US-20260129256-A1 - USER PREMISES FIBER INTERCONNECT AS-A-SERVICE

US20260129256A1US 20260129256 A1US20260129256 A1US 20260129256A1US-20260129256-A1

Abstract

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, a fiber interconnect system that includes gateways and wall boxes. Gateways and wall boxes may include pluggable modules with client side connectors and may include optical connections. The client side connectors may be coupled to client devices via Ethernet connections, HDMI connections, and the like. The gateways and wall boxes may be coupled by optical fibers. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Inventors

Rajendra Damle
Lynn Nelson

Assignees

AT&T INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY I, L.P.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20260105

Claims (20)

1 . A device, comprising: a processing system including a processor; and a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising: receiving a first bitstream that is wavelength multiplexed on an optical fiber coupled to a multi-protocol fiber interface of the device; determining that the first bitstream is addressed to a local port of the device; converting the first bitstream into a native signal format and providing the first bitstream in the native signal format to the local port; receiving a signal from the local port; converting the signal to a second bitstream and addressing the second bitstream to a port on a different device; and wavelength multiplexing the second bitstream onto the optical fiber coupled to the multi-protocol fiber interface.
2 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the local port comprises an HDMI port, and the converting the first bitstream into a native signal format comprises converting the first bitstream into an HDMI signal for output at the HDMI port.
3 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the local port comprises an Ethernet port, and the converting the first bitstream into a native signal format comprises converting the first bitstream into an Ethernet signal for output at the Ethernet port.
4 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the native signal format comprises an Ethernet format.
5 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the native signal format comprises a video format.
6 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the multi-protocol fiber interface includes a pluggable module configured to support dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) for receiving and transmitting on the optical fiber.
7 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the signal received from the local port comprises an infrared (IR) signal, and the operations further comprise converting the IR signal into a third bitstream for addressing to a port on a different device and wavelength multiplexing onto the optical fiber.
8 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise passing through a third bitstream that is not addressed to the local port, wherein the third bitstream is transmitted unchanged on the optical fiber.
9 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise assigning addressing information to the second bitstream based on configuration data provided by a remote management system.
10 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system including a processor, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising: receiving, by a multi-protocol fiber interconnect device, configuration data over an optical fiber coupled to a multi-protocol fiber interface of the multi-protocol fiber interconnect device, the configuration data specifying addressing information for routing logical bitstreams to or from one or more local ports of the multi-protocol fiber interconnect device; receiving, by the multi-protocol fiber interconnect device, a first bitstream that is wavelength multiplexed on the optical fiber; determining, by the multi-protocol fiber interconnect device, based on the addressing information, that the first bitstream is addressed to a local port of the multi-protocol fiber interconnect device; converting, by the multi-protocol fiber interconnect device, the first bitstream into a native signal format corresponding to the local port; and providing, by the multi-protocol fiber interconnect device, the first bitstream in the native signal format to the local port of the multi-protocol fiber interconnect device.
11 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the operations further comprise: receiving, by the multi-protocol fiber interconnect device, a signal in the native signal format from the local port; converting, by the multi-protocol fiber interconnect device, the signal into a second bitstream, wherein the second bitstream is addressed to a port on a different device based on the addressing information; and wavelength multiplexing, by the multi-protocol fiber interconnect device, the second bitstream onto the optical fiber for transmission to the different device in communication with the optical fiber.
12 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 11 wherein the operations further comprise: identifying, by the multi-protocol fiber interconnect device, a third bitstream received from the optical fiber that is not addressed to the multi-protocol fiber interconnect device; and forwarding, by the multi-protocol fiber interconnect device, the third bitstream unchanged onto the optical fiber.
13 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the local port comprises an HDMI port, and the converting the first bitstream into a native signal format comprises converting the first bitstream into an HDMI signal for output at the HDMI port.
14 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 10 , wherein the local port comprises an Ethernet port, and the converting the first bitstream into a native signal format comprises converting the first bitstream into an Ethernet signal for output at the Ethernet port.
15 . A method, comprising: receiving, by a processing system including a processor within a multi-protocol fiber interconnect device, a wavelength-multiplexed signal on an optical fiber coupled to a multi-protocol fiber interface of the multi-protocol fiber interconnect device, the wavelength-multiplexed signal comprising a plurality of logical bitstreams; identifying, by the processing system, a first logical bitstream from the plurality of logical bitstreams that is addressed to a local port of the multi-protocol fiber interconnect device; extracting, by the processing system, the first logical bitstream from the wavelength-multiplexed signal without disrupting other logical bitstreams in the wavelength-multiplexed signal; converting, by the processing system, the first logical bitstream into a corresponding native signal format based on characteristics of the local port; and outputting, by the processing system, the first logical bitstream in the corresponding native signal format to the local port.
