efficiency when the roll-off rate r is changed. In the figure, the frequency utilization efficiency when the roll-off rate is 1 is 1. At this time, the relationship between the roll-off rate r and the frequency utilization efficiency increase rate ΔC is given by the following equation.
ΔC = (1−r) / 2 + 1
Here, when the modulation scheme is a polarization multiplexed QPSK (Polarization-Multiplexed Phase Shift Keying: PM-QPSK) scheme, the frequency utilization efficiency when the roll-off rate is 1 is 2 bits / s / Hz. When the roll-off rate is set to 0, the frequency utilization efficiency is 2 × 1.5 = 3 bits / s / Hz. Therefore, in the unit band slot whose frequency band is 12.5 GHz, the amount of traffic that can be accommodated in the unit band slot increases from 25 Gb / s to 37.5 Gb / s by changing the roll-off rate.

  Depending on the configuration of the backbone transmission channel, the communication quality may be deteriorated by reducing the roll-off rate. Therefore, in the backbone optical network, the roll-off rate can be changed only when a route is assigned to the backup path 118.

  Next, an example of a procedure for setting the failure time slot number and the roll-off rate will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 22 is a flowchart for explaining the procedure for setting the number of slot slots at the time of failure and the roll-off rate.

  The optical spectrum shaping setting unit 125 refers to the minimum guaranteed communication capacity of the management table shown in FIG. 20 (step S112-1), and calculates the number of slot slots and roll-off rate that satisfy the minimum guaranteed communication capacity. Then, bandwidth allocation according to this is performed (step S112-2).

  Next, when there is a surplus optical frequency band, one band slot is allocated to each operation path having a minimum guaranteed communication capacity of zero (step S112-3A). At this time, if the number of remaining bandwidth slots after allocation of the minimum guaranteed communication capacity is insufficient (allocation is complete: NO), bandwidth slots are allocated by the first-fit method (step S112-3B).

  Furthermore, bandwidth allocation is performed according to the number of bandwidth slots that satisfy the normal communication capacity (step S112-4A). At this time, when the number of remaining bandwidth slots is insufficient (allocation is completed: NO), the allocated optical frequency band is reduced by changing the setting of the roll-off rate (step S112-4B). Also in this case, when the number of remaining bandwidth slots is insufficient (allocation is completed: NO), bandwidth slots can be allocated by the First-fit method (step S112-4C).

  Through the above steps, the setting of the failure time slot number and the roll-off rate is completed (step S112-5). The optical spectrum shaping setting unit 125 notifies the optical transmission / reception apparatus 119 of the failure time slot number obtained here and the roll-off rate, which is the setting parameter of the optical frequency utilization efficiency (step S112-6).

  FIG. 23 shows the result of setting the failure time slot number and the failure roll-off rate by the failure recovery method in this embodiment. The number of bandwidth slots in the backup path 118 is four. First, for the communication 124-1 on the working path 117-1, three failure time band slots are assigned and 0.85 is assigned as the failure roll-off rate. Thereby, the communication capacity at the time of failure is 80 Gb / s, and the communication 124-1 which performed optical spectrum shaping is accommodated. Next, for the communication 124-2 on the operation path 117-2, one failure time slot number is assigned and 1 is assigned as the failure roll-off rate. As described above, the communication 124-1 and the communication 124-2 can be accommodated in the backup path 118.

  In the above description, the optical frequency utilization efficiency is changed by performing optical spectrum shaping using the optical spectrum shaping setting unit 125. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is possible to change the optical frequency utilization efficiency by changing the modulation method or changing the number of subcarriers of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) signal light. Also good.

  As described above, the optical transponder device (band variable optical TPND 126) included in the optical node device that is the variable large-grain node device 211 according to the present embodiment includes the optical frequency utilization efficiency setting unit including the optical spectrum shaping setting unit 125, A transmission / reception device 119 is provided. The optical frequency utilization efficiency setting unit calculates an optical frequency utilization efficiency setting parameter. Then, the optical transmission / reception apparatus transmits the signal light with the optical frequency utilization efficiency corresponding to the setting parameter.

