JPH06216850A - Self-routing method/device and packet structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a method that secures the self-routing in an optical signal state and through an optical switch part of plural stages which performs the switching actions of a packet based on the presence or absence of input of the control light. CONSTITUTION:The characteristics are previously given to a header part 35 and a data part 37 of a packet 33 so that both parts 35 and 37 of different wavelengths are separated from each other. The part 35 consists of the same number of blocks as the number of optical switch stages of an optical switch part S. The control optical information are previously given to these blocks to control the state of each optical switch so that a desired route of the packet 33 is formed at the part S. Then the packet 33 is separated into both parts 35 and 37 by a wavelength filter 43. There separated parts 35 and 37 are sent to the part S so that the coincidence is secured between the time when the part 37 successively arrives at the subsequent optical switches and the time when the blocks received with the control optical information on each optical switch arrive at the control ports of each corresponding optical switch.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a self-routing method used in a communication network, a self-routing apparatus suitable for implementing the method, and a packet structure suitable for these methods and apparatuses.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A self-routing method (also called a packet switching method) for carrying out information communication by a packet composed of a header section having information indicating a route and a data section having original information. Since it is suitable for high-speed communication such as inter-computer communication, it has attracted attention in recent years.

As a method of self-routing, ATM (Asyn
There are various systems such as a chronous transfer mode (X) packet exchange system and an X25 packet exchange system. A conventional self-routing method will be described with an example of an ATM exchange system. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram of the ATM switching apparatus used for the explanation.

In the ATM switching system, all information to be transmitted is handled as a packet of packets called a packet (11 in FIG. 5). Packet 11
It is composed of a header portion 11a indicating its destination and a data portion 11b containing original information. In addition,
In the ATM switching system, a packet is often called a cell, but it is called a packet here. In the ATM switching system, the capacity of the packet 11 is 53 bytes. Of these, 5 bytes are allocated for the header part 11a and 48 bytes are allocated for the data part 11b. When the amount of information to be transmitted is larger than the capacity of the data section 11b, the information is divided into a plurality of packets for transmission and assembled at the transmission destination.

Actual information communication by such an ATM exchange system has been conventionally performed as follows. The packet 11 transmitted through the optical fiber transmission line 13 is input to an O / E converter (device for converting an optical signal into an electric signal) 15 and converted into an electric signal there. The electric signal obtained by this conversion is input to the header / data separation device 17 and separated into a header portion 11ae and a data portion 11be indicated by the electric signal. The separated header portion 11ae is input to the analysis device 19 and analyzed here. The analysis result is input to the control device 21. The control device 21 switches the switches 23a to 23c based on the analysis result.
As a result, the data unit 11be causes the switch groups 23a-2
It will flow in a route that reaches the destination of 3c. Next, the data part 11be is input to the header adding device 25, where the header part 11ae is added again. The packet (a packet in the form of an electrical signal) configured by adding the header portion 11ae to the data portion 11be is input to the E / O conversion device (device for converting an electrical signal into an optical signal) 27 this time. Then, it is converted again into packets in the form of optical signals. By outputting this packet from the output optical fiber 29, self-routing is performed.

[0006]

However, in the conventional self-routing method, since it is necessary to sequentially convert a packet into an optical signal → electrical signal → optical signal, the speed of performing self-routing becomes slower by that amount, so that the throughput is reduced. There is a limit to improving. Further, the analysis device 19 for analyzing the header portion and the control device 21 for controlling the switch groups 23a to 23c based on the analysis result are required, and thus it is difficult to downsize the device. As one method for solving these problems, a method of performing all self-routing by light (hereinafter, also referred to as “all-light self-routing method”) is conceivable (for example, Document: 19).
1991 IEICE Fall Conference B-288 "VSTE
Examination of priority control method in optical self-routing circuit using P "). However, the conventional all-optical self-routing method is not always a suitable method.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the first invention of this application is to provide a specific self-routing method capable of enabling all-optical self-routing. Another object of the second invention of this application is to provide a self-routing apparatus suitable for carrying out the self-routing method of the first invention. An object of the third invention of this application is to provide a packet structure suitable for implementing the first and second inventions.

