JP7645945B2 - Relay device and system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a relay device and a system.

Patent Document 1 describes an optical module configured to be able to perform digital coherent optical communication with an external communication device.
[Prior Art Literature]
[Patent Documents]
[Patent Document 1] JP 2022-020662 A

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a relay device is provided. The relay device may include a first connection section. The relay device may include a second connection section. The relay device may include a relay section that relays communication of electrical signals between a first optical module that is connected to the first connection section and does not support coherent optical communication, and a second optical module that is connected to the second connection section and supports coherent optical communication.

In the relay device, the relay unit may relay the electrical signal received from the first optical module and converted from the optical signal by the first optical module to the second optical module. The relay unit may relay the electrical signal received from the second optical module and converted from the optical signal by the second optical module to the first optical module.

In any of the relay devices, the first connection unit may have a first transmission connection unit connected to the electrical signal transmission unit of the first optical module. The first connection unit may have a first reception connection unit connected to the electrical signal reception unit of the first optical module. The second connection unit may have a second reception connection unit connected to the electrical signal reception unit of the second optical module. The second connection unit may have a second transmission connection unit connected to the electrical signal transmission unit of the second optical module. The relay unit may have a first communication unit that connects the first transmission connection unit and the second reception connection unit and is capable of transmitting electrical signals at 400 Gbps. The relay unit may have a second communication unit that connects the second transmission connection unit and the first reception connection unit and is capable of transmitting electrical signals at 400 Gbps. The first communication unit may include eight communication lines that can transmit electrical signals at 50 Gbps. The second communication unit may include eight communication lines that can transmit electrical signals at 50 Gbps.

Any of the relay devices may further include a control unit that controls at least one of the first optical module and the second optical module. The control unit may be a microcomputer. The control unit may determine whether the first optical module is a branching type optical module having a configuration that converts multiple optical signals into multiple electrical signals in parallel, and when the control unit determines that the first optical module is the branching type optical module, may control the second optical module to collectively process multiple electrical signals converted from the multiple optical signals by the first optical module.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a system is provided. The system may include the relay device. The system may include the first optical module. The system may include the second optical module.

Note that the above summary of the invention does not list all of the necessary features of the present invention. Also, subcombinations of these features may also be inventions.

1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example of a system 10. 1 shows a schematic configuration example of a system 10. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example of a system 10. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example of a system 10. 1 shows an example of a process flow by the system 10. 1 shows an example of a process flow by the system 10. 1 shows an example of a hardware configuration of a computer 1200 functioning as the control unit 340.

The present invention will be described below through embodiments of the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Furthermore, not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention.

Future optical communications will move to 400 Gbps and 800 Gbps, but these optical modules (e.g., 400G-DR4/ZR/ZR+) include new technologies that conventional network devices are not compatible with. Network devices compatible with new technologies can be expensive and difficult to install. In addition, network devices compatible with new technologies are subject to so-called vendor lock-in, and only optical modules from the same manufacturer can operate. Optical modules sold by manufacturers are expensive, making their installation even more difficult. In contrast, the relay device 300 according to this embodiment makes it possible to convert, for example, an optical module of a certain standard into another optical module by electrically connecting it directly. This makes it possible to convert, for example, optical modules such as 400G-DR4, 400G-ZR, and 400G-ZR+ into conventional, inexpensive 400G optical modules.

Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of an example of a system 10. The system 10 includes an optical module 100 and a relay device 300. The system 10 may further include an optical module 200.

The optical module 100 is an optical module that does not support coherent optical communication. Coherent optical communication may be optical communication that uses the phase of light or the polarization of light. For example, coherent optical communication may be a communication method that transmits signals using two polarizations in addition to modulation of the amplitude and phase of light. Coherent optical communication may also be called optical digital coherent communication, digital coherent optical communication, etc. Coherent optical communication can transmit more information than before through optical fiber cables. Coherent optical communication performs digital signal processing on both the sending and receiving sides, making it possible to improve bit rates, improve flexibility, simplify optical line systems, and enable long-distance transmission. Examples of the optical module 100 include, but are not limited to, 400G-SR, 400G-FR, and 400G-DR4. The optical module 100 may be an example of a first optical module.

