Method for transmitting optical signals and device, in particular for carrying out the method

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and a device comprising optical waveguide pairs (20) for transmitting optical signals, and a plurality of connectors (110, 120, 141, 151, 152, 161) with a multi-core optical waveguide connector and at least one duplex optical waveguide connector, wherein each of the optical waveguide connectors has a transmit port (S1, S2) and a receive port (E1, E2). The receive port (E1) of the multi-core optical waveguide connector (110) is connected via a first distributor (11) to one end of an optical waveguide (20a) of a respective optical waveguide pair (20), and the other end of this optical waveguide (20a) is connected via a second distributor (21) to the transmit port (S2) of a duplex optical waveguide connector (120).The receive terminal (E2) of this duplex optical fiber connector (120) is connected via a third distributor (22) to one end of the other optical fiber (20b) of the respective optical fiber pair (20), and the other end of this optical fiber (20b) is connected via a fourth distributor (12) to the transmit terminal (S1) of the multi-core optical fiber connector (110). Each distributor (11, 12, 21, 22) is connected to an optical detector device (13, 14, 23, 24) and is configured to divert a portion of the optical signals routed through this distributor and feed it to the optical detector device.

Description

The invention relates to a method for transmitting optical signals and to a device, in particular for carrying out the method.When operating optical networks, there is often a challenge to monitor the transmission of optical signals when they are transmitted via so-called breakout cables or MPO cables. MPO cables, wherein MPO stands for multi-fiber push-on, are known to be multi-core optical waveguide cables which are used with ever greater bandwidths and network connections if conventional duplex optical waveguide cables, also referred to hereafter simply as duplex cables, such as LC cables, no longer meet the requirements. A breakout cable in this context is a multi-core optical waveguide cable which is divided into a plurality of duplex optical waveguide cables and is generally used if a connection point designed for a higher capacity is to be divided into a plurality of connection points with lower capacities or vice versa, i.e. a plurality of connection points with lower capacities are to be bundled onto a connection point designed for a higher capacity.Thus, a 400Gbit / s breakout cable is constructed, for example, from four individual 100Gbit / s duplex cables having a total of eight optical waveguides, while a 100Gbit / s breakout cable consists, for example, of ten 10Gbit / s duplex cables and a total of 20 optical waveguides or a 40Gbit / s breakout cable consists, for example, of four 10Gbit / s duplex cables and a total of 8 optical waveguides. Such a breakout cable is then usually terminated at its one end by an MPO connector and at its other end usually by a plurality of duplex connectors.Thus, if, for example, a capacitance of 40Gbit / s, which is present at a first optical connection point, is to be divided between a plurality of second connection points with lower capacitances, for example between 4 connection points each having 10Gbit / s, or the capacitance of 40Gbit / s is to be broken down to 4*10Gbit / s, such a breakout cable can be inserted at an additional connection point, also referred to below as a breakout point, between the first connection point and the plurality of second connection points. A light or the optical signals transmitted via an optical cable can / can be divided as a result from a common optical input on the side of the first connection point to a plurality of optical outputs on the side of the plurality of second connection points or else else focused or combined from a plurality of optical inputs on the side of the plurality of second connection points to a common optical output on the side of the first connection points.Instead of dividing a capacity of 40Gbit / s to 4*10Gbit / s or also dividing the aforementioned 400Gbit / s to 4*100Gbit / s or 100Gbit / s to 10*10Gbit / s, it is of course also possible to use other division rates, for example 400Gbit / s to 16*25Gbit / s or 100Gbit / s to 2*50Gbit / s.A main advantage of such breakout cabling solutions is thus that lower speed devices can be successfully connected to higher speed devices, e.g. 10G servers and 40G switches, since the breakout cables allow the connection of devices at different speeds. As an alternative to breakout cables, for example, solutions with so-called patch panels are also known, which, in order to provide such a "breakout" functionality, house a plurality of optical waveguides in a preinstalled manner and terminate these at one end on the panel with an MPO connector and at the other end on the panel with a plurality of duplex connectors in order to connect to these connectors in turn counter-connectors of a MPO cable or of a plurality of duplex cables, each of which is of complementary design from outside the panel.An apparatus having an optical detector device for checking multi-core or duplex optical waveguide connectors for optical signal transmission is known, for example, in each case from US 2023 / 0296474 A1 and from US 