WO2001030005A1

WO2001030005A1 - System and method for transmitting and restoring an optical signal

Info

Publication number: WO2001030005A1
Application number: PCT/US2000/041254
Authority: WO
Inventors: Siraj Elahmadi; Paul A. Bullock; Nigel Baker; Kesavamurthy Nagaraj
Original assignee: Nortel Networks Limited
Priority date: 1999-10-18
Filing date: 2000-10-18
Publication date: 2001-04-26
Also published as: EP1234400A1; US6735392B1; WO2001030005A9

Abstract

A system and method for transmitting and restoring an optical signal in an optical ring is presented. The optical ring comprises a plurality of nodes, each node containing an optical cross connect switching fabric coupled to a data switch. The optical cross connect switching fabric and the data switch are coupled to a short reach side of a wavelength translation device. A long reach side of the wavelength translation device is coupled to a dense wave division multiplex (DWDM) coupler. The optical cross connect switching fabric and the data switch include a protect channel and a working channel for transporting the optical signal. If a link failure occurs and has not recovered, and the protect channel is not available, optical cross connect switching fabrics at adjacent nodes on each side of the failed link switch the optical signal to an alternate diverse protect port.

Description

SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR TRANSMITTING AND RESTORING AN OPTICAL SIGNAL

Cross Reference to Related Applications

This application is related to U.S. Patent Application Serial No 08/934,823, filed on November 5, 1997, entitled TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK HAVING SHARED PROTECT CAPACITY ARCHITECTURE, assigned to the assignee of the present application, and hereby incorporated by reference herein.

This application is also related to U.S. Patent Application Attorney Docket No. 10211RR (22171.128), filed on even date herewith, entitled COMMUNICATION NETWORK FOR TRANSMITTING AND RESTORING AN OPTICAL SIGNAL, assigned to the assignee of the present application, and hereby incorporated by reference herein. Background This application relates generally to optical communication systems and, more particularly, to a system and method for transmitting and restoring optical signals.

A conventional method for transmitting optical signals is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,933,258 by Flanagan et al This conventional method utilizes terminals, at a node, that multiplex fine granularity signals (such as STM-1, OC-12, etc.) from SONET, SDH, or other transport protocols, into coarse granularity signals (such as STM-16, OC-192, etc ) that are forwarded to an optical cross connect (OXC) switch The signals are then transmitted to a terminal at another node m the optical communication system In order for the signal to reach the terminal, it may have to be amplified or regenerated The regenerator, at the OXC switch, converts optical signals into the electrical domain, performs various actions on the signals such as, for example, re-synchronizmg the signal with the stratum clock, and then reconverts and re-amplifies the signals back into the optical domain Furthermore, wavelength detectors are utilized at the regenerator to ensure the correct signal is always being transmitted for a particular route

Such prior art approaches have a number of limitations One such limitation is that a wavelength detection scheme must be implemented at all regeneration sites to ensure a proper reception of protection signals The proper reception of the protection signals is needed to ensure that wavelength contingency (which is caused when a wavelength travels in an incorrect direction around the optical ring, from, for example, a link cut) does not occur. Additionally, optical signals incur significant power loss as they transit through the optical switching fabric at transit nodes or origination and destination nodes .

Further, as data centric switching products (such as routers and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) switches) emerge, the SONET interfaces from such products will increase in speed (e.g., from OC-48 to OC-192) . This will lead to an inefficient handling of the optical signal traffic because the conventional interfaces (or tributary access) on SONET/SDH multiplexing equipment typically accept only low speed traffic (such as STM-1, OC-12, etc.) . This traffic must then be multiplexed to create a high enough bit rate to justify long distance optical transmission thereby introducing a further limitation.

Another limitation of the prior art regards the fact that the conventional optical ring must be balanced by including the same number of working channels and protection channels between each node. Certain nodes, however, may not need as many working channels and protection channels as other nodes might because, for example, the traffic between these nodes may not be as heavy as the traffic between the other nodes. As such, the conventional optical ring may utilize a higher number of terminals than needed increasing the cost and complexity of the system. Therefore, an improved system and method for transmitting and restoring an optical signal is desired to reduce or eliminate these limitations and design complexities. Summary

In response to these and other limitations, provided herein is a unique system and method for transmitting and restoring an optical signal in an optical ring. The optical ring includes nodes, each containing an optical cross connect switching fabric that is coupled to a data switch. The optical cross connect switching fabric and the data switch are further coupled to a short reach side of at least one wavelength translation device and a long reach side of the wavelength translation device is coupled to a dense wave division multiplex (DWDM) coupler. The optical cross connect switching fabric and the data switch include at least one protect channel and at least one working channel for transporting the optical signal.