The optical module 200 is an optical module that supports coherent optical communication. Examples of the optical module 200 include, but are not limited to, 400G-ZR and 400G-ZR+. The optical module 200 may be an example of a second optical module.

The relay device 300 includes a connection unit 310, a connection unit 320, and a relay unit 330. The connection unit 310 may be an example of a first connection unit, and the connection unit 320 may be an example of a second connection unit. The relay unit 330 relays communication of electrical signals between the optical module 100 connected to the connection unit 310 and the optical module 200 connected to the connection unit 320.

The relay device 300 may be configured to, for example, electrically connect the electrical signal transmission terminal of the optical module 100 to the electrical signal receiving terminal of the optical module 200, and electrically connect the electrical signal receiving terminal of the optical module 100 to the electrical signal transmission terminal of the optical module 200. The electrical signal transmission terminal and reception terminal of the optical module 100 may be connected to the connection unit 310. The electrical signal reception terminal and transmission terminal of the optical module 200 may be connected to the connection unit 320. The relay unit 330 may have a communication line electrically connecting the electrical signal transmission terminal of the optical module 100 to the electrical signal receiving terminal of the optical module 200, and a communication line electrically connecting the electrical signal receiving terminal of the optical module 100 to the electrical signal transmission terminal of the optical module 200.

For example, the optical module 100 converts the optical signal 410 received from the optical fiber 190 into an electrical signal 510. The relay unit 330 relays the electrical signal 510, which is received from the optical module 100 via the connection unit 310 and converted from the optical signal 410 by the optical module 100, to the optical module 200 via the connection unit 310. The optical module 200 may convert the electrical signal 510 into an optical signal 420 and transmit it to the optical fiber 290. This makes it possible to output an optical signal received by the optical module 100 that does not support coherent optical communication from the optical module 200 that supports coherent optical communication.

For example, the optical module 200 converts the optical signal 430 received from the optical fiber 290 into an electrical signal 520. The relay unit 330 relays the electrical signal 520, which is received from the optical module 200 via the connection unit 320 and converted from the optical signal 430 by the optical module 200, to the optical module 100 via the connection unit 310. The optical module 100 may convert the electrical signal 520 into an optical signal 440 and transmit it to the optical fiber 190. This makes it possible to output an optical signal received by the optical module 200 that supports coherent optical communication from the optical module 100 that does not support coherent optical communication.

The relay device 300 may further include a control unit 340. The control unit 340 may control at least one of the optical module 100 and the optical module 200. Of the optical module 100 and the optical module 200, the control unit 340 may control only the optical module 200. Of the optical module 100 and the optical module 200, the control unit 340 may control only the optical module 100. The control unit 340 may control both the optical module 100 and the optical module 200. Note that the relay device 300 does not need to include the control unit 340.

Figure 2 shows a schematic example of the configuration of system 10. Here, an example is described in which relay device 300 relays eight electrical signals converted from four optical signals by optical module 100 to optical module 200, and relays eight electrical signals converted from one optical signal by optical module 200 to optical module 100, but the number of optical signals and the number of electrical signals are not limited to this.

The optical module 100 has an optical signal receiving unit 112, an optical signal transmitting unit 114, an electrical signal transmitting unit 122, an electrical signal receiving unit 124, a conversion unit 132, and a conversion unit 134.

An optical fiber 190 is connected to the optical signal receiving unit 112 and the optical signal transmitting unit 114. A relay device 300 is connected to the electrical signal transmitting unit 122 and the electrical signal receiving unit 124. The conversion unit 132 converts the optical signal 410 received via the optical signal receiving unit 112 into an electrical signal 510 and outputs it to the electrical signal transmitting unit 122. The conversion unit 134 converts the electrical signal 520 received via the electrical signal receiving unit 124 into an optical signal 440 and outputs it to the optical signal transmitting unit 114.