2023 / 0228649 A1.However, a problem exists in particular when the optical connections between the first connection point and the second connection points deteriorate in their connectivity or even completely lose them, so that no or only very weak optical signals are received from the respective other side on the side of the first and / or second connection points. In particular, the fault location in or on the optical waveguide is generally located at a location between the first connection location with higher capacitance and the breakout location or else between the breakout location and the second connection locations with lower capacitance. However, since the infrastructure is conventionally configured passively at these locations, it is generally not possible to carry out a measurement for locating the fault location around the breakout location.Another challenge is with regard to "patching", i.e. the addition of new connections, in particular from a breakout location to a new second connection location with a lower capacity. Thus, if, for example, an employee of a network operator adds an additional optical waveguide connector at the breakout location in order to establish a further optical connection between the breakout location and a new second connection location, he usually cannot see or recognize whether an optical signal is actually present or not when he is located locally at the breakout location.It is therefore an object of the invention to show a technical way by which fault location is easily provided when using breakout cables or breakout locations converted in some other way for transmitting optical signals.The solution of the invention is provided by a method having the features of claim 1 and a connector having the features 7. Advantageous embodiments are the subject matter of the respective sub-claims.The invention therefore proposes a method for transmitting optical signals, in which optical signals are transmitted via optical waveguides between a multi-core optical waveguide connector and a number of duplex optical waveguide connectors, wherein the optical signals to be transmitted from the multi-core optical waveguide connector in the direction of a duplex optical waveguide connector out of the number of duplex optical waveguide connectors are guided through a first distributor before their coupling into a first optical waveguide and are guided through a second distributor before their coupling into the duplex optical waveguide connector, and wherein the optical signals to be transmitted from the duplex optical waveguide connector out of the number of duplex optical waveguide connectors in the direction of the multicore optical waveguide connector are guided through a third distributor before coupling them into a second optical waveguide and are guided through a fourth distributor before coupling them into the multicore optical waveguide connector, and wherein a portion, in particular a predetermined portion or portion which can be adjusted at the distributor, of the optical signals is branched off through each of the distributors and fed to an optical detector device.Furthermore, the invention, in particular for carrying out this method, accordingly proposes a device which comprises a plurality of optical waveguide pairs for the transmission of optical signals, and a plurality of connectors which are arranged for connecting complementary mating connectors from outside the device, wherein of the plurality of connectors one connector is a multi-core optical waveguide connector and at least one further connector of the plurality of connectors is a duplex optical waveguide connector, and each of the optical waveguide connectors has a transmission connection and a reception connection. Furthermore, according to the invention, it is provided that the receiving terminal of the multi-core optical waveguide connector is connected via a first distributor to one end of a respective optical waveguide of a respective optical waveguide pair and the other end of this optical waveguide is connected via a second distributor to the transmitting terminal of a duplex optical waveguide connector. The receiving terminal of this duplex optical waveguide connector is in turn connected via a third distributor to one end of the respective other optical waveguide of the respective optical waveguide pair and the other end of this optical waveguide is connected via a fourth distributor to the transmitting terminal of the multi-core optical waveguide connector, wherein each of the distributors is furthermore connected to an optical detector device and is configured to branch off a portion, in particular a portion which can be predetermined or adjusted at the distributor, of the optical signals guided via this distributor, i.e. in particular through this distributor, and to feed them to the optical detector device.An essential advantage of the invention is consequently that a "active breakout location" is created, which makes it possible to monitor the functionality both on the side of a multi-core optical waveguide connector on the one hand and on the other hand also on the side of a respective duplex optical waveguide connector, in particular additionally also to measure the respective transmission capacitances at the respective coupling-in locations of the optical signals or the distributor connection