  As described above, in the optical communication system according to the present embodiment, when a failure occurs in the operation path, the roll-off rate is set so as to satisfy the minimum guaranteed communication capacity according to the number of bandwidth slots at the time of failure. Based on the roll-off rate at this time, the band variable unit 106 narrows down the band of the client signal. As a result, traffic can be accommodated in a band corresponding to the number of slot slots at the time of failure. At this time, since the variable large granularity switching device performs path switching according to the number of bandwidth slots, communication interruption can be prevented without increasing power consumption or device scale even for large capacity communication.

  In each of the embodiments described above, the variable large-grain node device 210 is arranged at two bases to perform inter-base communication. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and as shown in FIGS. 24A and 24B, a configuration of an optical communication system in which variable large-grain node devices 210 are arranged in a mesh and each variable large-grain node device is connected by a backbone transmission channel. It is good. Here, FIG. 24A shows the configuration of the optical communication system in the normal state, and FIG. 24B shows the configuration when a failure occurs. Note that the arrangement shape of the variable large-grain node device 210 is not limited to a mesh shape, but can be applied to a node arrangement such as a ring shape or a tree shape.

  As shown in FIG. 24B, a failure occurs at two points in the trunk transmission communication path that is not directly connected to the variable large-granularity node apparatuses 210-1 to 210-2 including the variable bandwidth optical TPNDs 107-1 to 4-2 for communication between the two sites. A case where 119-1 and 2 occur will be described. The variable bandwidth unit 106 included in the variable bandwidth optical TPNDs 107-1 to -4 narrows down the bandwidth of the client signal based on the network resource information from the network resource management unit 101. As a result, traffic can be accommodated in a band corresponding to the number of slot slots at the time of failure. At this time, the variable large granularity switching devices 105-3 to 105-8 can establish communication on the backup path 118 by switching the connection to the bypass basic transmission communication path.

  As described above, even in an optical communication system composed of a large number of nodes, according to each of the above-described embodiments, when a failure occurs in the operation path, the bandwidth varying unit responds to the number of bandwidth slots during failure. To narrow the bandwidth of the client signal. As a result, it becomes possible to accommodate traffic in a band corresponding to the number of slot slots at the time of failure. At this time, since the variable large granularity switching device performs path switching according to the number of bandwidth slots, communication interruption can be prevented without increasing power consumption or device scale even for large capacity communication.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, a plurality of communication paths are switched in response to the detection of a failure on the operation path. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when newly establishing communication between bases in an optical communication system, the communication path may be switched when a new bandwidth slot setting request (interrupt request) is generated. In other words, there is a limit to the bandwidth resources of the operating path, and the number of allocated bandwidth slots for new communications may be insufficient. At this time, according to each of the above-described embodiments, it is possible to create a bandwidth slot that can be allocated by narrowing the allocated bandwidth of the existing operation path to the minimum guaranteed bandwidth.

  The present invention has been described above using the above-described embodiment as an exemplary example. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. That is, the present invention can apply various modes that can be understood by those skilled in the art within the scope of the present invention.

  This application claims the priority on the basis of Japanese application Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-267089 for which it applied on December 25, 2013, and takes in those the indications of all here.

  A part or all of the above-described embodiment can be described as in the following supplementary notes, but is not limited thereto.

  (Appendix 1) A large granularity switching unit that switches a plurality of communication paths in units of optical carrier frequency, a plurality of optical transponder devices that transmit and receive client signals via the communication path, the large granularity switching unit, and the optical transponder device A control unit that controls operation, and the optical transponder device includes a band variable unit that reduces a signal band of the client signal, and the control unit detects an opportunity to switch the plurality of communication paths. The large-grain switching unit and the optical transponder device, and the large-grain switching unit switches the communication path when receiving the notification, and the optical transponder device has received the notification. Sometimes, the band variable unit transmits the signal light whose bandwidth of the client signal is reduced to the communication path after the large granularity switching unit switches Node device.

