Abstract: A unified network and elements thereof, including a switch fabric, is provided. The switch fabric may include a plurality of transport elements and a first signal-communication media. The transport elements may be adapted to communicatively couple and to communicate, via the first signal-communication media, transport signals adapted for communication among any of the plurality of transport elements. At least one transport element may be further adapted to communicate, via a second signal-communication media, signals and/or sets of signal originating from and/or terminating to one or more network nodes. Each of the electrical signals may be formatted in accordance with a protocol for electrical signals. And one or more of the transport signals may include the electrical signals in adapted form. Additionally and/or alternatively, one or more of the transport signals may be formed from, or as a function of, the electrical signals.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to binary block transmission codes for high-speed network transmissions. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention relate to bounded-disparity run-length-limited forward error correction codes and methods of constructing and utilizing same. In one embodiment, a method for generating binary block bounded-disparity run-length-limited forward error correction transmission codes comprises selecting an existing base code, deriving a sub-code from the existing base code, having properties indicated by disparity bound, run-length limit and minimum distance, ascertaining a plurality of codewords and control characters from within the sub-code, encoding Messages to be transmitted with at least one codeword from the plurality of codewords, transmitting codewords from a transmitter to a receiver, and decoding the codewords into Messages.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to binary block transmission codes for high-speed network transmissions. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention relate to bounded-disparity run-length-limited forward error correction codes and methods of constructing and utilizing same. In one embodiment, a method for generating binary block bounded-disparity run-length-limited forward error correction transmission codes comprises selecting an existing base code, deriving a sub-code from the existing base code, having properties indicated by disparity bound, run-length limit and minimum distance, ascertaining a plurality of codewords and control characters from within the sub-code, encoding Messages to be transmitted with at least one codeword from the plurality of codewords, transmitting codewords from a transmitter to a receiver, and decoding the codewords into Messages.

Abstract: A unified network and elements thereof, including a switch fabric, is provided. The switch fabric may include a plurality of transport elements and a first signal-communication media. The transport elements may be adapted to communicatively couple and to communicate, via the first signal-communication media, transport signals adapted for communication among any of the plurality of transport elements. At least one transport element may be further adapted to communicate, via a second signal-communication media, signals and/or sets of signal originating from and/or terminating to one or more network nodes. Each of the electrical signals may be formatted in accordance with a protocol for electrical signals. And one or more of the transport signals may include the electrical signals in adapted form. Additionally and/or alternatively, one or more of the transport signals may be formed from, or as a function of, the electrical signals.

Abstract: An optical harness assembly and method are provided. The optical harness assembly includes at least one optical harness cable having a termination end; at least one electrical connector having connector pins; and at least one active connector conversion unit coupled between the termination end of the optical harness cable and the electrical connector. The method includes: identifying electrical signals present on each pin of each electrical connector presentation; programmatically adjusting an interface based on the identified electrical signals present; and mapping the electrical connector signals to digital signals. The method may further include: providing a personality adaptor coupled between the electrical connector pin outs and signal conditioners; configuring the personality adaptor based on the identified electrical signals present on each pin out of each electrical connector presentation; and providing configured electrical connector presentation signals to the interface.

Abstract: An optical cable harness assembly and method are provided. The optical cable harness assembly includes at least one optical cable harness having a termination end; at least one electrical connector having connector pins; and at least one active connector conversion unit coupled between the termination end of the optical harness cable and the electrical connector. A method for retrofitting an optical harness assembly into an existing platform is disclosed. The method includes removing a legacy wiring harness; installing an optical harness assembly having electrical connectors and an active connector conversion unit; and testing the compatibility of connector pins of the electrical connector to the active connector conversion unit.

Abstract: An optical cable harness assembly and method are provided. The optical cable harness assembly includes at least one optical cable harness having a termination end; at least one electrical connector having connector pins; and at least one active connector conversion unit coupled between the termination end of the optical harness cable and the electrical connector. A method for retrofitting an optical harness assembly into an existing platform is disclosed. The method includes removing a legacy wiring harness; installing an optical harness assembly having electrical connectors and an active connector conversion unit; and testing the compatibility of connector pins of the electrical connector to the active connector conversion unit.

