Optical path monitoring system and control method therefor

Abstract

The present application relates to the technical field of optical communications. Provided are an optical path monitoring system and a control method therefor, which are used for mitigating problems such as high cost and low efficiency in existing optical path monitoring methods. The optical path monitoring system comprises a controller, a plurality of measurement apparatuses and a plurality of optical switching apparatuses, wherein the controller is connected to the plurality of measurement apparatuses, each measurement apparatus is connected to the plurality of optical switching apparatuses, and each optical switching apparatus is connected to a plurality of optical paths; the controller is used for determining a target measurement apparatus, a target optical switching apparatus and an optical channel to be tested of the target optical switching apparatus on the basis of measurement task information; the controller is further used for sending a control instruction to the target optical switching apparatus by means of the target measurement apparatus, such that the target optical switching apparatus switches an optical channel to the optical channel to be tested; the controller is further used for controlling the measurement apparatus to send a test signal, measure an optical path connected to the optical channel to be tested, and acquire measurement data; and the controller is also used for processing the measurement data, so as to determine the type of a node on the optical path, the optical attenuation of the node and the position of the node on the optical path.

Description

An optical path monitoring system and its control method

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202411219625.7, filed with the State Intellectual Property Office of China on August 30, 2024, entitled "An Optical Path Monitoring System and Control Method Thereof", the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This application relates to the field of optical communication technology, and in particular to an optical path monitoring system and its control method. Background Technology

[0003] Optical fiber cables are the transmission medium in optical communication systems. Optical cables can come in various types; for example, those containing six optical fibers are called 6-core cables. Other types include 12-core, 48-core, 72-core, 96-core, 144-core, and 288-core cables. Optical fibers are highly sensitive to environmental influences. For example, contamination of fiber optic connectors, human-caused or natural damage can all lead to fiber breakage, causing communication line interruptions. Furthermore, in real-world production and daily life, due to human-caused construction, road reconstruction, or frequent natural disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis, and mudslides, optical fiber cables are susceptible to failure daily for various reasons, resulting in communication outages.

[0004] When a fiber optic cable experiences a break or other fault, it is impossible to determine which section of the cable or which location is faulty. The existing solution is to use an optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) to test the location of the fiber optic fault. However, in actual use, an OTDR can only monitor one fiber optic cable at a time, which is costly and has low monitoring efficiency. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides an optical path monitoring system and its control method to improve the problems of high cost and low efficiency of current optical path monitoring methods.

[0006] In a first aspect, an optical path monitoring system is provided, comprising a controller, multiple measuring devices, and multiple optical switching devices. The controller connects to the multiple measuring devices, and each measuring device connects to multiple optical switching devices. Each optical switching device includes multiple optical channels, and each optical channel connects to an optical path. The controller is used to determine the target measuring device, the target optical switching device, and the optical channel to be tested of the target optical switching device based on measurement task information. The controller is also used to send control commands to the target optical switching device through the target measuring device, so that the target optical switching device switches the optical channel to the optical channel to be tested. The controller is also used to control the measuring devices to emit test signals to measure the optical path connected to the optical channel to be tested and acquire measurement data. The controller is also used to process the measurement data to determine the node type, the optical attenuation of the node, and the position of the node on the optical path.

[0007] The optical path monitoring system provided in this application embodiment is equipped with multiple measuring devices, each connected to multiple optical switching devices, thereby connecting multiple optical paths. The measuring devices can send test signals to a specified optical path to test that path, locate nodes on that path, and determine the optical attenuation of those nodes. For example, it can locate breakpoints in the optical path or identify changes in the optical path. By switching measuring devices, or switching optical switching devices, or switching the optical channels of optical switching devices, it is possible to monitor all optical cables at a single location, greatly reducing monitoring costs and improving monitoring efficiency.

[0008] In one possible implementation, the measurement data includes the waveform characteristics of the reflected signal and the transmission duration of the reflected signal. The transmission duration of the reflected signal refers to the time between the transmission of the test signal by the measuring device and the reception of the reflected signal. The controller is used to determine the node type and optical attenuation of the node on the optical path based on the waveform characteristics of the reflected signal. The controller is also used to determine the position of the node on the optical path based on the transmission duration of the reflected signal.

[0009] In one possible implementation, the optical path monitoring system also includes a monitoring platform, which is used to determine the actual geographical location of the node based on the digital twin model of the optical path and the node's position on the optical path.

[0010] In one possible implementation, the monitoring platform is also used to send measurement task information to the controller, which includes the identifier of the target measurement device, the identifier of the target optical switching device, and the optical channel to be measured of the target optical switching device.