  (Additional remark 2) When the said control part detects the failure in the said communication channel, the said notification is performed, and the number of the minimum optical frequency bandwidths which can be used in the said communication channel after the said large granularity switching part switches The optical node according to claim 1, wherein the optical transponder device determines a certain number of failure time band slots, and the optical transponder device transmits the signal light in which the bandwidth of the client signal is reduced based on the number of failure time band slots. apparatus.

  (Supplementary Note 3) The optical transponder device includes a band slot allocation setting unit, and the band slot allocation setting unit includes a plurality of minimum optical frequency bandwidths that can be used in the communication path after the large granularity switching unit is switched. The optical node device according to appendix 1 or 2, wherein at least a part of the signal light is allocated non-continuously.

  (Supplementary Note 4) The optical transponder device includes an optical frequency utilization efficiency setting unit and an optical transmission / reception device, the optical frequency utilization efficiency setting unit calculates an optical frequency utilization efficiency setting parameter, and the optical transmission / reception device includes: The optical node device according to any one of appendices 1 to 3, wherein the signal light is transmitted with an optical frequency utilization efficiency corresponding to the setting parameter.

  (Supplementary Note 5) A first optical node device, a second optical node device, a first communication path and a second communication path connecting the first optical node device and the second optical node device, And the first optical node device and the second optical node device switch the first communication path and the second communication path in units of optical carrier frequencies. A switching unit, first and second optical transponder devices that transmit and receive client signals via the first communication path and the second communication path, the first and second large granularity switching units, and the First and second control units for controlling the operation of the first and second optical transponder devices, respectively, and the first and second optical transponder devices each have a signal band of the client signal. Reduced first and second bandwidth available Each of the first control unit and the second control unit detects the trigger for switching from the first communication path to the second communication path, and the first and second large-grain switching And the first and second optical transponder devices, and the first and second large granularity switching units receive the notification from the first communication path when receiving the notification. When the first and second optical transponder devices receive the notification, the first and second optical bandwidth control units reduce the bandwidth of the client signal when the notification is received. Is transmitted to the second communication path switched by the first and second large granularity switching units.

  (Additional remark 6) It has a network management part which manages the number of the minimum optical frequency bandwidths which can be utilized for every said 1st communication path and said 2nd communication path, The said 1st and said 2nd control part When the failure in the first communication path is detected, the first and second large granularity switching units, the first and second optical transponder devices, and the network management unit And the network management unit, when receiving the notification, sets the number of slots in the time of failure, which is the number of minimum optical frequency bandwidths available in the second communication path, as the first optical frequency. The first optical node device and the second optical node device, and the first and second optical transponder devices are configured such that the first and second bandwidth variable sections are based on the number of slot slots at the time of failure. There are optical communication system according to Note 5 for sending a signal light with a reduced bandwidth of the client signal, to the second communication path.

  (Additional remark 7) It further has an optical frequency band fragmentation monitoring unit, and the optical frequency band fragmentation monitoring unit has an optical frequency band that can be used in at least one of the first communication path and the second communication path. Monitoring whether or not a fragmented unused frequency region has occurred, and if the unused frequency region has occurred, instructs the network management unit to perform aggregation, and the network management unit Supplementary note 6 in which the unused frequency regions are aggregated to set a continuous unused frequency region, and the first and second optical transponder devices transmit the signal light using the continuous unused frequency region. The optical communication system described in 1.

  (Supplementary note 8) When detecting an opportunity to switch a plurality of communication paths, the plurality of communication paths are switched in units of optical carrier frequency, and the signal light whose bandwidth of the client signal is reduced is transferred to the communication path after the switching. Optical communication path switching method to be transmitted.