locations and to correspondingly evaluate them on the basis thereof.Further features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred exemplary embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 shows a greatly simplified sketch for applying the method according to the invention within a possible topology of optical signal connections, in which a division and / or combination of optical transmission capacities is carried out between a first connection point of higher capacity and a plurality of second connection points of lower capacity, i.e. in the case of the use of a breakout point, and FIG. 2 shows a greatly simplified sketch of a particularly preferred embodiment of a device according to the invention, in particular for carrying out the method according to the invention.FIG. 2 shows a greatly simplified sketch of a particularly preferred embodiment of a device according to the invention, which is identified overall by 100. The device has a plurality of connectors 110, 120, 141, 151, 152, 161 which are arranged for connecting mating connectors of complementary configuration from outside the apparatus.Depending on the specific implementation of the device according to the invention, it is, for example, expedient, as illustrated, also to equip it with an internal energy supply 150. Various possibilities for feeding the internal energy supply 150 are outlined in the embodiment shown. Thus, for example, a USB connector 141 can be provided, via which e.g. a 5V source can also be connected, a connector 151 for connecting a 230V alternating current source, a connector 152 for connecting a 48V direct current source and / or an RJ45 connector 161, in order to be able to supply the device with electrical energy e.g. additionally or alternatively also by means of PoE (Power over Ethernet), i.e. via an Ethernet cable. Accordingly, in the case of a USB connector 141, the device 100 then advantageously also comprises a USB module 140 via which both can be communicated but also 5V voltage fed from the outside via the connector 141 can be supplied to an internal power supply 150. The connectors 151 and 152, on the other hand, can expediently be electrically connected directly to the energy supply 150. In this case, an Ethernet module 160 is included in particular for the use of PoE via the connector 161, which, similar to the USB module 41, can be configured on the one hand for communication with a device connected to the device 100 via the connector 161, and on the other hand a current supplied by means of PoE can be supplied to the internal power supply 150 for further power supply to the device 100. Furthermore, additionally or alternatively to the communication, for example, a Wifi ("wireless fidelity") module 170 can also be integrated in order to also enable wireless communication with devices located outside the device.However, within the scope of the invention, at least one connector of the plurality of connectors, identified in FIG. 2 by the reference symbol 110, is a multi-core optical waveguide connector, which can therefore connect a plurality of optical waveguides bundled in a common connector, in particular in order to expediently release "high density cabling" of, for example, 40 G, 100 G or 400 G in a practicable manner. With additional reference to FIG. 1, the device 100 according to FIG. 2 is arranged, for example, at the point C according to FIG. 1, wherein a connection to the point A according to FIG. 1 can be produced via the multi-core optical waveguide connector 110 after a correspondingly complementarily configured mating connector is connected and in particular by means of an MPO cable. Point A forms the optical interface to a device 10 at which, for example, a capacitance of 40 G, 100 G of 400 G can be present. Such a device 10 is, for example, a data center or else an optical switch, an optical router or an optical server, in particular, for example, also included as part of a superordinate data processing device, which can communicate via an optical data network.Furthermore, at least one further connector of the device 100 according to FIG. 2 is designed as a duplex optical waveguide connector, wherein in the preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 2 four further connectors 120 are designed as duplex optical waveguide connectors. Of course, fewer or more such duplex optical fiber connectors can also be included in the device 100, in particular depending on the specific embodiment and / or intended use.With again additional reference to FIG. 1, connections can be made via these connectors 120, which are designed as duplex optical waveguide connectors, and correspondingly complementarily designed mating connectors connected thereto by means of respective duplex cables, for example to the connection points identified in FIG. 1 by B 1, B 2, B 3 and B 4, which form the optical interfaces to devices 10- 1, 10- 2, 10- 3 and 10- 4 according to FIG. 1. These devices 10- 1, 10- 2, 10- 3 and / or 10- 4 can also be designed, for example, as an optical switch, optical router or as an optical server, and / or be part of a further device comprising these devices.With reference to the introductory description, it is now assumed that the interface A represents a first connection point with a higher capacitance, for example of 40Gbit / s, and the connection points identified by B 