[0011] In one possible implementation, the measuring device includes multiple ports, each port being connected to an optical switch; the controller is used to determine the target measuring device and the target port of the target measuring device based on the measurement task information, the target port being the port through which the target measuring device connects to the target optical switch; the controller is also used to control the target measuring device to send a test signal to the target optical switch through the target port.

[0012] In one possible implementation, the optical path monitoring system further includes at least one optical splitter, and the optical switching device includes multiple optical channels, at least one of which is split into multiple paths by the optical splitter; the optical splitter includes multiple ports, and the wavelengths of the optical signals passing through different ports of the optical splitter are different.

[0013] Secondly, a control method for an optical path monitoring system is provided, comprising: a controller determining a target measuring device, a target optical switching device, and the optical channel to be tested of the target optical switching device based on measurement task information; the controller sending a control command to the target optical switching device through the target measuring device to cause the target optical switching device to switch the optical channel to be tested; the controller controlling the measuring device to send a test signal to measure the optical path connected to the optical channel to be tested and acquire measurement data; and the controller processing the measurement data to determine the node type, the optical attenuation of the node, and the position of the node on the optical path.

[0014] In one possible implementation, the measurement data includes the waveform characteristics of the reflected signal and the transmission duration of the reflected signal. The transmission duration of the reflected signal refers to the time between the transmission of the test signal by the measuring device and the reception of the reflected signal. The controller processes the measurement data to determine the node type, the optical attenuation of the node, and the position of the node on the optical path. This includes: the controller determining the node type and the optical attenuation of the node on the optical path based on the waveform characteristics of the reflected signal; and the controller determining the position of the node on the optical path based on the transmission duration of the reflected signal.

[0015] In one possible implementation, the method further includes: the monitoring platform determines the actual geographical location of the node based on the digital twin model of the optical path and the node's position on the optical path.

[0016] In one possible implementation, before the controller determines the target measuring device, the target optical switching device, and the optical channel to be measured of the target optical switching device based on the measurement task information, the method further includes: the monitoring platform sending measurement task information to the controller, the measurement task information including the identifier of the target measuring device, the identifier of the target optical switching device, and the optical channel to be measured of the target optical switching device.

[0017] In one possible implementation, the controller controls the measuring device to send a test signal, which includes: the controller determining the target measuring device and the target port of the target measuring device based on the measurement task information, wherein the target port is the port where the target measuring device connects to the target optical switching device; and the controller controlling the target measuring device to send a test signal to the target optical switching device through the target port. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an optical cable provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0019] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the communication network provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0020] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an optical path digital twin model provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0021] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of another optical path digital twin model provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0022] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of Rayleigh scattering provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0023] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of Fresnel reflection provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0024] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the reflection features of an OTDR provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0025] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of a general optical path monitoring scheme provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0026] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of a mirror-type optical switch provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0027] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of another general optical path monitoring scheme provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0028] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the optical path monitoring system provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0029] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram of determining the actual geographical location of a node according to an embodiment of this application;

[0030] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram of the update optical path provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0031] Figure 14 is a flowchart of the control method of the optical path monitoring system provided in the embodiment of this application. Detailed Implementation

[0032] The technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments.

[0033] Hereinafter, the terms "second," "first," etc., are used for descriptive convenience only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Therefore, a feature defined with "second," "first," etc., may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this application, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more.

[0034] Furthermore, in the embodiments of this application, directional terms such as "upper," "lower," "left," and "right" may be defined relative to the orientation in which the components are schematically placed in the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that these directional terms can be relative concepts, used for relative description and clarification, and can change accordingly based on the orientation of the components in the accompanying drawings.

[0035] In the embodiments of this application, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the term "connection" should be interpreted broadly. For example, "connection" can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral part; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. Furthermore, the term "coupled connection" can be a direct electrical connection or an indirect electrical connection through an intermediate medium. The term "contact" can be direct contact or indirect contact through an intermediate medium.

[0036] In this embodiment of the application, "and / or" describes the relationship between associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A existing alone, A and B existing simultaneously, or B existing alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. The character " / " generally indicates that the preceding and following associated objects have an "or" relationship.

[0037] Optical communication is a communication method that uses light waves as the carrier and optical fibers as the transmission medium. Optical fibers, also known as optical waveguides, are fibers made of glass or plastic. The transmission loss of light in optical fibers is much lower than the transmission loss of electricity in wires, therefore optical fibers are used for long-distance information transmission. Most optical fibers must be covered with several protective layers (such as protective layers, insulation layers, etc.) before use, and combined with reinforcing members, filler ropes, etc., to form a cable. Such a cable is called an optical cable. For example, Figure 1 shows a cross-sectional schematic diagram of an optical cable. The outer protective and insulation layers of the optical fiber prevent damage to the fiber from the surrounding environment, such as water, fire, and electric shock.