In one embodiment, the wavelength translation device receives the optical signal at a high speed rate, where the optical signal is a short reach optical signal and originates from a high speed interface on the data switch. The wavelength translation device then maps the short reach optical signal into a long reach DWDM optical signal at the high speed rate and forwards, via the DWDM coupler, the long reach optical signal to an adjacent DWDM coupler located at an adjacent node .

In some embodiments, if the long reach optical signal requires amplification between the nodes, the optical amplifier amplifies the long reach optical signal, where the optical amplifier is coupled between the plurality of nodes (for example, to the DWDM coupler and to the adjacent DWDM coupler) .

In some embodiments, if the long reach optical signal requires improved signal quality, a regenerator regenerates the long reach optical signal, where regenerator is coupled between the plurality of nodes In some embodiments, if a failure occurs on a link transporting the working channel, the protect channel is utilized to transport the optical signal .

In some embodiments, if the failure has recovered, the working channel is utilized. In some embodiments, if the failure has not recovered and the protect channel is not available, optical cross connect switching fabrics at adjacent nodes on each side of the failed link switch the optical signal to an alternate diverse protect port.

In some embodiments, an optical pass through of the switched optical signal is configured between any transit nodes in the optical ring.

In some embodiments, if the failure has recovered, switching the optical signal back to the working channel .

These advantages, as well as others which will become apparent, are described in greater detail with respect to the drawings and the following disclosure. Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1 is a prior art diagrammatic view of an optical system.

Fig. 2 is a prior art diagrammatic view of a node in the prior art optical system.

Fig. 3 is a prior art diagrammatic view of a regenerator in the prior art node .

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view of an optical system of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view of a working channel failure in the optical system of the present invention. Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view of an optical line failure in the optical system of the present invention.

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view of interconnected optical rings sharing a protect fiber of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic view of an unbalanced optical system of the present invention.

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic view of a computer of the present invention.

Fig. 10 is a flow chart of a method for transmitting and restoring an optical signal of the present invention. Detailed Description

Fig. 1 depicts a prior art optical communication system 8 that includes a plurality of nodes 1-4 which further include a plurality of terminals 22 and 23 coupled to a plurality of optical cross connect (OCC or OXC) switches 20. The OXC s 20, among other actions, route optical signals.

Fig. 2 depicts a node, for example node 1 (although nodes 2-4 may also be described in a similar manner) . Node 1 includes an OXC 20 that has optical ports TI, FI, Al, T2 , F2 , and A2. A bi-directional optical amplifier 21 is coupled via optical fibers between the ports Al and A2. The node includes two terminals T 22 and 23 to which the optical fiber (s) of the bi-directional working channel (s) W of the respective communication links (such as 10 and 13 for node 1) are coupled as illustrated in Fig.l. The bi-directional protection channel P of one communication link, 10 as illustrated, is coupled via an optical fiber 24 to the OXC port F2 , and the bi-directional protection channel P of the other communication link, 13 as illustrated, is coupled via an optical fiber 25 to the OXC port FI . The protection channel optical ports of the terminals 22 and 23 are coupled via optical fibers to the OXC ports T2 and TI respectively. As illustrated, one of the terminals 22 transmits on one of the optical wavelengths λl (and receives on the other wavelength λ2) , and the other terminal 23 transmits on the other wavelength λ2 (and receives on the one wavelength λl) .