The optical module 200 has an electrical signal receiving unit 212, an electrical signal transmitting unit 214, an optical signal transmitting unit 222, an optical signal receiving unit 224, a conversion unit 232, and a conversion unit 234.

The relay device 300 is connected to the electrical signal receiving unit 212 and the electrical signal transmitting unit 214. The optical fiber 290 is connected to the optical signal transmitting unit 222 and the optical signal receiving unit 224. The conversion unit 232 converts the electrical signal 510 received via the electrical signal receiving unit 212 into an optical signal 420 and outputs it to the optical signal transmitting unit 222. The conversion unit 234 converts the optical signal 430 received via the optical signal receiving unit 224 into an electrical signal 520 and outputs it to the electrical signal transmitting unit 214.

The connection unit 310 includes a transmission connection unit 312 and a reception connection unit 314. The transmission connection unit 312 may be an example of a first transmission connection unit, and the reception connection unit 314 may be an example of a first reception connection unit.

The connection section 320 includes a receiving connection section 322 and a transmitting connection section 324. The receiving connection section 322 may be an example of a second receiving connection section, and the transmitting connection section 324 may be an example of a second transmitting connection section.

The relay unit 330 includes a communication unit 332 that connects the transmission connection unit 312 and the reception connection unit 322. The communication unit 332 may be capable of communicating electrical signals at 400 Gbps. The communication unit 332 may be an example of a first communication unit.

The relay unit 330 includes a communication unit 334 that connects the transmission connection unit 324 and the reception connection unit 314. The communication unit 334 may be capable of communicating electrical signals at 400 Gbps. The communication unit 334 may be an example of a second communication unit.

2, communication unit 332 includes eight communication lines each capable of transmitting electrical signals at 50 Gbps, and communication unit 334 includes eight communication lines each capable of transmitting electrical signals at 50 Gbps. The eight communication lines of communication unit 332 and the eight communication lines of communication unit 334 may be wired to be as short as possible. For example, the eight communication lines of communication unit 332 may linearly connect transmission connection unit 312 and reception connection unit 322. For example, the eight communication lines of communication unit 334 may linearly connect transmission connection unit 324 and reception connection unit 314. This can reduce attenuation of electrical signals and reduce noise.

2, the communication units 332 and 334 may be capable of communicating electrical signals at a transmission speed lower than 400 Gbps, such as 200 Gbps. In this case, each of the eight communication lines of the communication units 332 and 334 may be capable of communicating electrical signals at a transmission speed lower than 50 Gbps, such as 25 Gbps, which corresponds to the transmission speed lower than 400 Gbps. For example, the transmission speed of each of the eight communication lines of the communication units 332 and 334 may be the transmission speed of the communication units 332 and 334 divided by 8, which is the number of signal lines.

2, the communication units 332 and 334 may be capable of communicating electrical signals at a transmission speed greater than 400 Gbps, such as 800 Gbps. In this case, each of the eight communication lines of the communication units 332 and 334 may be capable of communicating electrical signals at a transmission speed greater than 50 Gbps, such as 100 Gbps, which corresponds to a transmission speed greater than 400 Gbps. For example, the transmission speed of each of the eight communication lines of the communication units 332 and 334 may be the transmission speed of the communication units 332 and 334 divided by 8, which is the number of signal lines.

The control unit 340 may issue start-up commands for the optical modules 100 and 200, laser emission commands, and laser frequency designation. The control unit 340 may perform lane branching settings for the optical modules 100 and 200.

The lane branching setting of the optical module 100 may be to assign each of the four optical signals 410 received at the optical signal receiving unit 112 to one of the eight electrical signals of the electrical signal transmitting unit 122 for transmission after the conversion unit 132 converts each of the four optical signals 410 received at the optical signal receiving unit 112 to an electrical signal and then transmits the corresponding signal. The lane branching setting of the optical module 100 may be to assign each of the eight electrical signals 520 received at the electrical signal receiving unit 124 to one of the four electrical signals of the optical signal transmitting unit 114 for transmission after the conversion unit 134 converts each of the eight electrical signals 520 received at the electrical signal receiving unit 124 to an optical signal and then transmits the corresponding signal.