[0038] Optical cables mainly include models with 6 cores, 8 cores, 12 cores, 48 ​​cores, 72 cores, 96 cores, 144 cores, and 288 cores. Depending on the construction environment, optical cables can be laid using methods such as aerial installation, direct burial, and duct installation. The fiber cores in different optical cables are connected together in various ways to form an optical path for service use. These different connection methods include cold splicing, fusion splicing, and patch cord connections. Here, "optical path" can refer to the entire path from the generation to the reception of the optical signal, or it can refer to the optical fiber or cable carrying the optical signal.

[0039] Communication networks comprise various devices, including active devices (such as base stations and various transmission equipment) and passive devices (such as optical distribution frames (ODF), outdoor conduits, utility poles, and manholes / handrails used for maintenance and cabling), as shown in Figure 2. Optical fibers / cables are connected through these active and passive devices to form the communication network. These devices and facilities constituting the communication network are crucial for communication operators. On one hand, these devices and facilities are the operator's assets; on the other hand, the operator's daily network maintenance relies on this asset data. For example, when an optical cable outage occurs, it is necessary to quickly determine the location of the fault, ideally accurate to the distance between two manholes / handrails, to facilitate rapid location and repair by line maintenance personnel. Therefore, operators input information about these devices and facilities (such as equipment type, equipment room number, equipment room name and location latitude and longitude, equipment connection relationships, which conduits the optical cable passes through, the names and location latitude and longitude of manholes / handrails at both ends of the conduit, and the length of the conduit) into a management system. This system is the resource management system, or asset management system for short, and the data entered is the asset management data.

[0040] From a resource management perspective, the asset management system records a large amount of data, which presents many inconveniences for daily network maintenance. To facilitate the use of asset management data during network maintenance, an abstract modeling approach is adopted, combining data such as device status and connection relationships collected from network devices, to reconstruct the active and passive facilities in the asset management system, forming entity models. The connection and carrying relationships between devices and facilities are then reconstructed, forming relational models. These entity and relational models related to optical communication constitute a digital twin model of the optical path, as shown in Figure 3. In the figure, squares represent entity models, and the lines connecting the squares represent relational models. This model can reflect the actual location of the optical path. For example, devices in the optical path are equivalent to points, and optical cables are equivalent to lines. To identify the direction of the optical cable and facilitate maintenance, inspection holes or markers (such as the dots in Figure 4) are set at joint connections and obvious line bends. The names and locations of these points, as well as the length between two points, are stored as resource management data in the resource management system.

[0041] With the development of optical transmission, the laying and placement of large amounts of long-distance optical fibers, network operation and maintenance, especially the detection and fault location of optical fiber links, have become one of the most pressing issues for operators.

[0042] In routine fiber optic maintenance, the main fiber optic testing method uses an optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) or a fiber optic monitoring device with integrated OTDR function to locate faults after a fiber optic failure. An optical time domain reflectometer is a precision optoelectronic instrument that utilizes the reflected light generated by Rayleigh backscattering and Fresnel reflection when light propagates in an optical fiber.

[0043] Referring to Figure 5, Rayleigh scattering refers to the phenomenon where, during the heating process of optical fiber materials, the molecular structure of the material is disturbed by heat, causing fluctuations in material density and resulting in non-uniform refractive index. Light propagating in a non-uniform medium will be scattered, and a very small portion of the scattered light is reflected back against the light wave propagation path. This forms Rayleigh reflection in the optical fiber. OTDR can track the attenuation characteristics of the optical fiber based on the strength of the Rayleigh reflection signal received at different times (as shown by the dashed box in Figure 5).

[0044] Referring to Figure 6, when Fresnel-reflected light propagates in an optical fiber, abrupt changes in refractive index (optical fiber breakage, mechanical connection, flange, and moving connector) will cause Fresnel reflection. The magnitude of Fresnel reflection depends on the smoothness of the boundary surfaces and the refractive index difference. Fresnel reflection is represented on the OTDR curve as a "spiky" reflection peak (the dashed box in Figure 6).

[0045] For example, optical fibers are usually not a single, complete fiber, but rather segments connected in different ways. These connection points are the different nodes in the optical path. During OTDR testing, these nodes will exhibit different reflection characteristics, as shown in Figure 7. By analyzing the characteristics of the reflected signals, these nodes can be identified.

[0046] OTDRs are widely used in the maintenance and construction of optical cable lines. OTDRs can be used to measure fiber length, transmission attenuation, connector attenuation, breakpoints and fault location, and are one of the most commonly used instruments in the field of optical fiber communication engineering.