The node of Fig. 2 may further include an OXC control un t 26 and two wavelength detectors 27 and 28 each of which can comprise an optical signal detector coupled to a wavelength filter for a wavelength to be detected in an incoming optical signal . The wavelength detector 27 is directionally coupled at 29 to the optical fiber 24 and serves for detecting the wavelength λl in the optical signal incoming to this fiber and hence to the node 1 on the protection channel P of the communication link 10. Conversely, the wavelength detector 28 is directionally coupled at 30 to the optical fiber 25 and serves for detecting the wavelength λ2 in the optical signal incoming to this fiber and hence to the node 1 on the protection channel P of the communication link 13. The OXC control unit 26 is responsive to electrical output signals from the wavelength detectors 27 and 28, and or to electrical alarm signals from the terminals 22 and 23, to control the OCC 20 in a desired manner

The optical amplifier 21 may further be replaced by an optical bi -directional regenerator between the OXC ports Al and A2 or by a simple optical fiber connection between these ports depending on the optical signal strength The bi-directional regenerators may also be placed on the communication links 10-13 of Fig.l.

Fig. 3 illustrates, for example for the communication link 11 between the nodes 2 and 3, a regenerator 60 for one working channel W optical fiber, and m more detail, a regenerator 62 provided for the protection channel P optical fiber Each regenerator comprises, as shown for the regenerator 62, two units each comprising a transmitter 50, a wave division multiplex coupler 51, and a receiver 52 One unit transmits at the wavelength λl and receives at the wavelength λ2 , while the other unit transmits at the wavelength λ2 and receives at the wavelength λl The regenerator 60 is coupled to the working channel fiber in a conventional manner and to the protection channel fiber via a 2-port 2 -way optical switch 64 The optical switch 64 includes a control unit 66 which is controlled by alarm signals from the receivers 52 and/or by λl and λ2 wavelength detectors 27 and 28 which are directionally coupled to the protection channel fiber. Due to the placement of the optical switches 64, wavelength contingencies may arise from, for example, a link cut. In such a situation, the wavelengths λl and λ2 may travel opposite their normal direction potentially causing the wavelength detector 27 to detect wavelength λ2 (instead of λl as discussed in Fig.2) and wavelength detector 28 to detect wavelength λl (instead of λ2) . The wavelength detectors 27 and 28 would then need to send a command to the optical switch to swap the signals (λl and λ2) .

As can be seen from the above description of the prior art, the conventional optical communication system includes terminals, wavelength detectors at the regenerators, and regenerators at the OXC switch.

Fig. 4 depicts an optical communication system or ring 70 for implementing one embodiment of the present invention. The optical ring 70 includes nodes 72-76, each containing an optical cross connect switching fabric (or OXC switch) 78 that is coupled to a data switch

80 The optical cross connect switching fabric 78 and the data switch 80 are further coupled to a short reach side of at least one wavelength translation device (or transponder) 86 and a long reach side of the wavelength translation device is coupled to a dense wave division multiplex (DWDM) coupler 82 The optical cross connect switching fabric 78 and the data switch 80 include at least one protect channel (P) 76 (or port) and at least one working channel (W) 80 (or port) for transporting the optical signal (also known as the primary working channel) The data switch 80 from, for example node 72, is able to receive short reach optical signals at a high speed rate via its high speed 1+1 (1 working and 1 protect) ports These signals are then forwarded to the transponder 86 which maps the short reach optical signal (of, for example, 1310 nm, on the short reach side of the transponder) into a long reach transport and dense wave division multiplex (DWDM) ready signal (of, for example, 1550 nm, on the long reach side of the transponder) . The transponder 86 then forwards the long reach optical signal to the DWDM coupler 82. The DWDM coupler 82 can receive various high speed signals from a number of other optical rings (not shown) and combines the signals on one fiber (such as, for example, the working channel) . The signal (s) may then be sent to an optical amplifier 84 which, if needed, amplifies the optical signal without having to convert the signal into and out of (or between) the electrical domain. The long reach optical signal is then received by another optical amplifier 84 and/or another DWDM coupler 82 in another node, such as, for example, node 74.

Therefore, the terminals 22 and 23 from Fig. 1 are no longer needed because the optical ring 70 interfaces directly with the high speed data switch 80 ports As such, the optical signals may be directly transmitted at speeds of up to OC-192 thereby omitting the need for having to multiplex, at the terminal, traffic of lower granularity.

