US 12,355,550 B2
Scalable add/drop colorless, directionless, and contentionless optical architectures
Paul Chedore, Ottawa (CA); and Jean-Luc Archambault, Ottawa (CA)
Assigned to Ciena Corporation, Hanover, MD (US)
Filed by Ciena Corporation, Hanover, MD (US)
Filed on Dec. 1, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/526,376.
Application 18/526,376 is a continuation of application No. 16/567,023, filed on Sep. 11, 2019, granted, now 11,838,101.
Application 16/567,023 is a continuation in part of application No. 15/881,420, filed on Jan. 26, 2018, granted, now 10,454,609, issued on Oct. 22, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2024/0113798 A1, Apr. 4, 2024
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. H04J 14/02 (2006.01); H04Q 11/00 (2006.01)
CPC H04J 14/0204 (2013.01) [H04J 14/02126 (2023.08); H04Q 11/0005 (2013.01); H04Q 2011/0015 (2013.01); H04Q 2011/0016 (2013.01); H04Q 2011/0047 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method comprising steps of:
when a plurality of channels at a Reconfigurable Optical-Add Drop Multiplexer (ROADM) node in an optical network will ingress and egress from a degree in the optical network, such that the plurality of channels are able to share a same physical routing in the optical network because the plurality of channels are each traffic flows that originate and terminate at the ROADM node and a second ROADM node thereby providing a large traffic flow therebetween, connecting the plurality of channels at the degree in the ROADM node, such that the plurality of channels are connected to the second ROADM node in the optical network; and
pre-combining the plurality of channels onto a common port between the degree and the corresponding modems prior to being routed through the optical network, such that the plurality of channels connect to the degree together in a single connection that is co-routed to the second ROADM node, and wherein the plurality of channels are at arbitrary spectral locations, channel bandwidth, modulation formats, or baud rates, relative to one another.