US 11,736,216 B2
Legacy time division multiplexing (TDM) service support in a packet network and on a packet network element
Christopher John Brown, Stittsville (CA); Craig Donald Suitor, Nepean (CA); Matthew Yuen, Ottawa (CA); Alexander Young, Ottawa (CA); Sitaram Patro, Stittsville (CA); and Stuart White, Nepean (CA)
Assigned to Ciena Corporation, Hanover, MD (US)
Filed by Ciena Corporation, Hanover, MD (US)
Filed on Jul. 19, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/379,248.
Application 17/379,248 is a continuation of application No. 16/564,257, filed on Sep. 9, 2019, granted, now 11,095,381.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/730,923, filed on Sep. 13, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0351855 A1, Nov. 11, 2021
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. H04J 3/06 (2006.01); H04J 14/08 (2006.01); H04L 5/14 (2006.01); H04L 12/931 (2013.01); H04L 49/50 (2022.01)
CPC H04J 3/0632 (2013.01) [H04J 14/08 (2013.01); H04L 5/1469 (2013.01); H04L 49/50 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A network element comprising:
at least two Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) modules each including a TDM client interface, TDM processing circuitry, and circuit emulation circuitry; and
a packet switch fabric connected to the at least two TDM modules in a Link Aggregation Group (LAG) for a protected TDM service, and configured to output a packet interface,
wherein the protected TDM service is provided as a single packetized TDM stream via the packet interface from the packet switch fabric, and
wherein the at least two TDM modules include an unprotected TDM client interface that is provided via the TDM processing circuitry and the circuit emulation circuitry, and wherein the unprotected TDM client interface is provided to the packet switch fabric and operates with the protected TDM service.