The lane branching setting of the optical module 200 may be to assign each of the eight electrical signals 510 received by the electrical signal receiving unit 212 to one of the four electrical signals of the optical signal transmitting unit 222 for transmission after the conversion unit 232 converts each of the eight electrical signals 510 received by the electrical signal receiving unit 212 into an optical signal. The lane branching setting of the optical module 200 may be to assign each of the four optical signals 430 received by the optical signal receiving unit 224 to one of the eight electrical signals of the electrical signal transmitting unit 214 for transmission after the conversion unit 234 converts each of the four optical signals 430 received by the optical signal receiving unit 224 into an electrical signal.

The control unit 340 may be a microcomputer. This makes it possible to control the system 10 with a configuration that does not include any ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits) or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays). This makes it possible to manufacture the relay device 300 at extremely low cost, and to operate the system 10 with almost no power consumption.

The repeater 300 according to the present embodiment can be realized by a configuration that electrically connects the transmission terminal of the electrical signal of the optical module 100 to the receiving terminal of the electrical signal of the optical module 200, and electrically connects the receiving terminal of the electrical signal of the optical module 100 to the transmission terminal of the electrical signal of the optical module 200, and the control unit 340, and can be manufactured at a very low cost as described above. According to the repeater 300, it is possible to connect the optical module 100 that does not support coherent optical communication to the optical module 200 that supports coherent optical communication, and to output the optical signal received by the optical module 100 from the optical module 200, or to output the optical signal received by the optical module 200 from the optical module 100. This can improve the convenience of the optical module 100 and the optical module 200. By improving the convenience of the optical module 100 and the optical module 200, it is possible to contribute to the promotion of research and development of optical communication and to the development of the industry.

Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of an example of a system 10. In the system 10, one end of an optical module 100 is connected to a relay device 300, the other end of the optical module 100 is connected to one end of an optical fiber 190, the other end of the optical fiber 190 is connected to an optical module 102, and the optical module 102 is connected to a switch 600. The switch 600 is connected to a plurality of optical modules 104, and relays communication between the plurality of optical modules 104 and the optical module 102.

Here, we will explain an example in which the optical module 200 is locked by its manufacturer and configured so that it will not communicate properly unless it is a switch made by a specific manufacturer. For example, the optical module 200 will not communicate properly unless it is a switch made by the same manufacturer as the manufacturer of the optical module 200.

For example, the lock by the manufacturer of the optical module 200 may be an authentication mechanism in which the name of the manufacturer of the optical module 200 is recorded in a register provided in the optical module 200, and when the optical module 200 and the switch 600 are connected, the switch 600 allows communication if the manufacturer name recorded in the register of the optical module 200 matches the pre-registered manufacturer name, and does not allow communication if they do not match. Note that the serial number of the optical module 200 may be used instead of the manufacturer name. This is not limiting, and any information that can identify the optical module 200 may be used. Here, it is assumed that the manufacturer name of the optical module 200 is not registered in the switch 600.

In this case, if the optical module 200 is directly connected to the switch 600, communication is not possible because the manufacturer's name of the optical module 200 is not registered in the switch 600. In contrast, if the switch 600 is connected to the optical module 200 via the optical module 102, the optical module 100, and the relay device 300, the switch 600 is directly connected to the optical module 102, not the optical module 200, so the optical module 200 is not subject to authentication by manufacturer's name. This allows communication even if the switch 600 is manufactured by a different manufacturer than the optical module 200, for example.

For example, the switch 600 may not support coherent optical communication. In this case, if the optical module 200 is directly connected to the switch 600, communication is not possible because the switch 600 does not support coherent optical communication. In contrast, if the switch 600 is connected to the optical module 200 via the optical module 102, the optical module 100, and the relay device 300, communication is possible even if the switch 600 does not support coherent optical communication.