[0047] For systems lacking fiber optic status monitoring, the fault location process is as follows: The maintenance technician travels to the equipment room at end A of the line to check for faults. If no fault is found, they proceed to the other end of the line. The technician then travels to the equipment room at end Z of the line and performs similar checks. If no issues are found, the problem is confirmed to be not at the equipment room at end A, and line maintenance personnel are notified to conduct a line patrol. Finally, the line maintenance personnel carry an OTDR instrument to the outdoor optical distribution box to check for damaged or dirty connectors. They use the OTDR instrument to determine the distance to the fault point, then patrol the line according to the fiber optic cable route. Once the fault is located, maintenance is performed to eliminate it. This maintenance method is extremely inefficient, requiring maintenance personnel to travel to both equipment rooms sequentially, resulting in low fault location efficiency. Furthermore, equipping the line maintenance personnel with OTDR instruments increases costs.

[0048] Referring to Figure 8, to improve monitoring efficiency, a common optical path monitoring solution is to integrate OTDR capabilities into optical communication equipment (e.g., network elements). For example, integrating a measurement device with OTDR functionality into the network element allows monitoring of optical paths on multiple ports of the optical communication equipment, enabling the determination of the distance to the fault point when an optical path failure occurs. However, this monitoring method is costly and can only monitor one optical path at a time, thus limiting its application to critical optical paths.

[0049] Alternatively, optical switches can be used to select optical paths. An optical switch (OS) is a device with one or more selectable transmission windows that can perform mutual conversion or logical operations on optical signals in optical transmission lines or integrated optical paths. Depending on the different principles of optical switches, there are various methods for implementing them, such as: traditional mechanical optical switches, micromechanical optical switches, thermo-optical switches, liquid crystal optical switches, electro-optical switches, and acousto-optical switches. Figure 9 shows a schematic diagram of a mirror-type optical switch. When the mirror is not in the optical path, the optical switch is in a straight-through state; light entering from fiber 1 enters fiber 4, and light entering from fiber 2 enters fiber 3. When the mirror is at the intersection of the two light rays, the optical switch is in a crossover state; light entering from fiber 1 enters fiber 3, and light entering from fiber 2 enters fiber 4, thus achieving optical path switching.

[0050] Referring to Figure 10, another common optical path monitoring scheme can further integrate optical switches and measuring devices into the equipment (e.g., network elements) to access multiple optical paths. The selection of optical switches is controlled by the controller, thereby realizing the monitoring of the status of multiple optical paths. Although this can realize the monitoring of multiple optical paths, direct monitoring of service optical paths requires consideration of the impact on service opticals, resulting in poor adaptability. A set of monitoring equipment can only monitor the optical fibers of specific services, and its function is relatively simple.

[0051] To address the aforementioned issues, this application provides an optical path monitoring system that adaptively monitors optical fibers through a highly convergent optical fiber monitoring network, quickly identifies faults and changes, and supports services such as fault location and resource preservation verification.

[0052] Referring to Figure 11, Figure 11 shows a schematic diagram of an optical path monitoring system provided in an embodiment of this application. The optical path monitoring system provided in this embodiment includes a monitoring platform, a controller, multiple measuring devices, multiple optical switching devices, and multiple beam splitters. The monitoring platform is communicatively connected to the controller, the controller is connected to multiple measuring devices, and each measuring device is connected to multiple optical switching devices via optical cables. Each optical switching device includes multiple optical channels, and each optical channel connects to an optical path.

[0053] The monitoring platform can be a computer or server, etc. The monitoring platform can generate measurement task information based on the optical path to be monitored and send the measurement task information to the controller. For example, the measurement task information may include the identifier of the target measuring device, the identifier of the target optical switching device, and the optical channel to be measured of the target optical switching device. Here, the target measuring device refers to the measuring device used in the measurement task, the target optical switching device refers to the optical switching device connected to the optical path to be measured in the measurement task, and the optical channel to be measured refers to the optical channel of the optical switching device connected to the optical path to be measured in the measurement task.

[0054] The controller is used to determine the target measuring device, the target optical switching device, and the optical channel to be measured of the target optical switching device based on the measurement task information.

[0055] The measuring device connects to multiple optical switching devices. It can send test optical signals to the optical switching devices and also send control signals, such as control commands to switch the optical channels of the optical switching devices. After identifying the target measuring device, the controller also sends control commands to the target optical switching device through the target measuring device, causing the target optical switching device to switch its optical channel to the channel under test.

[0056] After the target optical switching device switches the optical channel to the optical channel under test, the controller is also used to control the measuring device to send a test signal to measure the optical path connected to the optical channel under test and obtain measurement data. For example, the measuring device can be an OTDR instrument or a measuring device with integrated OTDR function. The measuring device can send a test optical signal to the target optical switching device.

