Importance

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Abstract

A self healing, passive protected ring network and a method of operation are disclosed. The ring network includes a plurality of active nodes interconnected by optical fibers into a working ring. The ring network also includes a passive optical fiber protection ring which interfaces with the working ring through a small number of optical switches located at each node. In the event of a failure in the optical fibers or nodes of the working ring, the optical switches are set to interconnect the protection ring to the nodes on either side of the failure and to bypass all other nodes. It is a particular advantage of the present invention that the protection ring may be installed without modifying or adding to the active electronic equipment at each node and remains unchanged when the working ring's equipment is upgraded to a higher line transmission rate.

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First Claim