When the optical module 200 receives an optical signal that is compatible with coherent optical communication, the optical module 200 converts the optical signal into an electrical signal. The electrical signal is then relayed to the optical module 100 via the relay device 300, converted by the optical module 100 into an optical signal that is not compatible with coherent optical communication, and then transmitted to the switch 600 via the optical module 102.

When the switch 600 receives an optical signal that does not support coherent optical communication, the optical signal is transmitted to the optical module 100 via the optical module 102, and the optical signal is converted to an electrical signal by the optical module 100. The electrical signal is then relayed to the optical module 200 via the relay device 300, and converted to an optical signal that supports coherent optical communication by the optical module 200, and then transmitted to the optical fiber 290.

For example, the switch 600 may be a switch that supports 400G-SR but not 400G-ZR or 400G-ZR+. For example, the optical module 100 and the optical module 102 may be 400G-SR. For example, the optical module 200 may be 400G-ZR or 400G-ZR+. For example, the optical module 104 may be 100G-SR. For example, the switch 600 may be connected to four optical modules 104.

Figure 4 shows an example of the system 10. In the system 10 shown in Figure 4, a branched optical module 106 having a configuration for converting multiple optical signals into multiple electrical signals in parallel is connected to the relay device 300 as the optical module 100. The branched optical module 106 converts multiple optical signals received from multiple optical fibers 192 into multiple electrical signals in parallel and transmits them to the relay device 300. The branched optical module 106 branches multiple electrical signals received from the relay device 300, converts them into multiple optical signals in parallel, and transmits them to the multiple optical fibers 192. The branched optical module 106 may be an example of a first optical module.

In the example shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 340 determines whether the connected optical module is a branching type optical module 106, and if it is determined that the optical module is a branching type optical module 106, the control unit 340 may control the optical module 200 to collectively process multiple electrical signals converted from multiple optical signals by the branching type optical module 106.

In their default state, 400G-ZR and 400G-ZR+, which are examples of optical modules 200, operate on the premise that all of the multiple electrical signals they receive originate from an optical signal transmitted from a single device. However, when the connected optical module is a branching optical module 106, the branching optical module 106 may receive multiple optical signals transmitted from multiple different devices and convert these into multiple electrical signals. In such a case, the above premise does not hold true, so an error occurs and the optical module 200 cannot communicate normally.

In response to this, the control unit 340 automatically determines whether the connected optical module is a branching type optical module 106, and if it determines that the connected optical module is a branching type optical module 106, automatically controls the optical module 200 to collectively process multiple electrical signals converted from multiple optical signals by the branching type optical module 106, so that the optical module 200 can communicate normally even if the connected optical module is a branching type optical module 106. For example, the control to collectively process the multiple electrical signals may be to set the optical module 200 to a collective processing mode that is pre-installed in the optical module 200 and that is capable of collectively processing the multiple electrical signals.

In the example shown in FIG. 4, the branched optical module 106 may be a four-branched optical module and may be connected to four optical fibers 192. For example, the branched optical module 106 may be 400G-DR4.

Figure 5 shows an example of processing by the system 10. Here, the description will start with a state in which the optical module 106, the optical module 200, and the relay device 300 are physically connected. The control unit 340 according to this embodiment performs different processing when a branching type optical module 106 is connected to the relay device 300 and when a non-branching type optical module is connected.

In step (sometimes abbreviated to S) 102, the control unit 340 inquires of the optical module 106 about the type of the optical module. In S104, the optical module 106 transmits its own optical module type information to the control unit 340. For example, the optical module 106 may transmit information indicating that it is a branching type optical module.

In S106, the control unit 340 determines whether the optical module 106 is a branching type optical module based on the information received in S104. In this example, the control unit 340 determines that the optical module 106 is a branching type optical module. The control unit 340 transmits a command to the optical module 200 to set the optical module 200 to a collective processing mode.