[0008]

In order to achieve this object, the self-routing method of the first invention of this application is such that a plurality of packets that are transmitted through a waveguide are switched depending on an input state of control light. A self-routing method of distributing to a desired route by using a stepped optical switch, wherein (a) the header part and the data part of the packet described above use both or one of a difference in wavelength and a difference in polarization. In addition, a property that the two parts are separated is given in advance, and the header part is the same number of blocks as the number of stages of the above-mentioned multi-stage optical switch, and the above-mentioned packet is used in the above-mentioned multi-stage optical switch. Of the optical switch of the corresponding stage so that the desired route is formed, each block is provided with control light information in advance, and (b) the packet has the above-mentioned properties. And (c) when the separated data part and header part are sent to the above-mentioned optical switches of a plurality of stages, when the data part reaches the next optical switch. It is characterized in that the blocks to which the control light information of the optical switch is added are transmitted so as to be synchronized with the time when the block reaches the control port of the optical switch.

In carrying out the first aspect of the present invention, it is preferable that the separated header section is subjected to delay processing to achieve the aforementioned synchronization.

According to the self-routing device of the second invention of this application, the header part and the data part are packets having different wavelength lights or different polarizations.
A packet composed of a plurality of blocks, each of which is provided with control light information for an optical switch whose header part is switched depending on the presence or absence of control light, is input, and the header part and the data part of the packet are set to the above-mentioned wavelength. A signal separation unit for separating based on a difference or a difference in polarization, and a plurality of stages for inputting the data unit and the header unit separated by the signal separation unit and switching the route of the input data unit. An optical switch section composed of optical switches, wherein each optical switch is switched by the control light information given to the block of the header section separated by the above-mentioned signal separation section and the above-mentioned signal separation section. When the data section separated by the section arrives at the next optical switch of the above-mentioned optical switch section, it corresponds to the header section separated by the signal separation section. Block, characterized in that the equipped and a signal synchronizing unit for synchronizing the time to reach the corresponding optical switches.

According to the third invention of this application, in the packet structure including the header part and the data part,
The header part and the data part are composed of light of different wavelengths or different polarizations, and the header part is a plurality of blocks, each of which has the same time length as the data part and performs a switching operation depending on the presence or absence of control light. It is characterized in that it is configured by a block having information that becomes the control light of the optical switch.

[0012]

According to the configuration of the first invention of this application, the header portion and the data portion of a packet can be separated in the state of the optical signal. Further, the header part and the data part, which are separated in the state of the optical signal, are sent to an optical switch group which performs a switching operation depending on the presence or absence of control light. Here, the header section is pre-configured with a plurality of blocks each having control light information for controlling each optical switch so that a packet route is formed as intended in this optical switch group, and Since each block of the optical section is input to each optical switch in synchronization with each other when the data section reaches each optical switch, the data section in the optical signal state is controlled by the header section in the optical signal state. Optical switch group can be transmitted. As a result, all-light self-routing is performed.

According to the configuration of the second invention of this application, since the predetermined signal separation unit, the predetermined optical switch unit and the predetermined signal synchronization unit are provided, the method of the self-routing of the first invention is facilitated. .

According to the configuration of the third invention of this application, a packet structure suitable for carrying out the first invention and the second invention can be constructed.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the first to third inventions of this application will be described below with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the drawings used for the description are only schematically shown so that the invention can be understood.

1. First Example First, an example in which a packet transmitted through one waveguide is distributed to a target route using a four-stage optical switch that performs a switching operation according to an input state of control light (1 × N scale) Example) is explained.