The conventional terminal based optical ring system 5 is also economically less attractive when compared to a more data centric variation such as the optical communication system 70. By placing OXCs 78 on the short reach side of the transponders 86, wavelength contingency and wavelength detection are eliminated at regeneration sites because the correct signal is always being transmitted for a particular route Thus, the wavelengths λl and λ2 from Fig. 1 would always be traveling m the proper direction without having to utilize the wavelength detectors 27 and 28 described m Fig.'s 2 and 3 Also, transponders are more efficient than terminals because they do not need to multiplex fine granularity signals into a coarse granularity signal Therefore, the regeneration or optical amplification process (which converts and reconverts optical signals into the electrical domain) at nodes may be eliminated. Additionally, since the OXC switches 78 rely on the use of high speed (such as, OC-48, OC-192, OC- 192+) interfaces, they do not require further time division multiplexing from traditional terminals Furthermore, the impact of optical switching fabric loss is removed from the transmission link budget since only the protection traffic is terminated on the OXC 78

The protect channel (s) operate m either a normal operation span switched setting or in a link failure alternate direction setting Fig. 5 depicts the protection channel (s) from optical communication system 70 operating in a normal operation span switched setting. If equipment failure (such as a laser) was noted (in, for example, data switch 80 at node 74) or if a failure occurred on the link transporting the working channel (such as, for example, the working channel between node 74 and node 76) , the traffic for these nodes would be rerouted via the protect channel of node 74. In this manner, the traffic is not degraded and reaches its intended destination. The OXC 78 then monitors, for example, the primary working signal to determine if the failure has recovered. If it has, the working channel is again utilized and the protect channel becomes available.

Fig. 6 depicts the protection channel (s) from the optical communication system 70 operating in a link failure alternate direction setting. If the entire link between node 72 and node 76 failed, the protection channel P(East) would not be available as described in Fig. 5. Thus, the OXCs 78 at adjacent nodes on each side of the failed link (nodes 72 and 76) would switch (or reroute) the optical signal (s) to the alternate diverse protect port P(West). An optical pass through of the switched optical signal is then configured between any transit nodes (such as node 78) in the optical ring to allow the signal to flow directly between nodes 72 and 76. As such, a restoration path for the working signal is now available.

The OXCs 78 in nodes 72 and 76 monitor the primary working signal to determine if the link has recovered. If it has, the working channel is again utilized and the protect channel becomes available.

When this working traffic is rerouted it is done more efficiently than with the conventional optical communication system 5 because the signals do not have to terminate on transit data switches (such as data switch 80 in node 74) as they are transmitted through the network. Additionally, because the signals are traveling at a high speed rate, they do not have to be amplified as they pass through a node .

Fig. 7 depicts an optical communication system 100 for implementing another embodiment of the present invention. The optical communication system 100 includes a first communication system

(optical ring) 102 and a second communication system (optical ring) 104 wherein each ring is similar to system 70 in Fig.'s 4-6. These systems 102 and 104, however, are interconnected via the OXCs 78 in nodes 106 and 110 and share a portion of the protect fiber 105. Additionally, all of the equipment (such as an OXC 78, data switches 80, DWDM couplers 82, and transponders 86) are located at the same node (such as node 106) .

If a failure occurs on a link transporting the primary working channel in optical ring 102, the protect channel in the optical ring 102 is utilized to transport the optical signal if the protect channel in optical ring 104 (the adjacent optical ring) is not being utilized (since the rings share a portion of the protect fiber) . Additionally, if the failure has not recovered and the protect channel in the optical ring 102 is not available, the optical cross connect switching fabrics at adjacent nodes on each side of the failed link, switch the optical signal to an alternate diverse protect channel, if the protect channel in the adjacent optical ring 104 is not being utilized. Rings 102 and 104 cannot use their protect channels at the same time. This does not pose a true problem, however, because the probability of both interconnected rings 102 and 104 needing to utilize their protect channels at the same time is very low. It is important to note that ring 102 can utilize its protect channel while ring 104 is utilizing its working fiber. Additionally, both rings 102 and 104 may concurrently utilize their working fibers. With such a configuration, costs are reduced because both rings 102 and 104 share a portion of their protect fibers and thus, greater efficiencies between the systems 102 and 104 are achieved.