In S108, the optical module 200 notifies the control unit 340 that the setting of the optical module 200 to the collective processing mode has been completed. In S110, the control unit 340 commands the optical module 100 and the optical module 200 to start transmitting optical signals. This starts communication between the optical module 100 and the optical module 200.

If it is determined in S106 that the optical module is not a branching type, the control unit 340 does not send a command to the optical module 200 to set it to the collective processing mode.

Figure 6 shows an example of the process up to the start of communication by system 10. Here, the description will start from a state where an optical module is connected to each of connection unit 310 and connection unit 320, and where control unit 340 has confirmed that the optical module connected to connection unit 320 is optical module 200.

In S202, the control unit 340 starts the optical module connected to the connection unit 310 and starts initializing the optical module. In S204, the control unit 340 determines whether the optical module connected to the connection unit 310 is an optical module compatible with coherent optical communication. If the control unit 340 determines that the optical module is an optical module compatible with coherent optical communication, the process proceeds to S206, and if the control unit 340 determines that the optical module 100 is not an optical module compatible with coherent optical communication, the process proceeds to S216.

In S206, the control unit 340 sets the optical wavelengths for optical communication of the optical modules connected to the connection unit 310 and the optical modules connected to the connection unit 320. In S208, the control unit 340 sets lane branching for the optical modules connected to the connection unit 310 and the optical modules connected to the connection unit 320. This completes the initialization of the optical modules connected to the connection unit 310 and the optical modules connected to the connection unit 320 (S210).

In S216, the control unit 340 determines whether the optical module connected to the connection unit 310 is a branching type optical module. If the control unit 340 determines that the optical module 100 is a branching type optical module, the process proceeds to S208. If the control unit 340 determines that the optical module 100 is not a branching type optical module, the initialization of the optical module connected to the connection unit 310 is completed (S210). In S208, the control unit 340 performs lane branching settings for the optical module connected to the connection unit 310 and the optical module connected to the connection unit 320. This completes the initialization of the optical module connected to the connection unit 310 and the optical module connected to the connection unit 320 (S210).

In S212, the optical module connected to the connection unit 310 and the optical module connected to the connection unit 320 start transmitting laser light in optical communication in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 340. In S214, the data communication path becomes active.

7 shows an example of a hardware configuration of the computer 1200 functioning as the control unit 340. A program installed on the computer 1200 can cause the computer 1200 to function as one or more "parts" of the device according to the present embodiment, or to execute the operations or one or more "parts" associated with the device according to the present embodiment, and/or to execute the process or steps of the process according to the present embodiment. Such a program can be executed by the CPU 1212 to cause the computer 1200 to execute certain operations associated with some or all of the blocks of the flowcharts and block diagrams described herein.

The computer 1200 according to this embodiment includes a CPU 1212 and a RAM 1214, which are connected to each other by a host controller 1210. The computer 1200 also includes input/output units such as a communication interface 1222, a storage device 1224, and an IC card drive, which are connected to the host controller 1210 via an input/output controller 1220. The storage device 1224 may be a hard disk drive, a solid state drive, or the like. The computer 1200 may also include a ROM 1230 and a legacy input/output unit such as a keyboard, which are connected to the input/output controller 1220 via an input/output chip 1240.

The CPU 1212 operates according to the programs stored in the ROM 1230 and the RAM 1214, thereby controlling each unit. The communication interface 1222 communicates with other electronic devices via a network. The storage device 1224 stores programs and data used by the CPU 1212 in the computer 1200. The IC card drive reads programs and data from an IC card and/or writes programs and data to an IC card.

ROM 1230 stores therein a boot program or the like executed by computer 1200 upon activation, and/or a program that depends on the hardware of computer 1200. I/O chip 1240 may also connect various I/O units to I/O controller 1220 via USB ports, parallel ports, serial ports, keyboard ports, mouse ports, etc.