1, B 2, B 3 and B 4 each represent second connection points with lower capacitances, for example of 10Gbit / s each, wherein the point C between the first connection point and the plurality of second connection points defines a breakout point at which the higher capacitance of the first connection point A is to be divided between the low capacitances of the respective second connection points B 1, B 2, B 3 and B 4 and / or, in the opposite direction, the low capacitances are to be combined to form a higher capacitance at the point C. A light transmitted via optical waveguides can be divided as a result from a common optical input on the side of the first connection point A into the plurality of optical outputs on the side of the plurality of second connection points B 1, B 2, B 3 and B 4, or else can also be bundled or combined from the plurality of optical inputs on the side of the plurality of second connection points B 1, B 2, B 3 and B 4 onto a common optical output on the side of the first connection points A.All the aforementioned optical waveguide connectors of the device 100, i.e. the at least one multi-core optical waveguide connector 110 and the at least one duplex optical waveguide connector 120, consequently comprise in a practical embodiment a respective receiving connection and a transmitter connection, wherein respective receiving connections are indicated with arrows E 1 and E 2 pointing into the device 100 and respective transmitter connections are indicated with arrows S 1 and S 2 pointing out of the device 100. Within the scope of the invention, a receiving terminal of an optical waveguide connector of the device 100 is thus defined as a terminal via which optical signals can be received from the outside, i.e. when the device 100 is arranged at the point C according to FIG. 1 from the connection point A or the connection points B 1, B 2, B 3 or B 4, and a transmitter terminal of an optical waveguide connector of the device 100 is defined as a terminal via which optical signals can be forwarded to the outside, i.e. when the device 100 is arranged at the point C according to FIG. 1 to the connection point A or the connection points B 1, B 2, B 3 or B 4.Within the device 100, the connector 110 and the connectors 120 are interconnected by respective optical fibers, as described in more detail below. The connection between each individual connector 120 and the connector 110 is in this case expediently effected in each case by means of two optical signal connection paths.For the sake of simplicity, in FIG. 2, for the purpose of illustrating two such optical signal connection paths which connect the multi-core optical waveguide connector 110 and the duplex optical waveguide connector 120 illustrated on the right in FIG. 2, a first optical waveguide running between them is denoted by the reference symbol 20 aand a second optical waveguide is denoted by the reference symbol 20 b, wherein both together form, in practice, an optical waveguide pair 20 and can therefore also be realized as duplex cables.In detail, the receiving terminal E 1 of the multi-core optical wave connector 110 is connected to an end of one of the optical waveguides of the optical waveguide pair 20 via a first distributor 11, in particular an optical distributor, usually also referred to as an optical splitter, in the present example according to FIG. 2 to an end of the optical waveguide 20 a. The other end of this optical waveguide 20 ais then connected via a second distributor 21, in particular equally an optical distributor, to the transmission connection S 2 of the duplex optical waveguide connector 120, and the reception connection E 2 of this duplex optical waveguide connector 120 is in turn connected via a third distributor 22, in particular equally an optical distributor, to one end of the respective other optical waveguide of the optical waveguide pair 20, i.e. with reference to FIG. 2 to one end of the optical waveguide 20 bof the respective optical waveguide pair 20, whereas the other end of this optical waveguide 20 bis in turn connected via a fourth distributor 12, in particular equally an optical distributor, to the transmission connection S 1 of the multi-core optical waveguide connector 110. Each of the distributors is furthermore connected to an optical detector device and is configured to branch off a portion, in particular a predeterminable or predetermined portion or portion which can be adjusted or set at the distributor, of optical signals which are guided via this distributor, i.e. in particular guided through this distributor, and to feed it to the optical detector device.In principle, the distributors can be connected to a common optical detector device for this purpose, wherein it is preferably provided in an expedient embodiment that a plurality of optical detector devices is included, identified in FIG. 2 by the reference numerals 13, 23, 14 and 24, and each of the distributors 11, 21, 12 and 22 is configured to feed the branched-off portion of optical signals to a respectively separate detector device 13, 23, 14 or 24. For detecting the respectively branched-off portion, each of the detector devices thus expediently comprises a photodiode or a photodiode sensor.In particular, in order to monitor the functionality both on the side of the multi-core optical waveguide connector on the one hand and on