[0057] The controller also processes the measurement data to determine the node types and locations on the optical path. For example, the measurement device can be an OTDR or a measurement device with integrated OTDR functionality. The measurement data includes the waveform characteristics and transmission duration of the reflected signal. The measurement device can process the received reflected signal to obtain its waveform characteristics, such as intensity variations and peak values. The transmission duration refers to the time between sending the test signal and receiving the reflected signal. The controller determines the node type on the optical path based on the waveform characteristics of the reflected signal, such as breakpoints, cold joints, jumpers, fusion splices, and connectors, and determines the optical attenuation of the node based on the waveform characteristics. For example, different node types have different waveform characteristics. For instance, cold joints and fusion splices exhibit a single peak value, but the peak value may vary. Jumpers may have multiple peak values, with a certain distance between them. Optical attenuation can be determined based on the reflected signal intensity before and after the node, or based on the slope of the reflected signal waveform.

[0058] The controller is also used to determine the position of the node on the optical path based on the transmission time of the reflected signal. The position of the node on the optical path can be determined by the speed of light and the transmission time of the reflected signal. For example, if the speed of light is c and the transmission time of the reflected signal is t, then the optical path length of the node from the measuring device is ct / 2.

[0059] The optical path monitoring system provided in this application embodiment is equipped with multiple measuring devices. The controller can select different measuring devices for testing. Each measuring device is connected to multiple optical switching devices, thereby connecting multiple optical paths. The measuring device can send test signals to a specified optical path to test that optical path and locate the breakpoint or change in the optical path. By switching the measuring device, the optical switching device, or the optical channel of the optical switching device, all optical cables can be monitored at one location, greatly reducing the monitoring cost.

[0060] The optical path monitoring system provided in this application includes a monitoring platform. The monitoring platform can obtain alarms when the optical path is interrupted by connecting to an alarm system and build a digital twin model of the entire optical path by connecting to a network management system. Since optical cables are not laid out in a straight line in practical applications, but may have bends or detours, the distance of a node in the optical path only reflects the length of the optical fiber between the node and the testing device. For maintenance personnel, this length cannot be directly used as the basis for determining the specific location of the optical fiber node. Therefore, in this application embodiment, the controller can send the determined optical path node type and the distance of the node in the optical path to the monitoring platform. The monitoring platform can determine the actual geographical location of the node based on the digital twin model of the optical path and the node's position in the optical path, providing this information for field personnel to use in fault repair.

[0061] For example, referring to Figure 12, if a node is detected to be 500 meters away from the measuring device, meaning the fiber optic cable between the node and the measuring device is 500 meters long, the monitoring platform can determine the node's actual geographical location based on the digital twin model of the optical path and the fiber optic cable layout. For instance, referring to Figure 12, if the fiber optic cable is laid out from north to south and then bends to run from west to east, with the north-south fiber optic cable being 50 meters long, the monitoring platform can use the digital twin model to determine the node's location at 450 meters along the east-west fiber optic cable and, by combining this with map information, determine the node's actual geographical location.

[0062] The monitoring platform can generate measurement task information based on the optical path to be monitored. For example, the monitoring platform can obtain data from the asset management system to construct a digital twin model of the optical path. If an optical cable is interrupted due to construction or other reasons, the network equipment will detect the interruption and generate a fault alarm. The alarm information is reported through the network equipment management system, including the network element, device, and link that generated the alarm. After receiving the alarm information, the monitoring platform can generate a measurement task based on the digital twin model of the optical path. The monitoring platform can also send the measurement task information to the controller. The measurement task information may include the identifier of the target measurement device, the identifier of the target optical switching device, and the optical channel to be tested of the target optical switching device. The controller can determine the specific measurement device to be used, i.e., the target measurement device, based on the measurement task information, and initiate subsequent measurements through this target measurement device.

[0063] The measuring device includes multiple ports, for example, the measuring device may include 16 ports, each port is connected to an optical switching device; the controller is used to determine the target measuring device and the target port of the target measuring device according to the measurement task information, the target port is the port of the target measuring device connected to the target optical switching device; the controller is also used to control the target measuring device to send test signals to the target optical switching device through the target port.

[0064] An optical switching device includes multiple optical channels, such as 48 optical channels, each connected to one optical path. The optical switching device is equipped with optical switches that can switch between different optical channels according to commands, thereby allowing for the selection of different optical paths to be monitored. In one possible implementation, at least one of the multiple optical channels is connected to the user end via a splitter.