Fig. 8 depicts the optical communication system 70 (described m Fig.'s 4-6) for implementing another embodiment of the present invention. In this system, the amount of transmit (i.e. a laser) and receive (i.e. a receiver) equipment may be reduced because balanced systems are not required around the optical ring. Unlike the conventional system 5, which requires a multiplexor at every terminal, system 70 allows the omission of certain equipment (such the DWDM coupler 82, optical amplifier 84, transponder 86, and regenerators) when there are no working demands between nodes. For example, since no working demands currently exist between nodes 74 and 76, DWDM couplers 82, optical amplifiers 84, and transponders 86 do not have to be placed at various sides of the data switches 80. As can be seen, there is no equipment (and thus no working fiber) on the north side of the data switch 80 at node 74 and on the west side of the data switch 80 at node 76. Should the need arise, however, the working fiber and equipment can be quickly provisioned to handle any working demands. The protect channels between nodes 74 and 76 must still be deployed to enable ring restoration for other failed ring sections. For example, if the entire link between nodes 72 and 76 failed (because, for example, the link was cut) , the protect channels between nodes 74 and 76 could carry working signals between nodes 72 and 76. With unbalanced rings, less equipment needs to be deployed and fewer working channels need to be provisioned which greatly reduces system cost and improves the efficiency of the system 70.

Fig. 9 depicts a computer 114 (which contains a computer program) that comprises a processor 116 and memory 118. The computer 114 may be a personal computer or laptop, the OXC 78, the data switch 80, the WDM coupler 82, the optical amplifier 84, the transponder 86, the regenerator and/or any device that can send and receive optical information. Alternatively, the computer 114 may be representative of several different elements in the systems 70 and 100. The processor 116 may be a central processing unit, digital signal processor, microprocessor, microcontroller, microcomputer, and/or any device that manipulates digital information based on programming instructions . The memory 118 may be read-only memory, random access memory, flash memory and/or any device that stores digital information. The memory 118 is coupled to the processor 116 and stores programming instructions that, when read by the processor, cause the processor to perform certain processing operations.

Fig. 10 describes a method for transmitting an optical signal that may be implemented by the computer 114 of Fig. 8. The method begins at step 120 where a wavelength translation device receives a short reach optical signal at a high speed rate that originated from a high speed interface on a data switch. At step 122, the wavelength translation device maps the short reach optical signal into a long reach DWDM optical signal at the high speed rate. At step 124, the wavelength translation device, via a DWDM coupler forwards the long reach optical signal to an adjacent DWDM coupler located at an adjacent node. At decision 126, a check is performed to determine if the long reach optical signal requires amplification between the nodes. If it does, the method proceeds to step 128 where an optical amplifier amplifies the long reach signal. From decision 126 and from step 128, the method proceeds to step 130 where the protect channel is utilized, if it is available, to transport the optical signal if a failure occurs on a link transporting the working channel.

At decision 132, a check is performed to determine if the failure has recovered. If it has, the method proceeds to step 134 where the working channel is again utilized. If it has not, the protect channel is not available and the method proceeds to decision 136 where a check is performed to determine if an alternate diverse protect port has been configured. If it has, the method proceeds to decision 132. If it has not, the method proceeds to step 138 where optical cross connect switching fabrics at adjacent nodes on each side of the failed link switch the optical signal to an alternate diverse protect port. At step 140, an optical pass through of the switched optical signal between any transit nodes in the optical ring is configured. The method then proceeds to decision 132 to determine if the working channel can be utilized.

The present invention thus enjoys several advantages. For example, the data switch 80 includes high speed ports that allow traffic of coarse granularity to enter an optical ring with having to be multiplexed. Also, the transponder 86 maps a short reach optical signal into a long reach transport and DWDM ready signal. By utilizing the transponder 86, wavelength detection schemes at regeneration sites are eliminated because the correct signal s always being transmitted for a particular route. Thus, the wavelengths would always be traveling in the proper direction without having to utilize conventional wavelength detectors. As such, wavelength contingency does not occur and the signals do not incur significant power loss as they transit through the optical switching fabric. Further, by placing the OXC switches 78 on the short reach side of the transponders 86, the impact of the optical switching fabric unavailability is removed from the transmission link budget since only the protection traffic is terminated on the OXC 78. Still further, the optical ring can be easily unbalanced by utilizing a different number of working channels between each node. As such, the amount of transmit and receive equipment is reduced.