The programs are provided by a computer-readable storage medium such as an IC card. The programs are read from the computer-readable storage medium, installed in the storage device 1224, RAM 1214, or ROM 1230, which are also examples of computer-readable storage media, and executed by the CPU 1212. The information processing described in these programs is read by the computer 1200, and brings about cooperation between the programs and the various types of hardware resources described above. An apparatus or method may be configured by realizing the operation or processing of information according to the use of the computer 1200.

For example, when communication is performed between computer 1200 and an external device, CPU 1212 may execute a communication program loaded into RAM 1214 and instruct communication interface 1222 to perform communication processing based on the processing described in the communication program. Under the control of CPU 1212, communication interface 1222 reads transmission data stored in a transmission buffer area provided in RAM 1214, storage device 1224, or a recording medium such as an IC card, and transmits the read transmission data to the network, or writes received data received from the network to a reception buffer area or the like provided on the recording medium.

The CPU 1212 may also cause all or a necessary portion of a file or database stored in an external recording medium such as a storage device 1224, an IC card, etc. to be read into the RAM 1214, and perform various types of processing on the data on the RAM 1214. The CPU 1212 may then write back the processed data to the external recording medium.

Various types of information, such as various types of programs, data, tables, and databases, may be stored on the recording medium and may undergo information processing. The CPU 1212 may perform various types of processing on the data read from the RAM 1214, including various types of operations, information processing, conditional judgment, conditional branching, unconditional branching, information search/replacement, etc., as described throughout this disclosure and specified by the instruction sequence of the program, and writes back the results to the RAM 1214. The CPU 1212 may also search for information in a file, database, etc. in the recording medium. For example, when multiple entries each having an attribute value of a first attribute associated with an attribute value of a second attribute are stored in the recording medium, the CPU 1212 may search for an entry whose attribute value of the first attribute matches a specified condition from among the multiple entries, read the attribute value of the second attribute stored in the entry, and thereby obtain the attribute value of the second attribute associated with the first attribute that satisfies a predetermined condition.

The above-described programs or software modules may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium on or near the computer 1200. In addition, a recording medium such as a hard disk or RAM provided in a server system connected to a dedicated communication network or the Internet can be used as a computer-readable storage medium, thereby providing the programs to the computer 1200 via the network.

The blocks in the flowcharts and block diagrams in this embodiment may represent stages of a process in which an operation is performed or "parts" of a device responsible for performing the operation. Particular stages and "parts" may be implemented by dedicated circuitry, programmable circuitry provided with computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium, and/or a processor provided with computer-readable instructions stored on a computer-readable storage medium. The dedicated circuitry may include digital and/or analog hardware circuits and may include integrated circuits (ICs) and/or discrete circuits. The programmable circuitry may include reconfigurable hardware circuits including AND, OR, XOR, NAND, NOR, and other logical operations, flip-flops, registers, and memory elements, such as, for example, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and programmable logic arrays (PLAs).

A computer-readable storage medium may include any tangible device capable of storing instructions that are executed by a suitable device, such that a computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon comprises an article of manufacture that includes instructions that can be executed to create means for performing the operations specified in the flowchart or block diagram. Examples of computer-readable storage media may include electronic storage media, magnetic storage media, optical storage media, electromagnetic storage media, semiconductor storage media, and the like. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media may include floppy disks, diskettes, hard disks, random access memories (RAMs), read-only memories (ROMs), erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs or flash memories), electrically erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs), static random access memories (SRAMs), compact disk read-only memories (CD-ROMs), digital versatile disks (DVDs), Blu-ray disks, memory sticks, integrated circuit cards, and the like.

The computer readable instructions may include either assembler instructions, instruction set architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions, machine-dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions, state setting data, or source or object code written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages such as Smalltalk (registered trademark), JAVA (registered trademark), C++, etc., and conventional procedural programming languages such as the "C" programming language or similar programming languages.