1-1. Description of Apparatus Configuration Prior to the description, an example of an apparatus suitable for use in implementing the first embodiment will be described first. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the device (embodiment of the second invention) together with a transmission line from the outside. However, in FIG. 1, in order to explain the basic operation of the self-routing method of the first invention, the optical switches up to the second stage are shown and the optical switches at the third and fourth stages are not shown. Omitted.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 31 is, for example, an optical fiber as a waveguide for input light. Reference numeral 33 is a packet transmitted through the waveguide 31, that is, a packet suitable for carrying out the first and second inventions (packet of the embodiment of the third invention).

The packet 33 is composed of a header section 35 and a data section 37. However, the header section 35 is configured to use, for example, the light of the first wavelength, and the data section 37 is configured to use the second wavelength having a different wavelength from the light of the first wavelength. 35 and data part 3
7 and 7 are provided so that they can be separated in the state of the optical signal. Of course, the header portion 35 and the data portion 37 may be configured by using different polarized light instead of using light of different wavelength, or may be configured by using both wavelength and polarized light. Further, the header unit 35 of this embodiment has the same number as the number of stages of a plurality of stages of optical switches (the first stage optical switch 39, the second stage optical switches 41a, 41b, ... Of FIG. 1). Block (In this embodiment, the number of optical switch stages is 4
Therefore, the first to fourth blocks 35a to 35 are
d). Then, in these first to fourth blocks 35a to 35d, a control for controlling the states of the optical switches of the corresponding stages so that the intended route of the packet 33 is formed in the optical switches of the plurality of stages. Optical information is given in advance. Specifically, of the first to fourth blocks 35a to 35d, the first block 35a has a first-stage optical switch 39 of a plurality of stages of optical switches.
Control light information for controlling the state of the optical switch 41 of the second stage is provided in the second block 35b.
Control light information for controlling the states of a and 41b is given in advance, and the third block 35c and the fourth block 35 are provided.
Also for d, control light information is given according to the second block and the like. The length (temporal length) of each of the blocks 35a to 35d is the same as the length of the data section 37, or a length obtained by adding a predetermined guard time to the length of the data section 37 for the purpose of improving reliability. As it is. Here, the control light information previously given to each of the blocks 35a to 35d is, for example, binary information of "whether to light" or "not to light" for each block, "whether to strongly light", " There is no particular limitation as long as it is information that can optically drive the optical switch, such as binary information such as "weakly illuminate", binary information using different polarization planes, and information of three or more values. In this embodiment, an example is shown in which binary information "whether or not to light this" is given to the block as control light information. Specifically, the first to fourth blocks 35a to 3
Control light information of the states of “light up”, “not light up”, “not light up”, and “not light up” is given to 5d in this order. First to first of the header section 35 of FIG.
The control light information is indicated by "1", "0", "0", "0" in the fourth blocks 35a to 35d. The data section 37 is composed of a single bit or a plurality of bits depending on whether light is turned on or off.

Further, in FIG. 1, 43 is a packet 33.
Is a signal separation unit for separating the header unit 35 and the data unit 37 of the optical signal in the optical signal state. This signal separation unit 3
The specific configuration of No. 9 is configured according to the configurations of the header section 35 and the data section 37 of the packet 33. That is, if the header section 35 and the data section are composed of lights having different wavelengths, the signal separation section 43 is composed of, for example, a wavelength filter,
If the header section 35 and the data section 37 are composed of different polarizations, the signal separation section 43 is composed of, for example, a polarizing plate.