It is understood that variations may be made in the foregoing without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, any number and combination of entities such as optical rings, nodes, OXCs, transponders, WDM couplers, optical amplifiers, and regenerators may be used with the present system. Further, in order to improve signal quality, electrical regeneration devices may be used with the present system. Additionally, any number and combination of these entities may be contained in or out of the nodes. Still further, unbalanced rings may be utilized in a system containing shared protection fiber.

It is understood that other modifications, changes and substitutions are intended in the foregoing disclosure and in some instances some features of the disclosure will be employed without corresponding use of other features. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims be construed broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of the disclosure.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A method for transmitting and restoring an optical signal in an optical ring, wherein the optical ring comprises a plurality of nodes, each node containing an optical cross connect switching fabric coupled to a data switch, wherein the optical cross connect switching fabric and the data switch are further coupled to a short reach side of at least one wavelength translation device, wherein a long reach side of the at least one wavelength translation device is coupled to a dense wave division multiplex (DWDM) coupler, and wherein the optical cross connect switching fabric and the data switch include at least one protect channel and at least one working channel for transporting the optical signal, the method comprising the steps of: receiving, by the wavelength translation device, the optical signal at a high speed rate, wherein the optical signal is a short reach optical signal and originates from a high speed interface on the data switch; mapping, by the wavelength translation device, the short reach optical signal into a long reach DWDM optical signal at the high speed rate; and forwarding, by the wavelength translation device via the DWDM coupler, the long reach optical signal to an adjacent DWDM coupler located at an adjacent node.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising: performing at least one of the following steps from the group consisting of : if the long reach optical signal requires amplification, amplifying, by at least one optical amplifier, the long reach optical signal, wherein the at least one optical amplifier is coupled between the plurality of nodes; and if the long reach optical signal requires improved signal quality, regenerating, by at least one regenerator, the long reach optical signal, wherein the at least one regenerator is coupled between the plurality of nodes.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of, if a failure occurs on a link transporting the at least one working channel, utilizing the at least one protect channel to transport the optical signal.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising the step of, if the failure has recovered, utilizing the at least one working channel.

5. The method of claim 3 further comprising the step of, if the failure has not recovered and the at least one protect channel is not available, switching, by optical cross connect switching fabrics at adjacent nodes on each side of the failed link, the optical signal to an alternate diverse protect port.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising the step of, configuring an optical pass through of the switched optical signal between any transit nodes in the optical ring.

7. The method of claim 5 further comprising the step of, if the failure has recovered, switching the optical signal back to the at least one working channel .

8. A system for transmitting and restoring an optical signal in an optical ring, wherein the optical ring comprises a plurality of nodes, each node containing an optical cross connect switching fabric coupled to a data switch, wherein the optical cross connect switching fabric and the data switch are further coupled to a short reach side of at least one wavelength translation device, wherein a long reach side of the at least one wavelength translation device is coupled to a dense wave division multiplex (DWDM) coupler, and wherein the optical cross connect switching fabric and the data switch include at least one protect channel and at least one working channel for transporting the optical signal, the system comprises: means for receiving, by the wavelength translation device, the optical signal at a high speed rate, wherein the optical signal is a short reach optical signal and originates from a high speed interface on the data switch; means for receiving mapping, by the wavelength translation device, the short reach optical signal into a long reach DWDM optical signal at the high speed rate; and means for receiving forwarding, by the wavelength translation device via the DWDM coupler, the long reach optical signal to an adjacent DWDM coupler located at an adjacent node.

9. The system of claim 8 further comprises : means for performing at least one of the following actions from the group consisting of: if the long reach optical signal requires amplification, means for amplifying, by at least one optical amplifier, the long reach optical signal, wherein the at least one optical amplifier is coupled between the plurality of nodes; and if the long reach optical signal requires improved signal quality, means for regenerating, by at least one regenerator, the long reach optical signal, wherein the at least one regenerator is coupled between the plurality of nodes.

10. The system of claim 8 further comprises, if a failure occurs on a link transporting the at least one working channel, means for utilizing the at least one protect channel to transport the optical signal .

11. The system of claim 10 further comprises, if the failure has recovered, means for utilizing the at least one working channel.