[0065] It is understandable that measuring devices and optical switching devices are active devices, and their various ports can be easily distinguished. In contrast, beam splitters are passive devices. In this embodiment, the beam splitter includes multiple ports, and the wavelengths of the optical signals passing through different ports are different. The beam splitter supports 1:n beam splitting and has the characteristic of wavelength-based beam splitting. By emitting different test wavelengths, the port through which the light passes can be identified. Therefore, when performing a measurement task, faults in the optical paths connected to different ports of the beam splitter can be distinguished.

[0066] The optical path monitoring system provided in this application can be used not only to monitor optical path faults, but also to detect optical path changes. The specific implementation of the optical path monitoring system provided in this application for detecting optical path changes is described below:

[0067] For example, the monitoring platform can obtain data from the asset management system to construct a digital twin model of the optical path. It can also obtain optical path data based on the digital twin model of the optical path and generate a scanning task for the optical path connected to each optical switching device channel. The scanning task here is essentially the same as the measurement task mentioned in the previous embodiment. The difference is that the aforementioned measurement task applied to fault detection needs to be fast and efficient, so the number of measurements is usually small, and it is often a measurement of the optical path with a fault. However, detecting optical path changes requires scanning each optical path, the number of measurements is large, the measurement accuracy may vary, and the total length of each optical path also needs to be detected.

[0068] The monitoring platform sends scanning task information to the controller. This information includes the identifier of the target measuring device, the identifier of the target optical switching device, and the optical channel to be tested on the target optical switching device. Based on the identifiers of the target measuring device and the target optical switching device in the scanning task information, the controller determines the target measuring device to be used in this scanning task and its target port. This target port is the port through which the target measuring device connects to the target switching device. Subsequent scanning and testing are initiated through this target measuring device and its target port.

[0069] The controller also determines the optical switching device to be used in this scanning task based on the identifier of the target optical switching device in the scanning task information, namely the target optical switching device. The controller controls the target optical switching device to switch the optical channel to the optical channel to be tested based on the optical channel to be tested of the target optical switching device in the scanning task information through the control information interface between the target measuring device and the target optical switching device.

[0070] After the target optical switching device switches its optical channel to the channel under test, the controller controls the target measurement device to send a test signal through the target port to initiate a measurement of the target optical switching device's channel under test and acquire measurement data. The measurement data includes the waveform of the reflected signal and the transmission duration of the reflected signal. The transmission duration refers to the time between the measurement device sending the test signal and receiving the reflected signal. The controller is used to determine the node type on the optical path based on the waveform of the reflected signal, such as optical distribution box, ODF, fiber optic connector, etc. The controller is also used to determine the position of the node on the optical path based on the transmission duration of the reflected signal.

[0071] The controller sends the identified optical path nodes, node distances, total lengths, etc., to the monitoring platform in the form of task measurement results. The monitoring platform records the measurement data as historical measurement data. By comparing the historical measurement results of the old and new routes before and after the optical path change, the changes in the optical cable and the points of change are calculated. This change data is provided to the operators for change verification.

[0072] Referring to Figure 13, if changes in node types and total optical path length are determined between two consecutive scans, the location of specific devices or nodes can be determined based on the determined node types and optical attenuation, thus updating the optical path. For example, the optical path monitoring system provided in this embodiment can be installed in the aggregation room. If the original optical path is determined in the previous scan to be the connection between the aggregation room and optical switch 1 via optical cable 1, optical switch 2, and optical cable 2; and in subsequent scans it is determined that the aggregation room is no longer connected to optical switch 1 via the original optical path (optical cable 1, optical switch 2, optical cable 2), but instead via a new optical path (optical cable 3, optical switch 3, optical cable 4, optical switch 4, and optical cable 5), then the monitoring system can update the digital twin model of the optical path based on the scan results and notify the asset management system to update the corresponding asset management data.

[0073] As mentioned in the aforementioned example, optical cables include models with 6 cores, 8 cores, 12 cores, 48 ​​cores, 72 cores, 96 cores, 144 cores, and 288 cores. Typically, these optical cables do not use all of their fiber cores for transmitting service signals. In other words, there are some idle fiber cores within the optical cable. The optical path monitoring system provided in this application embodiment can utilize these idle fiber cores to achieve optical path monitoring, thereby not affecting the normal transmission of service signals. There is no conflict between the monitoring light and the service light. Furthermore, no engineering modifications are required, and there is no risk associated with engineering modifications.

[0074] This application embodiment also provides a control method for an optical path monitoring system, as shown in Figure 14, the method includes:

[0075] S10: The monitoring platform sends measurement task information to the controller. The measurement task information includes the identifier of the target measurement device, the identifier of the target optical exchange device, and the optical channel to be measured of the target optical exchange device.

[0076] S20: The controller determines the target measuring device, the target optical switching device, and the optical channel to be measured of the target optical switching device based on the measurement task information.

