CPC Class H04Q

Communication system including a support frame having a pair of spacer walls that oppose each other. The spacer walls defines a receiving gap directly therebetween. The communication system also includes a floatable connector assembly including a connector module and a communication cable coupled to the connector module. The connector module is configured to engage a mating module along a central axis to establish a communicative connection. At least a portion of the connector assembly is disposed between the spacer walls within the receiving gap. The communication system also includes a positioning gasket having a plurality of alignment members that directly engage at least one of the connector assembly or the support frame. The alignment members permit the connector assembly to float with respect to the support frame during the mating operation in a direction that is transverse to the central axis.

We disclose a communication system in which a cluster of network nodes is interconnected using an optical interconnect and an electrical switch engine. A bidirectional communication channel between any two of the network nodes can be set up using two bidirectional optical links established through the optical interconnect and one bidirectional electrical link configured to connect the ends of the two bidirectional optical links through the switch engine. The optical interconnect has a structure that enables the communication system to be (re)configurable for a desired level of oversubscription. Some embodiments of the communication system can advantageously be used in a data-center network.

The access node includes first transmit/receive circuitry with digital signal processing logic and digital-to-analog/analog-to-digital conversion logic, and second transmit/receive circuitry with transmit/receive amplifiers and line adaptation units for connection to a transmission line. The access node further includes an analog switch for dynamically connecting one of the first transmit/receive circuitry with one of the second transmit/receive circuitry according to a transmit/receive cross-connect table, and transmit/receive control logic for updating the transmit cross-connect table according to a transmit/receive traffic pattern over the respective transmission lines.