Abstract: An optical harness assembly and method are provided. The optical harness assembly includes at least one optical harness cable having a termination end; at least one electrical connector having connector pins; and at least one active connector conversion unit coupled between the termination end of the optical harness cable and the electrical connector. The method includes: identifying electrical signals present on each pin of each electrical connector presentation; programmatically adjusting an interface based on the identified electrical signals present; and mapping the electrical connector signals to digital signals. The method may further include: providing a personality adaptor coupled between the electrical connector pin outs and signal conditioners; configuring the personality adaptor based on the identified electrical signals present on each pin out of each electrical connector presentation; and providing configured electrical connector presentation signals to the interface.

Abstract: An optical harness assembly and method are provided. The optical harness assembly includes at least one optical harness cable having a termination end; at least one electrical connector having connector pins; and at least one active connector conversion unit coupled between the termination end of the optical harness cable and the electrical connector. A method for retrofitting an optical harness assembly into an existing platform is disclosed. The method includes removing a legacy wiring harness; installing an optical harness assembly having electrical connectors and an active connector conversion unit; and testing the compatibility of connector pins of the electrical connector to the active connector conversion unit. In another embodiment the method includes: identifying electrical signals present on each pin of each electrical connector presentation; programmatically adjusting an interface based on the identified electrical signals present; and mapping the electrical connector signals to digital signals.

Abstract: An optical transmission system is formed to include an optical phase conjugator at alternate repeater sites to minimize the presence of four-wave mixing and other Kerr effect nonlinearities in systems using optical fiber transmission paths (particularly in systems using DWDM and launching relatively high power signals into the low dispersion fiber). Raman gain is included in each fiber span (or in alternate fiber spans) so as to provide a “negative absorption” along the length of the fiber and thereby provide for essentially symmetrical power distribution along the length of each span, where the presence of such a symmetric,power distribution on each side of an optical phase conjugator has been found to significantly improve its performance.

Abstract: A method for increasing the spectral efficiency of a transmitted signal. The signal includes a sequence of symbols selected from a set of symbols with each of the symbols having an associated numerical value. A symbol is output from the sequences symbols. A spectral sum is determined by summing the numerical values of all the symbols that have been previously output. A first sum is calculated by adding the numerical value of the next symbol to be output to the spectral sum. A second sum is calculated by subtracting the numerical value of the next symbol to the output from the spectral sum. The next symbol will be output with the positive phase if the first sum is less than the second sum. The next symbol will be output with the negative phase if the first sum is greater than the second sum. If the first sum equals the second sum the next symbol is output with either a positive phase or negative phase.

Abstract: A high-capacity, chirped-pulse wavelength-division multiplexed communications apparatus and method in which a chirped-pulse, wavelength-division multiplexed signal is further optically multiplexed thereby enhancing bit rates per channel. A multifrequency optical source for supplying an optical signal having a number of wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) channels; a power splitter for splitting the optical signal from the multifrequency source into a number of signals; a number of time delay lines, for delaying each one of the signals independently; a number of data encoding modulators for modulating each one of the delayed signals; and a power combiner for combining the number of delayed, modulated signals into a single signal such that the multifrequency optical source signal is multiplexed by a desired amount.

Abstract: Providing a common broadcast channel in a WDM (wavelength division multiplexed) system is accomplished by applying a pulsed light source to a dispersive delay line, and also applying the light source to each of M delay lines, such that the Mth delay line has a delay of (M-1) time slots, where M is a nonnegative integer representing the number of time slots to be provided for the broadcast channel. The dispersive delay line spreads the spectrum of the pulsed light source across the desired bandwidth of the WDM system to provide a wide-spectrum signal, and this wide-spectrum signal may then be modulated to provide a plurality of WDM channels. The M delay lines provide delayed pulses that may be modulated to provide a common broadcast channel for reception on a plurality of WDM receivers.

Abstract: A unique time slot is assigned to each of a plurality of wavelengths emitted by a single, centralized wavelength division multiplexed optical source to provide a "bit interleaved" WDM signal. In accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, the thus-developed bit-interleaved WDM signal is replicated in cascaded stages of amplification and power splitting before data is encoded for respective frequency dependent receivers as, for example, a plurality of passive optical networks. Because the output of the optical source need not be encoded with data for the respective receivers until after many stages of splitting and amplification, a small number of time division multiplexing (TDM) modulators synchronized to the source may be used to deliver data to potentially tens of thousands of subscribers.