Telecommunications – Transmitter and receiver at separate stations
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-06
2001-01-09
Negash, Kinfe-Michael (Department: 2733)
Telecommunications
Transmitter and receiver at separate stations
C370S471000, C370S475000, C370S907000, C340S311200, C359S199200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06173158
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to telecommunications networks and, more particularly, to a method of providing operational support in a synchronous optical network.
Modern telecommunications networks are evolving. There is a shift from asynchronous communications networks to synchronous communications networks. The advent of optical transport as a transmission technique has given rise to a set of standards for a synchronous optical network (“SONET”) in the United States and in Europe. The United States standards are found in ANSI T1.105, ANSI T1.106 and ANSI T1.107; the European standards are found in the SDH standard established by ITU-T. In these optical networks, SONET network elements (“SNE's”) exchange data over interconnecting optical cable. Synchronization of each SNE is maintained by a timing signal generator (“TSG”) and related peripheral equipment. The TSG establishes a timing reference, either through GPS equipment incorporated into the TSG or by derivation from the SNE's optical transport.
Both SNE's and TSG's must be monitored, maintained and configured by a network administrator, such as a Operation Support System (“OSS”). Although the SONET standard dedicates bandwidth to provide for OSS messaging to the SNE's, no such accommodations are made for TSG's or the other peripheral equipment.
Accordingly there is a need in the art for a means for providing communication between a TSG and an OSS in a SONET network.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The disadvantages of the art are alleviated to a great extent by a communications system that provides a communication link between an operation support system and support equipment at the SONET network element. In a first embodiment, the invention exploits dark bandwidth in the SONET communication protocol to build a communication channel with the support equipment. In a second embodiment, the support equipment is provided with two way radio communication equipment to communicate messages between the operation support system and the support equipment.
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patent: 6032023 (2000-02-01), Foladare et al.
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Dantel DSC Product Literature, Aug. 1996.
Hansen Hans P.
Jacobs Kevin
AT&T Corp.
Kenyon & Kenyon
Negash Kinfe-Michael
LandOfFree
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