  (Supplementary note 9) When a failure in the communication path is detected, the plurality of communication paths are switched in units of optical carrier frequency, and the failure is the number of minimum optical frequency bandwidths available in the communication path after the switching The optical communication path switching method according to appendix 8, wherein the number of time-band slots is determined, and signal light in which the bandwidth of the client signal is reduced based on the number of trouble-time band slots is transmitted.

  (Supplementary note 10) The optical communication path switching method according to supplementary note 8 or 9, wherein at least a part of the signal light is discontinuously allocated to a plurality of minimum optical frequency bandwidths usable in the communication path after the switching.

  (Supplementary note 11) The communication path after switching by the large granularity switching unit has a plurality of bypass communication paths, and the optical transponder device uses the optical frequency bands of the plurality of bypass communication paths, 5. The optical node device according to any one of appendices 1 to 4, which transmits signal light.

  (Supplementary note 12) The optical node device according to supplementary note 4, wherein the setting parameter of the optical frequency utilization efficiency is a parameter for changing a shape of an optical frequency spectrum of the signal light.

  (Supplementary note 13) The optical node device according to supplementary note 4, wherein the setting parameter of the optical frequency utilization efficiency is a parameter for changing a modulation method of the signal light.

  (Supplementary note 14) The optical node device according to supplementary note 4, wherein the setting parameter of the optical frequency utilization efficiency is a parameter for changing the number of subcarriers when the signal light is orthogonal frequency division multiplexed signal light.

  (Supplementary Note 15) The network management unit manages a plurality of bandwidth reduction amounts according to a failure state of a communication path, and the first and second bandwidth variable units correspond to the plurality of bandwidth reduction amounts, The optical communication system according to appendix 6 or 7, wherein the signal band to be reduced is changed.

  (Supplementary Note 16) The network management unit manages a priority of a preset communication channel, and the first and second band variable units reduce a signal band according to the priority of the communication channel. The optical communication system according to any one of Supplementary Notes 6, 7, and 15, wherein

  (Supplementary note 17) The optical communication path switching method according to supplementary note 8 or 9, wherein a setting parameter of the optical frequency utilization efficiency of the signal light is calculated, and the signal light is transmitted with an optical frequency utilization efficiency corresponding to the setting parameter.

  (Supplementary note 18) The optical communication path switching method according to any one of supplementary notes 8, 9, and 17, wherein at least a minimum optical frequency band in the communication path is assigned to the communication path after the switching.

1000 Optical node device 1100 Large granularity switching unit 1200 Optical transponder device 1220 Band variable unit 1300 Control unit 1400 Communication path 101 Network resource management unit 105-1-2 Variable large granularity switching unit 106 Band variable unit 107-1-4, 126- 1-4, 128-1-6 Band-variable optical transponder (TPND)
113-1-2 Control function unit 117-1-2 Operation path 118 Backup path 119 Optical transceiver 120 Client interface 125 Optical spectrum shaping setting unit 127 Band slot allocation setting unit 210-1-2, 211-1-2, 212 -1-2 Variable large granularity node device 50, 60 Associated node device 51, 61 Large granularity switching device 52, 62 Small granularity switching device 70 Communication network

Claims (10)