[0077] S30: The controller sends a control command to the target optical switching device through the target measuring device, so that the target optical switching device switches the optical channel to the optical channel to be measured.

[0078] S40: The controller controls the measuring device to send a test signal to measure the optical path connected to the optical channel under test and acquire measurement data.

[0079] In one possible implementation, the controller controls the measuring device to send a test signal, which includes: the controller determining the target measuring device and the target port of the target measuring device based on the measurement task information, wherein the target port is the port where the target measuring device connects to the target optical switching device; and the controller controlling the target measuring device to send a test signal to the target optical switching device through the target port.

[0080] S50: The controller processes the measurement data to determine the node type, the optical attenuation of the node, and the position of the node on the optical path.

[0081] In one possible implementation, the measurement data includes the waveform characteristics of the reflected signal and the transmission duration of the reflected signal. The transmission duration of the reflected signal refers to the time between the transmission of the test signal by the measuring device and the reception of the reflected signal. S50 may specifically include:

[0082] S51: The controller determines the node type and optical attenuation of the node in the optical path based on the waveform characteristics of the reflected signal.

[0083] S52: The controller determines the position of the node on the optical path based on the transmission duration of the reflected signal.

[0084] In one possible implementation, the method also includes:

[0085] S60: The monitoring platform determines the actual geographical location of the node based on the digital twin model of the optical path and the node's position on the optical path.

[0086] It should be understood that the specific examples in the embodiments of this application are only to help those skilled in the art better understand the technical solutions of this application, and the above specific implementation methods can be considered as the optimal implementation methods of this application, rather than limiting the scope of the embodiments of this application.

[0087] It should be noted that the actions or methods executed by the controller can be implemented wholly or partially through software, hardware, firmware, or any other combination. When implemented using software, the actions or methods executed by the controller can be implemented wholly or partially in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions or computer programs. When the computer instructions or computer programs are loaded or executed on a computer, the processes or functions described in the embodiments of this application are generated wholly or partially. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transmitted from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, the computer instructions can be transmitted from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center via wired (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium that a computer can access or a data storage device such as a server or data center that includes one or more sets of available media. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (e.g., floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (e.g., DVD), or a semiconductor medium, where the semiconductor medium can be a solid-state drive.

[0088] Optionally, the memory and processor in the above-described device embodiments can be physically independent units, or the memory can be integrated with the processor. This application does not limit this.

[0089] The processor in this application embodiment can be an integrated circuit chip with the ability to process signals. In implementation, each step of the above method embodiment can be completed by integrated logic circuits in the processor's hardware or by instructions in software form. The processor can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, or discrete hardware components. A general-purpose processor can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor. The steps of the method disclosed in this application embodiment can be directly implemented by a hardware encoding processor, or by a combination of hardware and software modules in the encoding processor. The software modules can reside in random access memory, flash memory, read-only memory, programmable read-only memory, electrically erasable programmable memory, registers, or other mature storage media in the art. This storage medium is located in memory; the processor reads information from the memory and, in conjunction with its hardware, completes the steps of the above method.

[0090] The memory in this application embodiment can be volatile memory or non-volatile memory, or it can include both volatile and non-volatile memory. The non-volatile memory can be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), or flash memory. The volatile memory can be random access memory (RAM), which is used as an external cache. By way of example, but not limitation, many forms of RAM are available, such as static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic random access memory (DDRSDRAM), enhanced synchronous dynamic random access memory (ESDRAM), synchronous linked dynamic random access memory (SLDRAM), and direct rambus RAM (DRRAM). It should be noted that the memory used in the systems and methods described herein is intended to include, but is not limited to, these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0091] Those skilled in the art will recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementation should not be considered beyond the scope of this application.

[0092] Those skilled in the art will understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0093] In the embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between apparatuses or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0094] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0095] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. If the functions are implemented as software functional units and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in the various embodiments of this application. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0096] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. An optical path monitoring system, characterized in that, It includes a controller, multiple measuring devices, and multiple optical switching devices; the controller is connected to multiple measuring devices, each measuring device is connected to multiple optical switching devices, and each optical switching device includes multiple optical channels, each optical channel being connected to an optical path. The controller is used to determine the target measuring device, the target optical switching device, and the optical channel to be measured of the target optical switching device based on the measurement task information. The controller is also used to send control commands to the target optical switching device through the target measuring device, so that the target optical switching device switches the optical channel to the optical channel to be measured. The controller is also used to control the measuring device to send a test signal to measure the optical path connected to the optical channel under test and obtain measurement data. The controller is also used to process the measurement data to determine the node type on the optical path, the optical attenuation of the node, and the position of the node on the optical path.

