An optical network includes an arrangement of optical nodes. An optical node of the arrangement, and corresponding method, perform optical connectivity discovery and negotiation-less optical fiber continuity verification in the optical network. An overall topology of optical connectivity provisioned for the arrangement is discovered by the optical node based on messages received from a management network communicatively coupling the optical nodes to each other. The optical node synchronizes, temporally and sequentially, with the other optical nodes based on the messages received, assigns fiber of the overall topology, based on a verification sequencing method, to verification slots of a verification sequence, and verifies continuity of fiber according to the verification slots of the verification sequence. The discovery, synchronization, and assignment operations enable the optical node and peer node to perform the optical fiber continuity verification in a symmetric, decentralized, and negotiation-less manner.

The present disclosure provides a method for dynamically allocating an optical channel. The method includes receiving a user input request from a user. In addition, the method includes receiving an OLS spectrum data of the optical channel. Further, the method includes computing one or more configuration parameters for a predefined pair of transponders of one or more transponders based on the user input request and the OLS spectrum data. Furthermore, the method includes configuring the one or more configuration parameters on the predefined pair of transponders of the one or more transponders. Moreover, the user is associated with the one or more transponders. The user input request is associated with the predefined pair of transponders of the one or more transponders. The user input request includes parameters for the optical channel allocation on the predefined pair of transponders.

An optical transmission apparatus includes a first transmitter configured to output an optical signal having a wavelength belonging to a first wavelength band, a switch configured to output the optical signal outputted to the first transmitter toward a first transmission line or a second transmission line, a wavelength converter configured to convert the optical signal outputted from the switch toward the first transmission line into an optical signal having a wavelength belonging to a second wavelength band other than the first wavelength band, a second transmitter configured to output an optical signal having a wavelength belonging to the first wavelength band, and a first multiplexer configured to multiplex the optical signal outputted from the first wavelength converter and the optical signal outputted from the second transmitter, and output a multiplexed optical signal to the first transmission line.

Systems and methods are disclosed for configuring a communications network. In disclosed embodiments, for a communication network comprising fiber optic cables connected by switches and transceiver-transponders, a graph representing the communication network can be obtained with edges representing the fiber optic cables, and nodes representing the switches and transceiver-transponders. A set of service links can be determined for a path in the communication network based on a set of demands for the path. Each service link can represent data transmission by one of the transceiver-transponders through one or more of the fiber optic cables connected by zero or more of the switches. Sets of service links can be iteratively selected for progressively longer initial segments of the path. When the initial segment comprises the path, the set of service links for the initial segment can be selected as the set of service links for the path.

A dark fiber design tool for hardware, circuits, and paths is provided. A method can include generating, by a device comprising a processor, a data record comprising properties of a group of hardware elements associated with a wireless communication network; establishing, by the device, a set of rules that define permissible interactions between respective hardware elements of the group of hardware elements based on the data record; building, by the device, a circuit plan associated with the wireless communication network, the circuit plan comprising optical connections between the respective hardware elements of the group of hardware elements as determined based on the data record and the set of rules; and associating, by the device, respective optical wavelength paths with respective ones of the optical connections of the circuit plan further based on the set of rules.

Disclosed herein is a method of assigning a wavelength to a given light path in a wavelength switched optical network, as well as a corresponding routing engine and computer program. The method comprises the following step. For each of a plurality of possible wavelengths for said light path, retrieving information from an optical performance database (30) allowing to assess whether the given wavelength meets a predetermined feasibility criterion with regard to said given light path; if the given wavelength is found to meet the predetermined feasibility criterion, determining a set of extended feasible light paths, each of which fully including the given light path, but containing one or more additional nodes; and calculating a first score based on said determined set of extended feasible light paths, wherein said method further comprises a step of choosing, based on said first score, a wavelength that has a first score indicating a low suitability for providing useful extended feasible light paths for future use.

A method for optical restoration in an optical network is provided. A network controller obtains, from one or more optical nodes of an optical network, at least one failure notification indicating a failure of a primary path between a first node and a second node. The network controller forwards to a first set of optical nodes, data-plane parameters for optical components of the first set of optical nodes. The first set of optical nodes include the first node, the second node, and one or more intermediate nodes, and forms a restoration path for the primary path. The data-plane parameters for the optical components are forwarded in parallel to the first set of optical nodes of the restoration path so as to activate the restoration path in parallel. The network controller switches traffic from the primary path to the restoration path.

In an optical communication network using the wavelength division multiplexing system, the accommodation efficiency for the optical paths decreases, and it becomes difficult to use the optical communication network efficiently, if the optical frequency slots are used concentrically in a specific optical fiber; therefore, an optical path design apparatus according to an exemplary aspect of the present invention includes route candidate selection means for searching for a route of an optical path to accommodate a communication demand and selecting a plurality of route candidates; optical path candidate selection means for selecting a plurality of optical path candidates by allocating an optical frequency band required to accommodate the optical path to each of optical fibers on the plurality of route candidates; and optical path determination means for determining the optical path from among the plurality of optical path candidates based on an optical frequency band utilization rate in the optical fibers.

The disclosed systems, structures, and methods are directed to a method for embedding the virtual network onto the elastic optical network comprising embedding the plurality of virtual nodes onto the plurality of substrate optical nodes in accordance with the plurality of location constraints provisioning the primary bandwidth demand associated with one of the plurality of virtual links connecting a source virtual node to a destination virtual node onto a plurality of disjoint substrate paths connecting a source substrate optical node and a destination substrate optical node, and embedding the one of the plurality of virtual links connecting the source virtual node to the destination virtual node onto the plurality of disjoint substrate paths connecting the source substrate optical node and the destination substrate optical node.

An optical access network includes an optical hub having at least one processor. The network further includes a plurality of optical distribution centers connected to the optical hub by a plurality of optical fiber segments, respectively, and a plurality of geographic fiber node serving areas. Each fiber node serving area of the plurality of fiber node serving areas includes at least one optical distribution center of the plurality of optical distribution centers. The network further includes a plurality of endpoints. Each endpoint of the plurality of endpoints is in operable communication with at least one optical distribution center. The network further includes a point-to-point network provisioning system configured to (i) evaluate each potential communication path over the plurality of optical fiber segments between a first endpoint and a second endpoint, and (ii) select an optimum fiber path based on predetermined path selection criteria.