Large-grain switching means for switching a plurality of communication paths in units of optical carrier frequency;
A plurality of optical transponders for transmitting and receiving client signals via the communication path;
Control means for controlling the operation of the large particle size switching means and the optical transponder,
The optical transponder includes a band variable means for reducing a signal band of the client signal,
When the control means detects an opportunity to switch the plurality of communication paths, it notifies the large-grain switching means and the optical transponder,
The large grain switching means switches the communication path when receiving the notification,
When receiving the notification, the optical transponder transmits the signal light obtained by reducing the bandwidth of the client signal in the bandwidth changing unit to the communication path after the large granularity switching unit has switched. The optical node device according to claim 1,
The control means performs the notification when a failure in the communication path is detected, and a failure time band that is the number of minimum optical frequency bandwidths available in the communication path after the large granularity switching means has switched Determine the number of slots,
The optical transponder is an optical node device in which the bandwidth changing means transmits signal light in which the bandwidth of the client signal is reduced based on the number of bandwidth slots at the time of failure. In the optical node device according to claim 1 or 2,
The optical transponder comprises band slot allocation setting means,
The optical node apparatus, wherein the band slot allocation setting unit allocates at least a part of the signal light non-continuously to a plurality of minimum optical frequency bandwidths usable in the communication path after the large granularity switching unit is switched. In the optical node device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The optical transponder comprises optical frequency utilization efficiency setting means and optical transmission / reception means,
The optical frequency utilization efficiency setting means calculates an optical frequency utilization efficiency setting parameter,
The optical node device that transmits the signal light at an optical frequency utilization efficiency corresponding to the setting parameter. A first optical node device; a second optical node device; and a first communication path and a second communication path that connect the first optical node device and the second optical node device. ,
The first optical node device and the second optical node device are:
First and second large granularity switching means for switching between the first communication path and the second communication path in units of optical carrier frequency;
First and second optical transponders for transmitting and receiving client signals via the first communication path and the second communication path;
The first and second large granularity switching means and the first and second control means for controlling the operation of the first and second optical transponders, respectively.
The first and second optical transponders respectively include first and second band variable means for reducing the signal band of the client signal,
The first and second control means detect the first and second large grain size switching means and the first large-scale switching means when detecting an opportunity to switch from the first communication path to the second communication path. And notifying the second optical transponder,
The first and second large granularity switching means switch from the first communication path to the second communication path when receiving the notification,
When the first and second optical transponders receive the notification, the first and second optical transponders receive the signal light obtained by reducing the bandwidth of the client signal in the first and second bandwidth variable means. An optical communication system for sending to the second communication path switched by two large granularity switching means. The optical communication system according to claim 5,
Network management means for managing the number of minimum optical frequency bandwidths available for each of the first communication path and the second communication path;
The first and second control means, when detecting a failure in the first communication path, the first and second large granularity switching means, the first and second optical transponders, And the notification to the network management means,
When the network management means accepts the notification, the network management means determines the number of slots at the time of failure, which is the number of minimum optical frequency bandwidths usable in the second communication path, as the first optical node device and the first optical node device. 2 to the optical node device,
In the first and second optical transponders, the first communication and the second bandwidth variable means reduce the bandwidth of the client signal based on the failure time slot number to the second communication, An optical communication system that sends to the road. The optical communication system according to claim 6,
Further comprising optical frequency band fragmentation monitoring means,
The optical frequency band fragmentation monitoring means determines whether or not a fragmented unused frequency region is generated in an optical frequency band that can be used in at least one of the first communication path and the second communication path. Monitoring, if the unused frequency region occurs, instruct the network management means to aggregate,
The network management means sets a continuous unused frequency region by aggregating the unused frequency regions that are fragmented,
The first and second optical transponders are optical communication systems that transmit the signal light using the continuous unused frequency regions. When detecting an opportunity to switch a plurality of communication paths, switching the plurality of communication paths in units of optical carrier frequency,
An optical communication path switching method for transmitting signal light whose bandwidth of a client signal is reduced to the communication path after the switching. The optical communication path switching method according to claim 8,
When detecting a failure in the communication path, the plurality of communication paths are switched in units of optical carrier frequency,
Determining the number of slots at the time of failure, which is the number of minimum optical frequency bandwidths available in the communication path after the switching,
An optical communication path switching method for transmitting signal light in which the bandwidth of the client signal is reduced based on the number of slot slots at the time of failure. The optical communication path switching method according to claim 8 or 9,
An optical communication path switching method in which at least a part of the signal light is discontinuously allocated to a plurality of minimum optical frequency bandwidths usable in the communication path after the switching.

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