12. The system of claim 10 further comprises, if the failure has not recovered and the at least one protection channel is not available, means for switching, by optical cross connect switching fabrics at adjacent nodes on each side of the failed link, the optical signal to an alternate diverse protect port .

13. The system of claim 12 further comprises means for configuring an optical pass through of the switched optical signal between any transit nodes in the optical ring.

14. The system of claim 12 further comprises, if the failure has recovered, means for switching the optical signal back to the at least one working channel .

15. A method for transmitting and restoring an optical signal in an optical communication system, wherein the optical communication system comprises an optical ring coupled to an adjacent optical ring, wherein the optical ring and the adjacent optical ring comprise a plurality of nodes, each node containing an optical cross connect switching fabric coupled to a data switch, wherein the optical cross connect switching fabric and the data switch are further coupled to a short reach side of at least one wavelength translation device, wherein a long reach side of the at least one wavelength translation device is coupled to a dense wave division multiplex (DWDM) coupler, wherein the optical cross connect switching fabric and the data switch include at least one protect channel on a protect fiber and at least one working channel on a working fiber for transporting the optical signal, and wherein a portion of the protect fiber is shared by the optical ring and the adjacent optical ring, the method comprising the steps of: receiving, by the wavelength translation device, the optical signal at a high speed rate, wherein the optical signal is a short reach optical signal and originates from a high speed interface on the data switch; mapping, by the wavelength translation device, the short reach optical signal into a long reach DWDM optical signal at the high speed rate; and forwarding, by the wavelength translation device via the DWDM coupler, the long reach optical signal to an adjacent DWDM coupler located at an adjacent node.

16. The method of claim 15 further comprising: performing at least one of the following steps from the group consisting of : if the long reach optical signal requires amplification, amplifying, by at least one optical amplifier, the long reach optical signal, wherein the at least one optical amplifier is coupled between the plurality of nodes; and if the long reach optical signal requires improved signal quality, regenerating, by at least one regenerator, the long reach optical signal, wherein the at least one regenerator is coupled between the plurality of nodes..

17. The method of claim 15 further comprising the step of, if a failure occurs on a link transporting the at least one working channel in the optical ring, utilizing the at least one protect channel m the optical ring to transport the optical signal if the at least one protect channel in the adjacent optical ring is not being utilized.

18. The method of claim 17 further comprising the step of, if the failure has recovered, utilizing the at least one working channel.

19. The method of claim 17 further comprising the step of, if the failure has not recovered and the at least one protect channel m the optical ring is not available, switching, by optical cross connect switching fabrics at adjacent nodes on each side of the failed link, the optical signal to an alternate diverse protect channel, if the at least one protect channel in the adjacent optical ring is not being utilized.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of, configuring an optical pass through of the switched optical signal between any transit nodes in the optical ring.

21. The method of claim 19 further comprising the step of, if the failure has recovered, switching the optical signal back to the at least one working channel .

22. A system for transmitting and restoring an optical signal m an optical communication system, wherein the optical communication system comprises an optical ring coupled to an adjacent optical ring, wherein the optical ring and the adjacent optical ring comprise a plurality of nodes, each node containing an optical cross connect switching fabric coupled to a data switch, wherein the optical cross connect switching fabric and the data switch are further coupled to a short reach side of at least one wavelength translation device, wherein a long reach side of the at least one wavelength translation device is coupled to a dense wave division multiplex (DWDM) coupler, wherein the optical cross connect switching fabric and the data switch include at least one protect channel on a protect fiber and at least one working channel on a working fiber for transporting the optical signal, and wherein a portion of the protect fiber is shared by the optical ring and the adjacent optical ring, the system comprises: means for receiving, by the wavelength translation device, the optical signal at a high speed rate, wherein the optical signal is a short reach optical signal and originates from a high speed interface on the data switch; means for mapping, by the wavelength translation device, the short reach optical signal into a long reach DWDM optical signal at the high speed rate; and means for forwarding, by the wavelength translation device via the DWDM coupler, the long reach optical signal to an adjacent DWDM coupler located at an adjacent node.