16 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising forwarding, by the processing system, at least one logical bitstream within the wavelength-multiplexed signal that is not addressed to the multi-protocol fiber interconnect device, wherein the at least one logical bitstream is transparently passed through the multi-protocol fiber interconnect device without modification.
17 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising receiving, by the processing system, configuration data over the optical fiber, the configuration data specifying addressing information used to determine that the first logical bitstream is addressed to the local port.
18 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the wavelength-multiplexed signal comprises at least one logical video bitstream, and outputting the first logical bitstream in the corresponding native signal format comprises providing a video signal to a display device connected to the local port.
19 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the local port comprises a port supporting an infrared (IR) control signal, and outputting the first logical bitstream in the corresponding native signal format comprises emitting an IR control signal for managing a remote device connected to a separate multi-protocol fiber interconnect device.
20 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the plurality of logical bitstreams includes at least one logical HDMI data stream.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/754,798 filed on Jun. 26, 2024. All sections of the aforementioned application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The subject disclosure relates to fiber interconnect devices. BACKGROUND Typical home networks include an internet service provider (ISP) connection and a router. The router connects to multiple devices within the home network using point-to-point wiring. An example of point-to-point wiring includes Ethernet cables. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein: FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary, non-limiting embodiment of a communications network in accordance with various aspects described herein. FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a fiber interconnect system including a multi-function fiber gateway and multiple multi-protocol fiber interconnect devices in accordance with various aspects described herein. FIG. 2B is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a multi-function fiber gateway in accordance with various aspects described herein. FIG. 2C is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a multi-protocol fiber interconnect device in accordance with various aspects described herein. FIG. 2D is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a fiber interconnect system including a multi-function gateway and multiple multi-protocol fiber interconnect devices in accordance with various aspects described herein. FIG. 2E is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a multi-function gateway in accordance with various aspects described herein. FIG. 2F is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a fiber interconnect system including multiple multi-protocol fiber interconnect devices in accordance with various aspects described herein. FIG. 2G is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a configuration tool in accordance with various aspects described herein. FIGS. 2H and 2I depict illustrative embodiments of methods in accordance with various aspects described herein. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a virtualized communication network in accordance with various aspects described herein. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of a computing environment in accordance with various aspects described herein. FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of a mobile network platform in accordance with various aspects described herein. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of a communication device in accordance with various aspects described herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The subject disclosure describes, among other things, illustrative embodiments for fiber networks. Other embodiments are described in the subject disclosure. One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a device having a processing system including a processor; and a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations. The operations may include receiving first data from a wide area network (WAN) port of the device, the first data including a plurality of logical Ethernet bitstreams; instantiating a first virtual machine to receive a first logical Ethernet bitstream of the plurality of logical Ethernet bitstreams, and to produce a first logical video bitstream; and multiplexing a second logical Ethernet bitstream of the plurality of logical Ethernet bitstreams and the first logical video bitstream onto an optical fiber coupled to a multi-protocol fiber interface of the device. One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a non-transitory machine-readable medium, having executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system including a processor, facilitate performance of operations. The operations may include instantiating a virtual router to communicate with a wide area network (WAN) port; instantiating a first virtual streaming device coupled to receive a first logical Ethernet bitstream from the virtual router and to create a logical video bitstream; and multiplexing the logical video bitstream and a second logical Ethernet bitstream onto an optical fiber coupled to a multi-protocol fiber interface. One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include method, comprising instantiating, by a processing system including a processor, a plurality of virtual machines coupled to receive data from a wide area network (WAN) port; creating, by the plurality of virtual machines, a plurality of data streams in different formats from the data received from the WAN po