Systems and methods for modeling non-visible optical sources in a spectrum controller for control thereof include receiving channel routing information and signal characteristics for the non-visible channels separately from visible channels, wherein the visible channels are formed by optical transceivers communicatively coupled to the spectrum controller and the non-visible channels are formed by optical transceivers without communication to the spectrum controller; utilizing a combination of the channel routing information and signal characteristics for both the visible channels and the non-visible channels as input to the spectrum controller; performing control of optical spectrum based on the input; and providing output adjustments based on the control.

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.

We disclose a modular fiber-interconnect device that can be used in a ROADM to optically interconnect wavelength-selective switches and optical add/drop blocks thereof. An example module of the modular fiber-interconnect device has seventeen optical ports, each implemented using an MPO connector of the same type. The number of (nominally identical) modules in the modular fiber-interconnect device depends on the degree N of the ROADM and can vary, e.g., from two for N=4 to fourteen or more for N?20. A proper set of duplex optical connections within the ROADM can be created in a relatively straightforward manner, e.g., by running MPO cables of the same type from the wavelength-selective switches and the optical add/drop blocks of the ROADM to appropriate optical ports of the various modules of the modular fiber-interconnect device.

A node that is colorless, directionless and contentionless includes an add/drop terminal having an add wavelength selective switch (WSS) and a drop WSS. The add and drop WSSs are each configured to selectively direct any subset of the wavelength components received at any of its inputs to a different one of its optical outputs, provided that the wavelength components of optical beams received by any two of the inputs cannot be simultaneously directed to a common one of the outputs. A plurality of transponder ports are each optically coupled to a different output of the drop WSS and a different input of the add WSS.

An intranodal reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer (ROADM) fiber management apparatus, and a system employing the apparatus. The apparatus comprises a plurality of ingress optical ports, a plurality of egress optical ports, and a plurality of optical interconnections interposed between ones of the plurality of ingress optical ports and ones of the plurality of egress optical ports. Each of the plurality of ingress optical ports corresponds to one of the plurality of egress optical ports. Each one of the plurality of ingress optical ports is optically coupled by way of the optical interconnections to at least one of the plurality of egress optical ports. Each one of the plurality of egress optical ports is optically coupled by way of the optical interconnections to at least one of the plurality of ingress optical ports.

A high capacity node includes a plurality of receiver sections and a plurality of transmitter sections; and an electrical switching fabric between the plurality of receiver sections and the plurality of transmitter sections, wherein each of the plurality of receiver sections and the plurality of transmitter sections interface the electrical switching fabric at a full signal level and the electrical switching fabric is configured to perform flow switching on the full signal level between respective receiver sections and transmitter sections, and wherein the plurality of receiver sections, the plurality of transmitter sections, and one or more stages of the electrical switching fabric are implemented in one or more optoelectronic integrated circuits.

A method may include transmitting, by an optical device, a first set of channels using a first baud rate. The first set of channels may be attenuated during transmission by a filter associated with a wavelength selective switch. Transmitting, by the optical device, a second set of channels using a second baud rate. The second set of channels may be attenuated during transmission by the filter associated with the wavelength selective switch. The first set of channels and the second set of channels may be included in a super-channel. The first baud rate may be selected based on a first signal quality factor associated with attenuation by the filter associated with the wavelength selective switch. The second baud rate may be selected based on a second signal quality factor associated with attenuation by the filter associated with the wavelength selective switch.

Example embodiments of the present invention relate to a multi wavelength-routing-plane optical architecture. Example embodiments include a Reconfigurable Optical Add Drop Multiplexer (ROADM) supporting a multi wavelength-routing-plane optical architecture, and optical networks supporting a multi wavelength-routing-plane optical architecture.

A method is provided for establishing a communication path in an optical network, the communication path comprising a plurality of sections, wherein the power level of a section is controlled by a respective power control unit of a network node. The method comprises the steps of, in response to a request to establish a communication path, step 201, controlling at least one power control unit to perform a first power-up mode of operation. The first power-up mode of operation comprises the step of setting a power control factor of a respective section of the communication path directly to a value estimated to provide a target power level, step 203.

A wavelength selective switch (WSS) may include a first port array including input ports, each to launch a respective beam of light, and a dispersive element to separate, in a lateral direction, a beam of light, launched by one of the input ports, into dispersed wavelength channel sub-beams. The WSS may include a switching array to direct the dispersed wavelength channel sub-beams, at respective angles in a vertical direction. The dispersive element may converge groups of dispersed wavelength channel sub-beams in the lateral direction to form wavelength channel sub-beams. The WSS may include a splitting element to split, in the lateral direction, a wavelength channel sub-beam, of the wavelength channel sub-beams, into split wavelength channel sub-beams. The WSS may include switching elements to direct the split wavelength channel sub-beams at respective angles in the vertical direction, and output ports associated with the switching elements.