the other hand also on the side of a respective duplex optical waveguide connector, a proportion of less than 1% has already been shown to be sufficient for branching off optical signals in order to supply them to the respective optical detector device as a proportion which can be predetermined or predefined or can be set or set at the distributor. Assuming that the respective proportion of optical signals to be branched off by means of the distributors is predetermined or set to 1%, then 99% of the optical signals guided via the respective distributor, i.e. guided in particular by this distributor, would consequently continue to be available for "regular optical signal processing". The respective proportion of 1%, which is then supplied to the detector device 13, 23, 14 and / or 24, can then be used to monitor the respective functionality on the part of the multi-core and / or duplex optical waveguide connectors and any error locations which may occur can be located in a simplified manner.In a first supplementary embodiment, each detector device is expediently also assigned a light-emitting diode, identified in FIG. 2 as 15, 25, 24, 14. Such a light-emitting diode is electrically connected directly to the respective detector device, for example, so that the supply of branched-off portions is directly optically signaled by means of the respective light-emitting diode assigned to the detector device.Connectors 110 and 120 along with the optical signal connection paths connecting them, particularly including. The distributor, detector device and / or light-emitting diode are expediently accommodated within a module and are correspondingly preconfigured.In the example shown in FIG. 2, the device 100 is outlined here in the manner of a patch panel which can accommodate a series of modules, in particular replaceable modules, denoted by module 1, module 2 and module N in FIG. 2 and can also be installed, for example, in a rack. The connectors 110 and 120 along with the optical signal connection paths connecting them are, for example, accommodated in the module designated module 1. Of course, in a supplementary or alternative embodiment, further such or other modules 2 to N can also be provided for a device 100 as outlined in FIG. 2. As possible other modules which can be additionally accommodated, for example, in particular depending on the specific embodiment and / or intended use, in a device as outlined in FIG. 2, mention may be made of modules which are included in particular by means of wavelength division multiplexing (WDM). CWDM (Coarse Wavelength Division Multiplexing) and / or DWDM (Deep Wavelength Division Multiplexing), etc., are configured to couple multiple signals of different wavelengths on a single fiber for simultaneous transmission and / or are configured as 1:N combiners and splitters, as N:N waveguide gratings, as MPO grating modules for multigrade environments, and / or as media converters.Alternatively, connectors 110 and 120 may include, in particular, along with the optical signal connection paths connecting them. Distributor, detector device and / or light-emitting diode, expediently also accommodated within a module and appropriately preinstalled, which is present, for example, in the form of a connecting cable, in particular a breakout cable, and already embodies a device according to the invention on its own, in particular if, depending on the embodiment, no energy supply 150 is necessary for the device 100 itself.In particular, if, as indicated above, each detector device is expediently assigned a light-emitting diode, in particular either within the alternative embodiment of a connecting cable or within an embodiment as outlined in FIG. 2, when using the device according to the invention, when transmitting optical signals via the optical waveguides 20 aand 20 bbetween the multi-core optical waveguide connector 110 and each of the number of duplex optical waveguide connectors 120, the optical signals received by the multi-core optical waveguide connector 110 via the receiving connection E 1 and to be transmitted in the direction of the duplex optical waveguide connector 120 are consequently first guided through the respective first optical distributor 11 before being coupled into the respective first optical waveguide 20 aand are subsequently guided through the respective second optical distributor 21 before being coupled into the respective duplex optical waveguide connector 120. Accordingly, the optical signals received by the respective duplex optical waveguide connector 120 via its receiving connection E 2 and to be transmitted in the direction of the multi-core optical waveguide connector 110 are guided through the respective third optical distributor 22 before their coupling into the respective second optical waveguide 20 band are subsequently guided again through the respective fourth optical distributor 12 before their coupling into the multi-core optical waveguide connector 110, wherein a portion, i.e. in particular a predeterminable or predetermined portion or a portion which can be adjusted or is adjusted or is adjusted at the distributor, of the optical signals is branched off by each of the distributors, as described, and is supplied to the optical detector device or the respective optical detector device 13, 23, 24, 14. If, as explained above, the respective detector