Further, in FIG. 1, S is an optical switch section. In the case of this embodiment, the optical switch section S includes a first stage optical switch 39 and a second stage optical switch 41.
a, 41b, ... Optical switches (not shown) in the third and fourth stages. Each optical switch of each stage,
It is composed of an optical switch that performs a switching operation depending on the presence or absence of input of control light. As the control light, the header section 3 is used.
The control light information given to the corresponding block among the first to fourth blocks of No. 5 is used. Examples of this type of optical switch include, for example, Document I ("Ultra High-speed Optical Electronics", edited by Sueda and Kamiya, published by Baifukan, pp. 27).
3-256, 1991) or an optical switch using the Kerr effect, or Document II (“O plus E”, New Technology Communications, No. 151, p. 6).
0, 1992.6), such as an optical switch using a third-order nonlinear optical effect. These optical switches are very fast (several tens to several tens).
It is preferable since it can be switched to 0 psec). An example thereof is shown in FIG. The optical switch shown in FIG. 2 includes an information light (data section 37) input port 39a, a control light (header section 35) input port 39b, and an information light output port 39.
c, 39d, control light output port 39e, optical coupler 39
f, a beam splitter 39g for guiding the control light to the optical coupler 39f, and a wavelength filter for separating the information light and the control light. However, the control light output port 39e is unnecessary when, for example, the control light is discarded as it is (corresponding to the first embodiment). However, after the second embodiment, the control light output port 39e is positively used.

In the optical switch 39 (41a, 41b), the refractive index of the optical coupler 39f changes depending on whether the control light is input to the control light input port 39b. The actual optical path length of is changed. For this reason, the optical coupler 39f functions as a directional coupler, so that it becomes an optical switch that performs a switching operation by the control light. Of course, the optical switch that can be used is not limited to that shown in FIG. 2 as long as it can be controlled by control light.

In this embodiment, when the control light is not input to the control light input port 39b (specifically,
When the control light information in the state of "not illuminating" is added to the block of the header section input to the control light input port 39b), the information light (data section) is output to the upper information light output port 39c of FIG. When the control light information is output and the control light information is reversed, it is assumed that the control light information is output to the lower information light output port 39d, and the operation will be described later.

Further, in FIG. 1, 45a to 45g are waveguides (optical fibers in this case) for routing the data section 37. Further, 47a to 47g are the respective constituent elements of the signal synchronizing section. These components 4
Of 7a to 47g, 47a and 47b are couplers for dividing the header section 35 separated by the signal separating section 43 in terms of power (for optical output division). Further, 47 c to 47 g are power-divided header parts 35 (hereinafter, referred to as “first to n-th divided header parts 35 ₁ to
35 _n ”. ) To the control optical port of the optical switch of the corresponding stage, and the data section 3 to the optical switch.
It is a delay line for sending synchronously when 7 arrives. The specific configuration of the delay lines 47c to 47g is not limited. For example, it can be constituted by any suitable means such as adjusting the length of the optical fiber. The functions of the couplers 37a and 37b and the delay lines 47c to 47g in the case of the example of FIG. 1 will be described later in the description of the operation.

1-2. Description of Method Next, the processing procedure of the self-routing method of the first invention will be described together with the operation description of the self-routing apparatus shown in FIG.

The packet 33 flowing through the waveguide 31 for input light is input to the signal separation unit 43. Signal separation unit 43
Separates the header portion 35 and the data portion 37 of the packet 33 in the optical signal state. The data section 37 separated by the signal separation section 43 is sent to the information optical input port 39a (see FIG. 2) of the first-stage optical switch 39 of the optical switch section S via the optical fiber 45a for data section routing. . On the other hand, the header section 35 is sent to the coupler 47a, where it is power-divided into, for example, equal (of course, not limited to) power and is divided into a first division header section 35 ₁ and a second division header section 35 ₂ . In addition, these division header parts 35
Each of ₁ , 35 ₂ has the same block configuration and the like as the one before the division, and is only divided in terms of power (the same applies to the third to fifth divided header portions below).
Then, the first split header section 35 ₁ is sent to the control light input port 39b (see FIG. 2) of the first-stage optical switch 39 of the switch section S via the delay line 47c. At this time, the degree of delay in the delay line 47c in this embodiment is determined by the first block of the first division header section 35 ₁ in synchronization with the arrival of the data section 37 at the first-stage optical switch 39. 35a is first
Adjustment is made so that the light is input to the optical switch 39 of the stage.
Since such adjustments are made, the first-stage optical switch 39 performs a switching operation according to the control light information given to the first block 35a of the first divided header section 35 ₁ . From, the data section is sent to either the optical fiber 45b side or the optical fiber 45c side. In the example of FIG. 1, the first block 35a of the first division header section 35 ₁ is provided with the control light information of “1” derived from the header section 35 before division, and therefore, according to the above assumption, the optical switch 39 outputs the data part 37 to the lower output port 39d (see FIG. 2), the data part 37
Is output to the optical fiber 45c side.

