A method, in a network element, for detecting and propagating resizability information of an Optical channel Data Unit flex (ODUflex) connection includes receiving resizability information in overhead associated with the ODUflex connection, wherein the resizability information indicates a number of available tributary slots and whether the ODUflex connection is symmetric; and adjusting the resizability information based on a change in the available tributary slots due to a bandwidth change at the network element. The systems and methods include a solution to communicate, in real time, the resizability information of an ODUflex connection utilizing the associated data path to carry it instead of the management/control plane.

A data center network includes a plurality of packet-optical switches each at a location in the data center network and each including a switch fabric comprising both a Layer 1 fabric and a packet fabric communicatively coupled to one or more line ports; wherein the plurality of packet-optical switches are communicatively coupled to one another in a topology to form data connectivity in the data center network, and wherein each of the plurality of packet-optical switches is configured to provide the data connectivity through the Layer 1 switch bypassing the packet fabric when the location does not require Layer 2 forwarding in the topology, and provide the data connectivity through the Layer 1 switch and using the packet fabric to provide the data service with multi-point connectivity when the location requires Layer 2 forwarding in the topology.

An optical transceiver configured to operate in a host device includes an electrical interface communicatively coupled to the host device to interface electrically with the host device, wherein the optical transceiver is compliant with a Multi-Source Agreement (MSA) which is supported by the host device; optical transceiver components communicatively coupled to the electrical interface, wherein the optical transceiver components are configured to optically interface signals with a second optical transceiver to form an optical link; and electronic dispersion compensation circuitry communicatively coupled to the optical transceiver components and configured to electronically compensate for optical fiber chromatic and/or polarization mode dispersion associated with the optical link, separate and independent from the host device.

The present invention provides a method, which including: determining, by a first node, an adjustment requirement for a line interface rate; and according to the adjustment requirement for the line interface rate, adjusting, by the first node, a transport bandwidth of an optical channel (OCh) link, adjusting the number of optical channel transport lanes (OTLs) in an optical channel transport unit (OTUCn) link, and adjusting the number of optical channel data lanes (ODLs) in an optical channel data unit (ODUCn) link, where the OTL is in one-to-one correspondence with the ODL. In embodiments of the present invention, according to an adjustment requirement for a line interface rate, a transport bandwidth of an OCh link is adjusted, the number of OTLs in an OTUCn link is adjusted, and the number of ODLs in an ODUCn link is adjusted, so that the line interface rate can be dynamically adjusted.

Provided is a linear automatic protection switching (APS) apparatus and method that minimizes a data loss in an optical transport network (OTN) system, the apparatus and method that may maintain time synchronization by transmitting/receiving time synchronization signals between APS apparatuses of a working path and a redundant path, and transmitting/receiving time synchronization signals between local and remote APS apparatuses.

A method to avoid sympathetic switches in path switching protection due to client protection switching includes monitoring a drop side Tandem Connection Monitoring (TCM) entity and a line side TCM entity for a connection, wherein the drop side TCM is provisioned between a drop port of the node and a second drop port of a corresponding node, and wherein the line side TCM entity is provisioned between a plurality of line ports of the node and a second plurality of line ports of the corresponding node; responsive to detecting defects in both the drop side TCM entity and the line side TCM entity on a working line, implementing path protection switching of the working line; and, responsive to detecting defects only in the drop side TCM entity, implementing path protection switching of the working line responsive to persistence of the defects.

Providing protection to network data traffic over Pseudowires includes sending a Pseudowire TLV containing a precedence parameter to each of a set redundant Pseudowires between provider edge nodes. In the event that the designated active Pseudowire of a set of Pseudowires becomes unavailable, this configuration parameter allows peer provider edge nodes to be notified of the precedence of each Pseudowire in the redundant set in order to coordinate a switchover operation to a preferred protection Pseudowire.

Integrated performance monitoring (PM); optical layer operations, administration, maintenance, and provisioning (OAM&P); alarming; amplification, and the like is described in optical transceivers, such as multi-source agreement (MSA)-defined modules. A pluggable optical transceiver defined by an MSA agreement can include advanced integrated functions for carrier-grade operation which preserves the existing MSA specifications allowing the pluggable optical transceiver to operate with any compliant MSA host device with advanced features and functionality, such as Forward Error Correction (FEC), framing, and OAM&P directly on the pluggable optical transceiver. The advanced integrated can be implemented by the pluggable optical transceiver separate and independent from the host device.

For protecting traffic on paths extending from a source client entity (CE1) to a destination client entity (CE2) via an optical transport network and attachment circuits at ingress (A,B) and egress (C,D) nodes, there are multiple paths within the OTN network, and the attachment circuits are dual homed. By sending (120) an indication of operational status of the dual homed attachment circuits within overhead associated with the traffic and sent with the traffic through the network, a selection can be made (130) of which of the provided paths and attachment circuits to use for the traffic, based on the indicated operational status, and on OTN fault detection, to protect against a fault in the attachment circuit or in the OTN network. Thus protection can extend across the edge nodes without the complexity and delays involved in interworking of separate protection schemes and without a control plane.

A method and related network node are provided which allow a hitless resizing of protected ODUflex connections in an Optical Transport Network. In order to synchronize resizing of active and protection paths (54, 55), a logical processing (60, 61) of resize overhead signals that are related to end to end signaling (RP) and/or connectivity check (TSCC) is introduced into a sink side connection function (58), which terminates a protection group.