Optical Path Validation Using Service-Level Quality Margins

Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional optical networks face limitations in optical signal transmission distance due to noise, leading to restricted bit error rates and inefficient capacity utilization, especially for best effort services where excessive optical quality margins are not necessary.

Innovation Solution

The method involves setting an optical quality margin based on the service level of client traffic, allowing for increased optical reach and flexibility in path selection, which can reduce wasted capacity and enhance network resilience by adapting to different service levels and dynamic traffic conditions.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If a fixed optical quality margin is used for all traffic types, then guaranteed service levels are maintained, but network capacity is wasted and optical reach is limited

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveservice level guaranteeVSAvoidnetwork capacity utilization

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by differentiating optical quality margins based on traffic type. Guaranteed traffic receives a higher fixed margin (e.g., 3dB) to ensure reliability, while best effort traffic receives a lower margin (e.g., 1dB) to maximize capacity utilization. This localized differentiation resolves the contradiction by matching margin requirements to actual service needs.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces dynamic margin selection based on traffic classification. The system dynamically adjusts the optical quality margin according to whether traffic is marked as guaranteed or best effort, enabling flexible adaptation to different service requirements. This dynamic approach allows the network to optimize capacity while maintaining reliability where needed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

2Reliability

If a conservative optical quality margin is applied, then bit error rate is controlled, but optical reach is reduced and path selection flexibility is limited

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvebit error rateVSAvoidoptical reach

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSLength of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by differentiating optical quality margins based on traffic type. Guaranteed traffic receives a higher fixed margin (e.g., 3dB) to ensure reliability, while best effort traffic receives a lower margin (e.g., 1dB) to maximize capacity utilization. This localized differentiation resolves the contradiction by matching margin requirements to actual service needs.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent changes the optical quality margin parameter dynamically based on traffic classification and service level requirements. By adjusting this critical parameter according to traffic type (guaranteed vs. best effort), the system optimizes both reliability and optical reach, preventing the conservative margin from unnecessarily limiting path selection flexibility.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Device complexity

If uniform path validation is used for all traffic types, then implementation is simple, but capacity is wasted and resilience is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepath validation implementationVSAvoidnetwork capacity

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by differentiating optical quality margins based on traffic type. Guaranteed traffic receives a higher fixed margin (e.g., 3dB) to ensure reliability, while best effort traffic receives a lower margin (e.g., 1dB) to maximize capacity utilization. This localized differentiation resolves the contradiction by matching margin requirements to actual service needs.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces dynamic margin selection based on traffic classification. The system dynamically adjusts the optical quality margin according to whether traffic is marked as guaranteed or best effort, enabling flexible adaptation to different service requirements. This dynamic approach allows the network to optimize capacity while maintaining reliability where needed.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

Data Source

PatentUS9673898B2Optical path validation method

Publication Date: 2017.06.06 TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON (PUBL)

AI summary

Validating a path in an optical layer of a communications network, for client traffic having an associated service level, involves setting an optical quality margin according to the service level associated with that client traffic. The optical quality margin indicates how close an estimated optical quality of the path can approach a level which produces a threshold error rate. This margin is used to check whether the estimated optical quality is within the optical quality margin set according to the client traffic service level. Making the optical quality margin dependent on client traffic service level, can enable increased optical reach. This can give more flexibility in path selection and enable better matching to service levels of client traffic.