2. The optical path monitoring system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The measurement data includes the waveform characteristics of the reflected signal and the transmission duration of the reflected signal. The transmission duration of the reflected signal refers to the time between the transmission of the test signal by the measuring device and the reception of the reflected signal. The controller is used to determine the node type and optical attenuation of the node on the optical path based on the waveform characteristics of the reflected signal. The controller is also used to determine the position of the node on the optical path based on the transmission duration of the reflected signal.

3. The optical path monitoring system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that, The optical path monitoring system also includes a monitoring platform, which is used to determine the actual geographical location of the node based on the digital twin model of the optical path and the position of the node on the optical path.

4. The optical path monitoring system according to claim 3, characterized in that, The monitoring platform is also used to send measurement task information to the controller. The measurement task information includes the identifier of the target measurement device, the identifier of the target optical switching device, and the optical channel to be measured of the target optical switching device.

5. The optical path monitoring system according to claim 4, characterized in that, The measuring device includes multiple ports, each port being connected to one of the optical switching devices; The controller is used to determine the target measuring device and the target port of the target measuring device according to the measurement task information. The target port is the port through which the target measuring device connects to the target optical switching device. The controller is also used to control the target measuring device to send a test signal to the target optical switching device through the target port.

6. The optical path monitoring system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The optical path monitoring system further includes at least one optical splitter, and the optical switching device includes multiple optical channels, at least one of the multiple optical channels being split into multiple paths by the optical splitter.

7. A control method for an optical path monitoring system, characterized in that, include: The controller determines the target measuring device, the target optical switching device, and the optical channel to be measured of the target optical switching device based on the measurement task information. The controller sends a control command to the target optical switching device through the target measuring device, so that the target optical switching device switches the optical channel to the optical channel to be measured. The controller controls the measuring device to send a test signal to measure the optical path connected to the optical channel under test and acquire measurement data; The controller processes the measurement data to determine the node type, the optical attenuation of the node, and the position of the node on the optical path.

8. The method according to claim 7, characterized in that, The measurement data includes the waveform characteristics of the reflected signal and the transmission duration of the reflected signal. The transmission duration refers to the time between the transmission of the test signal by the measuring device and the reception of the reflected signal. The controller processes the measurement data to determine the node type, the optical attenuation of the node, and the position of the node on the optical path, including: The controller determines the node type and optical attenuation of the node on the optical path based on the waveform characteristics of the reflected signal. The controller determines the position of the node on the optical path based on the transmission duration of the reflected signal.

9. The method according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that, The method further includes: The monitoring platform determines the actual geographical location of the node based on the digital twin model of the optical path and the position of the node on the optical path.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that, Before the controller determines the target measuring device, the target optical switching device, and the optical channel to be measured of the target optical switching device based on the measurement task information, the method further includes: The monitoring platform sends measurement task information to the controller. The measurement task information includes the identifier of the target measurement device, the identifier of the target optical switching device, and the optical channel to be measured of the target optical switching device.

11. The method according to claim 10, characterized in that, The controller controls the measuring device to send test signals, including: The controller determines the target measuring device and the target port of the target measuring device according to the measurement task information. The target port is the port where the target measuring device connects to the target optical switching device. The controller controls the target measuring device to send a test signal to the target optical switching device through the target port.

12. A controller, characterized in that, include: A unit for determining the target measuring device, the target optical switching device, and the optical channel to be measured of the target optical switching device based on the measurement task information; A unit for sending control commands to the target optical switching device via the target measuring device, so that the target optical switching device switches the optical channel to the optical channel to be measured; A unit for controlling the measuring device to send a test signal, measuring the optical path connected to the optical channel under test, and acquiring measurement data; A unit for processing the measurement data to determine the node type, the optical attenuation of the node, and the position of the node on the optical path.

13. The controller according to claim 12, characterized in that, The measurement data includes the waveform characteristics of the reflected signal and the transmission duration of the reflected signal. The transmission duration of the reflected signal refers to the time between the transmission of the test signal by the measuring device and the reception of the reflected signal. The controller also includes a unit for determining the node type and optical attenuation of the node on the optical path based on the waveform characteristics of the reflected signal, and determining the position of the node on the optical path based on the transmission duration of the reflected signal.

14. The controller according to claim 12, characterized in that, The controller further includes a unit for determining the target measuring device and the target port of the target measuring device according to the measurement task information, and controlling the target measuring device to send a test signal to the target optical switching device through the target port, wherein the target port is the port through which the target measuring device connects to the target optical switching device.

15. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, Includes computer instructions that, when executed on a computer or processor, cause the computer or processor to perform the method as described in claim 7 or 8.

16. A computer program product, characterized in that, When the computer program product is run on a computer or processor, it causes the computer or processor to perform the method as described in claim 7 or 8.

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