Importance

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Abstract

Selective tributary switching is realized in a bidirectional transmission system by selectively switching, in accordance with the same rules governing the set-up and take down procedures of full line-switching, only that portion of the bandwidth of the particular line which has been provisioned to be line-switched. The remaining bandwidth can be left unprotected or, by for the first time combining line-switched ting functionality with path-switched ring functionality in the same ring transmission system, some remaining bandwidth can be path-switched. Furthermore, another degree of switching freedom is achieved in a four optical fiber bidirectional ring transmission system by selectively span-switching, but not ring-switching, specific bandwidth on the line. To this end, communications circuit provisioning information is provided in the ring nodes as to whether a particular communications circuit should be line-switched or not and, if not, whether it should be span-switched, path-switched or left unprotected.

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First Claim