The computer-readable instructions may be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, or a programmable circuit, either locally or over a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), such as the Internet, to cause the processor of the general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, or a programmable circuit, to execute the computer-readable instructions to generate means for performing the operations specified in the flowcharts or block diagrams. Examples of processors include computer processors, processing units, microprocessors, digital signal processors, controllers, microcontrollers, etc.

The present invention has been described above using an embodiment, but the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiment. It is clear to those skilled in the art that various modifications and improvements can be made to the above embodiment. It is clear from the claims that forms incorporating such modifications or improvements can also be included in the technical scope of the present invention.

The order of execution of each process, such as operations, procedures, steps, and stages, in the devices, systems, programs, and methods shown in the claims, specifications, and drawings is not specifically stated as "before" or "prior to," and it should be noted that the processes may be performed in any order, unless the output of a previous process is used in a later process. Even if the operational flow in the claims, specifications, and drawings is explained using "first," "next," etc. for convenience, it does not mean that it is necessary to perform the processes in that order.

10 System, 100, 102, 104, 106 Optical module, 112 Optical signal receiving unit, 114 Optical signal transmitting unit, 122 Electrical signal transmitting unit, 124 Electrical signal receiving unit, 132 Conversion unit, 134 Conversion unit, 190, 192 Optical fiber, 200 Optical module, 212 Electrical signal receiving unit, 214 Electrical signal transmitting unit, 222 Optical signal transmitting unit, 224 Optical signal receiving unit, 232 Conversion unit, 234 Conversion unit, 290 Optical fiber, 300 Relay device, 310 Connection unit, 312 Transmission connection unit, 314 Reception connection unit, 320 Connection unit, 322 Reception connection unit, 324 Transmission connection unit, 330 Relay unit, 332 Communication unit, 334 Communication unit, 340 Control unit, 410, 420, 430, 440 Optical signal, 510, 520 Electric signal, 1200 Computer, 1210 Host controller, 1212 CPU, 1214 RAM, 1220 Input/output controller, 1222 Communication interface, 1224 Storage device, 1230 ROM, 1240 Input/output chip

Claims (8)

A first connection portion;
A second connection portion;
a relay unit that relays communication of an electrical signal between a first optical module that is connected to the first connection unit and does not support coherent optical communication, and a second optical module that is connected to the second connection unit and supports coherent optical communication;
a control unit that controls at least one of the first optical module and the second optical module;
Equipped with
The control unit determines whether the first optical module is a branching type optical module having a configuration for converting multiple optical signals into multiple electrical signals in parallel, and if it determines that the first optical module is the branching type optical module, controls the second optical module to collectively process multiple electrical signals converted from the multiple optical signals by the first optical module . The relay device according to claim 1, wherein the relay unit relays the electrical signal received from the first optical module and converted from the optical signal by the first optical module to the second optical module. The relay device according to claim 1, wherein the relay unit relays to the first optical module an electrical signal received from the second optical module and converted from an optical signal by the second optical module. The first connection portion is
a first transmission connection portion connected to an electrical signal transmission portion of the first optical module;
a first receiving connection portion connected to an electrical signal receiving portion of the first optical module;
The second connection portion is
a second receiving connection portion connected to an electrical signal receiving portion of the second optical module;
a second transmission connection portion connected to the electrical signal transmission portion of the second optical module;
The relay unit includes:
a first communication unit that connects the first transmission connection unit and the second reception connection unit and is capable of transmitting electrical signals at 400 Gbps;
The relay device according to claim 1 , further comprising: a second communication unit that connects the second transmitting connection unit and the first receiving connection unit and that is capable of transmitting electrical signals at 400 Gbps. The first communication unit includes eight communication lines capable of transmitting electrical signals at 50 Gbps;
The second communication unit includes eight communication lines capable of transmitting electrical signals at 50 Gbps.
The relay device according to claim 4. The relay device according to claim 1 , wherein the control unit is a microcomputer. A relay device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
the first optical module;
A system comprising: The system of claim 7 further comprising the second optical module.

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