On the other hand, the second divided header section 35 ₂ has a delay line 4
It is sent to the coupler 47b via the 7b and is divided into three parts in terms of power, for example, and is divided into third to fifth divided header parts 35 _{3 to} 35.
It is said to be ₅ . In this case, the third divided header section 35
₃ is sent to the optical switch 41a of the optical switch of the second stage via delay lines 47e, fourth divided header portion 35 ₄ optical switch 41b of the optical switch of the second stage via delay lines 47f And the fifth split header section 35 ₅ is sent to the coupler (not shown) corresponding to the third stage optical switch (not shown) via the delay line 47g. Where the third
The divided header section 35 ₃ is delayed by the influence of the delay line 47b, the coupler 47b and the delay line 47e, and the fourth divided header section 35 ₄ is delayed by the influence of the delay line 47b, the coupler 47b and the delay line 47f. The condition is synchronized when the data section 37 reaches the second-stage optical switch 41a or 41b, and the second block 35b of the third division header section 35 ₃ is input to the control light input ports of these optical switches. So that By doing this,
Each optical switch performs a switching operation according to the control light information given to the second block. However, in the example of FIG. 1, since the data section 37 is sent to the optical switch 41b side of the second stage optical switch by the first stage optical switch 39, the switching that contributes to the transmission is optical. This is switching by the switch 41b. In the example of FIG. 1, since the second block 35b of the fourth division header section 35 ₄ is provided with the control light information of “0” derived from the header section 35 before division, the optical signal is transmitted according to the above assumption. Since the switch 41b outputs the data section 37 to the upper output port 39c (see FIG. 2), the data section 37 is output to the optical fiber 45f side.

Hereinafter, also in the third-stage optical switch and the fourth-stage optical switch (not shown), the first-stage optical switch,
Since switching is performed according to the same principle as that of each optical switch of the second stage, the packet 33 can be sent to the target route in the state of optical signal (all-optical self-routing can be performed).

2. Second Embodiment In the above-described first embodiment, the header section 35 separated by the signal separating section 43 is power-divided by the couplers 47a and 47b, and this divided header section is used as control light for the corresponding optical switch. . However, in this configuration, the control light becomes weaker according to the number of divisions of the header section. An example of avoiding this is the second embodiment. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram for the explanation. In FIG. 3, the same components as those shown in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals. In addition, a part of the description of such components is omitted.

A major difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment is that the header section 35 input to the optical switch is connected to the control light output port 39e of the optical switch (see details of FIGS. 3 and 2). That is, the data is taken out and sequentially input to the control light input port of the next-stage optical switch in synchronism with the data section 37 and used for sequentially driving the next-stage optical switch. In FIG. 3, 51 and 53 are optical switch units S, respectively.
2nd and 3rd-stage optical switches. In the second embodiment, in order to synchronize the arrival of the data section 37 with the optical switch of each stage after the second stage and the arrival of the corresponding block of the header section 35, the data section is synchronized. The delay line 55 is used as the transmission line for routing 37. However, the transmission line side of the header section 35 may of course be used as a delay line.

According to the method of the second embodiment, the attenuation of the control light can be made smaller than that of the first embodiment, but the number of optical switches required is larger and the length of the header portion is longer than that of the first embodiment.

3. Third Embodiment The method of sending the control light may be a combination of the first embodiment and the second embodiment. This third embodiment is such an example. Specifically, for example, the header portion output from the control light output port of the first-stage optical switch is input to the coupler to be power-divided, and this is divided into control lights of the second-stage optical switches. Are used respectively.
The first embodiment of the fourth embodiment, which will be described later with reference to FIG.
Optical switch of the second stage and each optical switch 41a, 4 of the second stage
1b (see FIG. 4). In the case of the configuration of the third embodiment, since the number of divisions can be reduced at least by one, the attenuation of the control light can be reduced accordingly.