23. The system of claim 15 further comprises : means for performing at least one of the following actions from the group consisting of: if the long reach optical signal requires amplification, means for amplifying, by at least one optical amplifier, the long reach optical signal, wherein the at least one optical amplifier is coupled between the plurality of nodes; and if the long reach optical signal requires improved signal quality, means for regenerating, by at least one regenerator, the long reach optical signal, wherein the at least one regenerator is coupled between the plurality of nodes.

24. The system of claim 15 further comprises, if a failure occurs on a link transporting the at least one working channel in the optical ring, means for utilizing the at least one protect channel in the optical ring to transport the optical signal if the at least one protect channel in the adjacent optical ring is not being utilized.

25. The system of claim 17 further comprises, if the failure has recovered, means for utilizing the at least one working channel.

26. The system of claim 17 further comprises, if the failure has not recovered and the at least one protect channel in the optical ring is not available, means for switching, by optical cross connect switching fabrics at adjacent nodes on each side of the failed link, the optical signal to an alternate diverse protect channel, if the at least one protect channel in the adjacent optical ring is not being utilized.

27. The system of claim 19 further comprises, means for configuring an optical pass through of the switched optical signal between any transit nodes in the optical ring.

28. The system of claim 19 further comprises, if the failure has recovered, means for switching the optical signal back to the at least one working channel .

29. A system for transmitting and restoring an optical signal in an optical ring, wherein the optical ring is unbalanced, the optical ring comprises : a plurality of nodes, wherein each node comprises an optical cross connect switching fabric coupled to a data switch; a short reach side of at least one wavelength translation device coupled to the optical cross connect switching fabric and the data switch; a long reach side of the at least one wavelength translation device coupled to a dense wave division multiplex coupler; at least one protect channel coupled to the optical cross connect switching fabric and the data switch for transporting the optical signal; and at least one working channel coupled to the optical cross connect switching fabric and the data switch for transporting the optical signal .

30. A system for transmitting and restoring an optical signal in an optical communication system, wherein the optical communication system comprises an optical ring coupled to an adjacent optical ring, wherein at least one of the optical ring and the adjacent optical ring is unbalanced, the optical ring and the adjacent optical ring comprise: a plurality of nodes, each node containing an optical cross connect switching fabric coupled to a data switch; a short reach side of at least one wavelength translation device coupled to the optical cross connect switching fabric and the data switch; a long reach side of the at least one wavelength translation device coupled to a dense wave division multiplex coupler; at least one protect channel on a protect fiber coupled to the optical cross connect switching fabric and the data switch for transporting the optical signal; at least one working channel on a working fiber coupled to the optical cross connect switching fabric and the data switch for transporting the optical signal; and a portion of the protect fiber shared by the optical ring and the adjacent optical ring.

31. A computer program for use in an optical communication network, the program comprising instructions for: receiving, by a wavelength translation device, an optical signal at a high speed rate, wherein the optical signal is a short reach optical signal and originates from a high speed interface on a data switch; mapping, by the wavelength translation device, the short reach optical signal into a long reach dense wave division multiplex (DWDM) optical signal at the high speed rate; and forwarding, by the wavelength translation device via the DWDM coupler, the long reach optical signal to an adjacent DWDM coupler located at an adjacent node.

32. The computer program of claim 31 further comprising instructions for, performing at least one of the following actions from the group consisting of: if the long reach optical signal requires amplification, amplifying, by at least one optical amplifier, the long reach optical signal, wherein the at least one optical amplifier is coupled between the plurality of nodes; and if the long reach optical signal requires improved signal quality, regenerating, by at least one regenerator, the long reach optical signal, wherein the at least one regenerator is coupled between the plurality of nodes.

33. The computer program of claim 31 further comprising instructions for, if a failure occurs on a link transporting at least one working channel, utilizing at least one protect channel to transport the optical signal.

34. The computer program of claim 33 further comprising instructions for, if the failure has recovered, utilizing the at least one working channel .

35. The computer program of claim 33 further comprising instructions for, if the failure has not recovered and the at least one protect channel is not available, switching, by optical cross connect switching fabrics at adjacent nodes on each side of the failed link, the optical signal to an alternate diverse protect port.

36. The computer program of claim 35 further comprising instructions for, configuring an optical pass through of the switched optical signal between any transit nodes in the optical ring.

37. The computer program of claim 35 further comprising instructions for, if the failure has recovered, switching the optical signal back to the at least one working channel.