Adaptive bundling of capacity changes in an optical section includes, responsive to a request for a capacity change for a plurality of channels on an optical section, determining spectral loading of the optical section; determining a bundling of changes for the capacity change based on the spectral loading of the optical section; and performing the capacity change based on the bundling. The bundling includes a number of steps to achieve all of the capacity change and a maximum allowable amount of optical spectrum that can be changed in each step. The maximum allowable amount of optical spectrum that can be changed in each step can be adaptively determined based on the channel loading.

Example embodiments of the present invention relate to a software programmable reconfigurable optical add drop multiplexer (ROADM) comprising of a plurality of wavelength switches and a plurality of waveguide switches, wherein when the plurality of waveguide switches are set to a first switch configuration, the software programmable ROADM provides n degrees of an n-degree optical node, and wherein when the waveguide switches are set to a second switch configuration, the software programmable ROADM provides k degrees of an m-degree optical node.

An example system includes a first network device having first circuitry. The first network device is configured to perform operations including receiving data to be transmitted to a second network device over an optical communications network, and transmitting first information and second information to the second device. The first information is indicative of the data, and is transmitted using a first communications link of the optical communications network and using a first subset of optical subcarriers. The second information is indicative of the data, and is transmitted using a second communications link of the optical communications network and using a second subset of optical subcarriers. The first subset of optical subcarriers is different from the second subset of optical subcarriers.

Embodiments include methods and apparatuses for providing at least one signaling indication of a super-channel by a power controller in a Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) system. The power controller may receive a service provisioning and a lock state from a network management entity. The power controller may receive, from an optical fabric unit, a fabric state that indicates whether a pass-band of the super-channel is provisioned. The power controller may receive the power level of the super-channel from a power monitoring unit. Based on the power level and attenuation level of the super-channel, the power controller may determine a ramp state that indicates whether the power level reached to a predetermined power. The power controller may determine an alarm state based on the power level. The power controller may determine the signaling indication based on the service provisioning, lock, fabric, ramp, and alarm states.

There is provided a control device for controlling a first transmission device and a second transmission device, the control device including a memory, and a processor coupled to the memory and the processor configured to set a first wavelength path between the first transmission device and the second transmission device, select a monitoring wavelength path from established wavelength paths allocated on a transmission line between the first transmission device and the second transmission device, monitor a signal quality of the monitoring wavelength path, and increase power of the first wavelength path, based on the signal quality of the monitoring wavelength path.

An optical wavelength multiplexing device includes: a wavelength selective switch including a first input port for receiving an optical signal, a second input port for receiving a monitoring signal, output ports for outputting the optical signal or the monitoring signal, and an adjustment unit that adjusts a level of the optical signal or the monitoring signal at one of the output ports; a measurement unit that measures an output level of the monitoring signal at one of the output ports; and a control unit that specifies an unused output port of the output ports as a monitoring target port; sets a specific adjustment amount to the monitoring target port; outputs the monitoring signal to the monitoring target port; and determines whether the monitoring target port has an abnormality, based on the output level at the monitoring target port and an estimated output level at the monitoring target port.

Methods and systems for optimizing the transmission of superchannels with different modulation formats may include pre-calculating different guardband (GB) values between superchannels and sets of power values for subcarriers to implement subcarrier power pre-emphasis (SPP). When a request for an optical path is received at a network management system, the spectral allocation of each superchannel, including a GB, is determined according to pre-specified rules based on co-propagation of the superchannels with different modulation formats.

A method for noise suppression in a colorless optical add/drop system implemented prior to a colorless optical add/drop device includes, subsequent to receiving an optical signal from an optical modem, filtering the optical signal with a wavelength blocking filter to suppress out of band Amplified Stimulated Emission (ASE) in order to prevent noise funneling in the colorless optical add/drop device; and providing the filtered optical signal with the out of band ASE suppressed therein to a multiplexer port in the colorless optical add/drop device. The method can include, prior to the filtering, amplifying the optical signal with a single channel amplifier, wherein the single channel amplifier can include a pump laser shared with one or more additional single channel amplifiers.

A large number of degrees for relays of optical signals transmitted via optical paths in the degrees is secured. A wavelength cross-connect device 20A performs a relay by splitting optical signals from respective degrees indicated by reference numerals 40l, 40h, 40m, 40q, each of the degrees being provided by optical fibers, via respective optical couplers and outputting the split optical signals to output sides of the plurality of degrees via respective WSSs 23a to 23d. As the optical couplers, variable couplers 27a to 27d whose respective splitting ratios, each of which is a ratio of optical signal power losses in splitting an optical signal, are variable are used. The wavelength cross-connect device 20A includes a control unit 26 that performs control to change the splitting ratios in such a manner as to eliminate an imbalance among OSNR margins of the output sides of the degrees in which a plurality of optical paths transmitting the split optical signals extend. The control unit 26 calculates the margins for the respective optical paths transmitting the split optical signals via the variable couplers 27a to 27d, for each of the output sides of the degrees. The control unit 26 performs control to, based on respective smallest margins of the degrees in all the margins, change the splitting ratios of the variable couplers 27a to 27d in such a manner as to eliminate an imbalance between the margins of the degrees.

A control apparatus includes an optical wavelength change control unit that specifies, in response to a request to change a wavelength band of a first optical wavelength path used by a first transmission apparatus and a second transmission apparatus to a wavelength band of a second optical wavelength path, a first route between routers which is affected by the request and a service which uses the first route and that specifies a second route between the routers which detours the specified service; a router control unit that transmits a request to detour the specified service to the second route, to a start-point router and an end-point router on the first route; and a transmission apparatus control unit that transmits a request to change the wavelength band of the first optical wavelength path to the wavelength band of the second optical wavelength path, to the first transmission apparatus and the second transmission apparatus.