Abstract: SONET/SDH ring aggregation with distributed traffic. The system may include a packet-switched fabric adapted to switch TDM and PDU over the same fabric. The system provides logical functionality of one or more of SONET/SDH ADMs, fiber patch panels, coax patch panels, DCSs, and packet switches. Integrated management provides management of remote ADMs attached to multiple SONET/SDH rings, even of ADMs manufactured by different vendors. A management system may provide native termination of OSI over DCC and IP over DCC to provide integration of equipment from various vendors.

Abstract: Providing TDM services over a packet-switched fabric. Distributed scheduling is provided by overlaying a synchronized frame structure on the packet switching of the packet-switched fabric. Contention-free scheduling is achieved by prescheduling TDM traffic with the distributed scheduling mechanism. The result is a deterministic timing procedure suitable for switching TDM traffic in a packet-switched fabric.

Abstract: A method to link aggregate over independent redundant switches is provided for use in an apparatus including first, second, and third switches in a local area network (LAN). A first port of the first switch is connected to a first port of the second switch, a second port of the second switch is connected to a first port of the third switch, and a second port of the third switch is connected to a second port of the first switch. The method includes forming a first link aggregation group (LAG) between the first and second ports of the first switch; forming a second LAG between the first and second ports of the second switch; and applying a port forwarding rule to the first and second ports of the second switch, where the first switch is in an active mode and the second switch is in a standby mode.

Abstract: In optical Ethernet networks, receiver side link loss is not known on a transmitter side network element, and a transmitter at a receiver side network element does not know of the receiver side link loss without special, very expensive, optical transmitters or a Gigabit Media Independent Interface (GMII). Example embodiments of the present invention can accomplish informing a network node on the transmit side of a network link by disabling communications from a network node on a receive side of the network link to the network node on the transmit side of the communications link. The network node on the transmit side of the communications link detects the receiver side loss through this indirect technique and works within existing protocols of network nodes. Example embodiments can work on all optical Ethernet interfaces regardless of speed and is less expensive than employing optical transmitters designed to detect receiver side link loss.