device is additionally assigned a light-emitting diode, the supply of the branched-off portion can also be signaled directly optically by means of this light-emitting diode and thus in particular also the fundamental functionality at or up to this transmission section of the device.In an alternative or also supplementary embodiment, the device can also include, for example, a central data processing unit, such as a so-called CPU or a controller, which in FIG. 2 is given the reference numeral 180 in accordance with a preferred embodiment. For such an embodiment, however, a separate energy supply 150 is also expedient, for example. According to an expedient refinement, such a central data processing unit 180 is electrically connected in particular to the respective detector device 13, 23, 24, 14, even if this is not explicitly shown in the diagrammatic representation according to FIG. 2 for reasons of clarity, and is preferably configured to evaluate the proportion fed to the respective detector device. If, furthermore, in a preferred embodiment, a respective light-emitting diode 15, 25, 24, 14 is assigned to the respective detector device 13, 23, 24, 14 and the central data processing unit 180 is in this case furthermore electrically connected to the respective light-emitting diode 15, 25, 24, 14, this can also be activated in a functional dependence on the portion evaluated in each case by the data processing 180, in particular when a threshold value is crossed, i.e. expediently a threshold value stored in the data processing unit 180. As a result, it can also be expediently indicated in a very differentiated manner whether the connection, in particular including the connection components, is active at and / or up to this transmission section and is in particular also error-free or error-prone in terms of its function of signal transmission. If the connection is active and operates without errors, in this case, for example green light-emitting diodes can be used or colored or multi-colored light-emitting diodes can be controlled green light-emitting. Additionally or alternatively, however, it can also be provided that, for example, when a threshold value is exceeded, i.e., depending on the embodiment, in particular when a threshold value is undershot or even exceeded, the light-emitting diode is activated by the evaluated portion in order to indicate a faulty connection, wherein a red-lighting light-emitting diode is preferably used here or a colored or multicolor light-emitting diode is controlled in a red-lighting manner in order to optically indicate the presence of an incorrect functionality. The data processing unit 180 consequently evaluates, in an expedient embodiment, the amount of light received by the detector device and activates the respective light emitting diode accordingly or controls it in accordance with the evaluation result, wherein the light emitting diode can expediently also be controlled in a flashing or continuous lighting manner in a functional dependence on the portion evaluated in each case by the data processing 180. Accordingly, the light-emitting diodes can be used and controlled by means of the data processing device for displaying a multiplicity of further different states. Thus, the light-emitting diodes can also be used, for example, in particular in addition to an indication of the functionality and / or the localization of a fault location, for the targeted localization of a specific connection, depending on whether or not an optical signal is present.However, the result of the evaluation can also be made available or used for other purposes by means of the data processing unit 180 and / or communicated to a remotely arranged device, for example. The data processing unit 180 is thus expediently also responsible, in particular, for controlling the communication and the connections in this respect from and to the outside world, and, according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, is thus responsible via the corresponding USB, Ethernet and / or WiFi modules and interfaces. In addition, the data processing system 180 can also be provided to communicate further states of the device according to the invention to the outside, in particular with respect to the operation, power, energy supply and / or states relating to the device temperature. As is generally known to a person skilled in the art from the prior art and therefore not explained further within the scope of the invention, the integration of correspondingly further detectors for detecting the respective states is generally necessary for this purpose.List of reference numbers:10, 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, 10-4 Devices A optical interface / connection point of higher capacity B1, B2, B3, B4 optical interfaces / connection points of lower capacity C breakout point 100 device in total 110 multi-core optical waveguide connector 120 duplex optical waveguide connector 140 USB module 141 connector for USB module 150 energy supply module 151 connector for AC power source 152 connector for DC power source 160 Ethernet module 160 161 connector for Ethernet module 170 Wifi module 180 data processing unit S1, E1 transmission and reception connection of the multi-core optical waveguide connector S1, E2 transmission and reception connection of the duplex optical waveguide connector 11, 12, 21, 22 distributor 13, 14, 23, 24 detector devices 15, 16, 25, 26 light emitting diodes