4. Fourth Embodiment The first to third embodiments are mainly examples of a system with one input and multiple outputs. However, the first to third inventions have multiple inputs and multiple outputs (N
× N) self-routing can also be applied. This fourth embodiment is such an example. FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram for the explanation. In FIG. 4 as well, the same components as those shown in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals. In addition, a part of the description of such components is omitted.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the N × N-scale all-optical self-routing is performed by arranging N self-routing devices described with reference to FIG. 1 in parallel and collecting respective output lines one by one. This can be realized by multiplexing the lines with the coupler 61. Note that N × N-scale all-optical self-routing can be performed by a method other than the method described with reference to FIG. For example, a crossbar type configuration may be used. However, in the case of adopting a crossbar type configuration, each optical switch of the optical switch section S should be configured with a larger scale such as a 2 × 2 scale instead of the 1 × 2 scale described with reference to FIG. However, the device can be easily manufactured.

5. Fifth embodiment (example in which the number of blocks in the header section and the number of optical switch stages are different) In each of the above-described first to fourth examples, the number of blocks in the header section and the number of optical switch stages in the optical switch section are the same. An example was given. However, the present invention also includes a case where the number of blocks in the header section and the number of optical switch stages in the optical switch section are different. This fifth embodiment is such an example.

5-1. Example of number of blocks <number of optical switch stages For example, the central office has the ability to exchange users for N houses (there is a number of optical switch stages that can be exchanged for N houses). When only M users (N> M) are subscribed, it is advantageous in various respects not to use some optical switches. In such a case, the number of blocks in the header section may be increased in the future by setting the number according to the number of optical switch stages currently used (a number smaller than the actual number of optical switch stages).

5-2. Example of number of blocks> number of optical switch stages For example, in the case of communicating via a plurality of telephone stations, the first
, The route at the optical switch unit at the second telephone station, the route at the optical switch unit at the second telephone station, ..., The route at the optical switch unit at the nth telephone station are different. It is common. In such a case, the header section is composed of a block to which control light information for controlling the optical switch of the optical switch section of each telephone station is added. This seems to be different in the number of stages of the optical switch section and the number of blocks of the header section in each telephone station unit, but both are the same number in the entire routing route, and this case is also included in the invention of the present application. Be done. The invention of the present application also includes a case where a block for adding a function is provided in addition to the block for determining the route.

Although the self-routing method of the present invention is not compatible with the ATM exchange system in which the capacity of the header part is 5 bytes, for example, the entire 53-byte packet of the ATM exchange system is used as the data part. It is possible to use the data part to which the header part of the present invention is added as the switch part of the ATM switching system for local use.

Although the respective embodiments of the invention of this application have been described above, the invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments. For example, in each of the above-described embodiments, the example of the packet in which the data part is arranged after the blocks of the header part are arranged is shown. However, the size of the data part and the size of each block of the header part are defined, and each block is The arrangement order of each block and the data section can be arbitrarily changed according to the design if the correspondence relationship between the optical switch and the optical switch can be secured.

[0040]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the self-routing method of the first invention of this application, a packet can be self-routed in an optical signal state (all-optical self-routing). ). For this reason, the process of sequentially converting an optical signal → electrical signal → optical signal, which has been conventionally required, is unnecessary, and the speed of performing self-routing is correspondingly improved. Further, since the analyzer for analyzing the header portion and the controller for controlling the electric switch group, which are conventionally required, are not required, the device can be downsized accordingly.

Further, in the method of the first aspect of the present invention, the size of the data portion (temporal length) and the size of each block of the header portion (temporal length) are the same, and the size of each stage is the same. By taking care so that the data block and the predetermined block of the header part are input to the optical switch in synchronization, self-routing is possible regardless of the bit rate of the data. Therefore, it can also contribute to the construction of a bit rate-free exchange / transmission system.

