An optical network is herein described. The optical network comprises a fiber optic line, a first network element, and a second network element. The first network element comprises a first optical interface, a first processor, and a first memory storing first processor-executable instructions that cause the first processor to: activate one or more passband on the first optical interface, thereby enabling the first optical interface to transport one or more optical carrier on the one or more passband; and transmit an activation request indicative of a request to activate the one or more passband on a plurality of optical interfaces of a plurality of network elements. The second network element comprises a second optical interface, a second processor, and a second memory storing second processor-executable instructions that cause the second processor to: receive the activation request; and activate the one or more passband on the second optical interface.

Signal distribution arrangements are assembled by selecting a terminal body and a tap module combination that provides the desired signal strength at the intended position in an optical network. Each terminal body includes an input connection interface, a pass-through connection interface, a module connection interface, and multiple drop connection interfaces. Each tap module houses an optical tap having an asymmetric split ratio. Most of the optical signal power received at the signal distribution arrangement passes to the pass-through connection interface. A portion of the optical signal power is routed to the drop connection interfaces (e.g., via a symmetrical optical power splitter). The tap module and terminal body combination are selected based on the desired number of drop connection interfaces and to balance the asymmetric split ratio with the symmetric split ratio.

Systems and methods include, for operation on an optical fiber in an optical network with the optical fiber having extended optical spectrum that include a plurality of bands including at least the C-band and one or more additional bands, segmenting the plurality of bands by distance based on different transmission specifications for the plurality of bands based on fiber types and amplifiers used for corresponding bands; and placing one or more channels on the optical fiber in a corresponding band of the plurality of bands based on a distance between nodes associated with each of the one or more channels. The segmenting is based on a metric that is a function of fiber type of the optical fiber and amplifier performance for amplifiers used in the plurality of bands.

In an example method, network traffic transmitted between a plurality of network nodes via a communications network is monitored. Subsets of the network traffic are ranked according to one or more ranking criteria. A mesh network is deployed between the plurality of network nodes based on the ranking of the subsets of the network traffic. The mesh network includes a plurality of network links, where each network link communicatively couples a respective network node from among the plurality of network nodes to another respective network node from among the plurality of network nodes.

An example system includes a network switch and a plurality of server computers communicatively coupled to the first network switch. The network switch includes a first transceiver configured to transmit data according to a first maximum throughput, and each server computer includes a respective second transceiver configured to transmit data according to a second maximum throughput that is less than the first maximum throughput. The network switch is configured to transmit, using the first transceiver according to the first maximum throughput, first data including a plurality of optical subcarriers to each of the server computers. Each of the server computers is configured to receive, using a respective one of the second transceivers, the first data from the network switch, and extract, from the first data, a respective portion of the first data addressed to the server computer.

A management system configured to manage one or more optical transmitters in an optical network utilizing an optical spectrum, wherein the management system is configured to track at least one of said multiple optical transmitters by specifying a spectral position and spectral width of the portion of the optical spectrum containing a coherent optical signal generated by the at least one optical transmitter, wherein the spectral width is ‘n’ bins where n is an integer greater than 1 and each bin is a same size.

Switching technology may be incorporated into various systems, components, and/or architectures in a fiber optic network to promote network reconfigurability and design flexibility. A signal access unit comprises an input, an output, an access port, a switch arrangement including a switch, and a controller. The switch optically couples the input to the output and not to the access port when in a first configuration, and optically couples the access port to at least one of the input and the output without optically coupling the input and the output together when in a second configuration. The controller is configured to receive an indication of a selected wavelength and to operate the switch arrangement to change the switch between the first and second configurations based on the indication of the selected wavelength.

An optical circuit includes: a multicast-and-select (MCS) switch and multiple optical selective devices coupled to output ports of the MCS switch. The selective devices may select a single optical channel by blocking some of wavelengths of light passing therethrough and passing at least one other wavelength. The selective devices may be wave blockers or tunable optical filters. The optical circuit further includes an optical amplifying array, wherein each amplifier has an input port optically coupled to one of the selective devices. At least some of the amplifiers have pump light ports for receiving at least a portion of the pump light from one or more laser pumps or from another of the optical amplifiers, wherein the pumps are capable of providing pump light sufficient to fully saturate all of the rare earth doped optical fibers in the array.

An example system includes a first network node, a second network node, and a third network node. The first network node is configured to generate a first optical subcarrier representing first data, and transmit the first optical subcarrier to the second network node. The second network node is configured to receive the first optical subcarrier from the first network node, generate a second optical subcarrier representing the first data, where the second optical subcarrier is different from the first optical subcarrier, and transmit the second optical subcarrier to the third network node.

An example system includes a plurality of network nodes, each including one or more respective first transceivers configured to transmit data according to a first maximum throughput, and one or more respective second transceivers configured to transmit data according to a second maximum throughput that is less than the first maximum throughput. A first network node is configured to transmit, using a respective one of the first transceivers, first data including a plurality of optical subcarriers to two or more second network nodes according to the first maximum throughput, each optical subcarrier being associated with a different one of the two more other network nodes. The two or more second network nodes are configured to receive, using respective ones of the second transceivers, the first data from the first network node.