Claims

Method in which optical signals are transmitted via optical waveguides between a multi-core optical waveguide connector (110) and a number of duplex optical waveguide connectors (120), wherein the optical signals to be transmitted from the multi-core optical waveguide connector (110) in the direction of a duplex optical waveguide connector (120) out of the number of duplex optical waveguide connectors are guided through a first optical distributor (11) before their coupling into a first optical waveguide (20a) and are guided through a second optical distributor (21) before their coupling into the duplex optical waveguide connector (120), and wherein the optical signals to be transmitted from the duplex optical waveguide connector (120) out of the number of duplex optical waveguide connectors in the direction of the multi-core optical waveguide connector (110) are guided through a third optical distributor (22) before being coupled into a second optical waveguide (20b) and are guided through a fourth optical distributor (12) before being coupled into the multi-core optical waveguide connector (110), and wherein a portion, in particular a predefined portion, of the optical signal is branched off through each of the distributors and fed to an optical detector device (13, 14, 23, 24).Method according to Claim 1, wherein the respectively branched-off portion of the optical signal is fed to a respectively separate optical detector device.Method according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein the respectively branched-off portion of the optical signal is fed to a photodiode comprised by the detector device.Method according to one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein the proportion fed to the detector device is evaluated by means of a central data processing unit (180) which is electrically connected to the detector device.Method according to one of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the supply of the branched-off fraction is optically signaled by means of a light-emitting diode (15, 16, 25, 26) assigned to the detector device.Method according to one of Claims 4 and 5, wherein the central data processing unit (180) is furthermore electrically connected to the light-emitting diode and the light-emitting diode is activated and / or actuated by the data processing unit in a functional dependence on the evaluated portion fed to the detector device, in particular when a threshold value is exceeded.An apparatus comprising a plurality of pairs of optical fibers (20) for transmitting optical signals, and a plurality of connectors (110, 120, 141, 151, 152, 161) arranged for connecting complementary mating connectors from outside the apparatus, wherein of the plurality of connectors one connector (110) is a multi-core optical fiber connector and at least one further connector (120) is a duplex optical fiber connector, and each of the optical fiber connectors has a transmit terminal (S1, S2) and a receive terminal (E1, E2), wherein the receiving terminal (E1) of the multi-core optical waveguide connector (110) is connected via a first distributor (11) to one end of in each case one optical waveguide (20a) of a respective optical waveguide pair (20), and the other end of this optical waveguide (20a) is connected via a second distributor (21) to the transmitting terminal (S2) of one of the at least one duplex optical waveguide connector (120), and the receiving terminal (E2) of this duplex optical waveguide connector (120) is connected via a third distributor (22) to one end of the in each case other optical waveguide (20b) of the respective optical waveguide pair (20), and the other end of this optical waveguide (20b) is connected via a fourth distributor (12) to the transmitting terminal (S1) of the multi-core optical waveguide connector (110); and wherein, each of the distributors (11, 12, 21, 22) is furthermore connected to an optical detector device (13, 14, 23, 24) and is configured to branch off a portion, in particular a predeterminable portion, of the optical signals guided via this distributor, i.e. in particular guided through this distributor, and to feed it to the optical detector device.The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the optical detector means comprises a plurality of optical detector means, and each of the distributors is arranged to supply the branched portion of the optical signal to a separate optical detector means from the plurality of optical detector means.Apparatus according to claim 7 or 8, wherein each detector means comprises a photodiode.Apparatus according to one of Claims 7 to 9, wherein a central data processing unit (180) is included, which is electrically connected to each detector device and is set up for evaluating the proportion fed to the detector device.Apparatus according to one of Claims 7 to 10, wherein each detector device is assigned a light-emitting diode (15, 16, 25, 26).Device according to one of Claims 10 or 11, wherein the central data processing unit (180) is configured to activate a light-emitting diode, specifically in a functional dependence on the evaluated component supplied to the detector device, in particular when a threshold value is exceeded.

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