Further, according to the second invention of this application, an apparatus that facilitates the implementation of the first invention can be obtained.

According to the third invention of this application, a packet structure suitable for implementing the first and second inventions can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a first embodiment of the first to third inventions.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of each optical switch of the optical switch unit.

FIG. 3 is a diagram which is used for describing a second embodiment of the first to third inventions.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a fourth embodiment of the first to third inventions.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a conventional technique and its problems.

[Explanation of symbols]

31: waveguide for input light 33: Packet 35: header 35a: first block 35b of the header portion: a header portion of the second block 35c: header portion of the third block 35d: fourth blocks 35 ₁ to the header portion 35 ₂ : First to fifth divided header section 37: Data section S: Optical switch section 39: First stage optical switch 39a: Information light (data section) input port 39b: Control light (header section) input port 39c , 39d: Information light output port 39e: Control light output port 39f: Optical coupler 39h: Wavelength filter 41a, 41b: Second stage optical switch 43: Signal separation unit 45a to 45g:
Data part transmission line 47a: One element (coupler) of the signal synchronization part 47b: One element (coupler) of the signal synchronization part 47c to 47g: One element (delay line) of the signal synchronization part

Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Office reference number FI Technical display location H04Q 3/52 101 B 9076-5K 8529-5K H04L 11/20 102 Z (72) Inventor Tomonori Kobayashi Tokyo Metropolitan Port 1-7-12 Toranomon-ku, Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A self-routing method for distributing a packet transmitted through a waveguide to a target route by using a plurality of stages of optical switches that perform a switching operation according to an input state of control light, comprising: (a) The header part and the data part of the packet are given in advance a property of utilizing both or one of the difference in wavelength and the difference in polarization so that both parts are separated, and Control light information for controlling the state of the optical switches of the corresponding stages, which is the same number of blocks as the number of stages of the switches, is provided in advance so that the target route of the packet is formed in the optical switches of the plurality of stages. (B) the packet is separated into a header part and a data part based on the above-mentioned properties, and (c) the separated data part and header part are divided into the plurality of optical switches. When sending to the switch side, when the data section reaches the next optical switch, the time when the block to which the control light information of the optical switch is attached reaches the control port of the optical switch is synchronized. , A self-routing method characterized by sending these. 2. The self-routing method according to claim 1, wherein the separated header portion is power-divided, and the divided header portion is synchronized with the data portion in a control port of each stage switch. The method of self-routing is characterized by sending each of them. 3. The self-routing method according to claim 1, wherein the separated header section is sequentially sent to the switches of the plurality of stages in synchronization with the data section. 4. The self-routing method according to claim 1, wherein the number of blocks in the header section and the number of stages of the plurality of optical switches are different. 5. A packet in which a header section and a data section are composed of different wavelength lights or different polarizations, and the header section gives control light information for an optical switch that is switched depending on the presence or absence of control light. A packet composed of a plurality of blocks is input, and a signal separation unit for separating the header part and the data part of the packet based on the difference in wavelength or the difference in polarization, and the signal separation unit A data section and a header section are respectively input, and the optical switch section is configured by a plurality of optical switches for switching the route of the input data section, and each optical switch is separated by the signal separation section. The optical switch section switched by the control light information given to the block of the header section, and the data section separated by the signal separation section are And a signal synchronization unit for synchronizing the time when each optical switch of the switch unit arrives and the time when the corresponding block of the header unit separated by the signal separation unit arrives at the corresponding optical switch. Characteristic self-routing device. 6. A packet structure composed of a header part and a data part, wherein the header part and the data part are composed of different wavelength lights or different polarizations, and the header part is composed of a plurality of blocks, respectively. Is a packet structure having the same time length as that of the data part and is constituted by a block having information which becomes the control light of the optical switch which performs a switching operation depending on the presence or absence of the control light.