Optical Transmission Performance Estimation Using Node Indices
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Solution Overview
Problem
In optical communication systems, accurately estimating transmission performance is challenging due to the difficulty in setting appropriate margins, leading to potential underestimation of signal transmission distance and performance, especially when multiple spans are involved, which increases estimation errors.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method that estimate optical transmission performance by acquiring indices related to transmission performance between nodes and using these indices to calculate the performance of spans within the system, improving accuracy through the use of a processor and memory to manage and calculate transmission quality information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If parameter values are estimated with a margin before service provision, then design robustness is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to overestimation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary measurements of transmission performance between adjacent nodes before final system design, using these measurements to establish accurate baseline parameters. This preliminary action eliminates the need for excessive margins while ensuring design robustness through data-driven parameter selection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where measured transmission performance data from actual spans is used to refine and update parameter estimates for system design. This closed-loop approach replaces margin-based estimation with measurement-based parameter optimization, improving both accuracy and reliability.
2Measurement precision
If transmission performance is measured for each span individually, then measurement precision is improved, but loss of time increases due to extensive measurements
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the measurement process by identifying and measuring only critical spans or representative spans rather than every individual span. This segmentation approach maintains measurement precision for key parameters while significantly reducing the total number of measurements required.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses measurement data from representative spans to infer performance characteristics of similar spans across the network. This multi-functional approach allows a single measurement to serve multiple estimation purposes, reducing measurement time while maintaining precision through data reuse.
3Device complexity
If transmission performance is estimated using only adjacent node measurements, then device complexity is reduced, but measurement precision deteriorates due to accumulation of errors over multiple spans
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges measurement data from multiple sources including adjacent node measurements, intermediate node measurements, and historical performance data to create a comprehensive estimation model. This combination approach maintains simplicity while improving precision by leveraging multiple data points to reduce error accumulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediate measurement points or reference spans that act as mediators between adjacent nodes. These intermediaries provide additional calibration data that corrects error accumulation over multiple spans without requiring complex direct end-to-end measurements.
Data Source
AI summary
There is provided an apparatus configured to estimate optical transmission performance in a transmission path of an optical signal, the apparatus including a memory, and a processor coupled to the memory and the processor configured to acquire a first index related to a first transmission performance of an optical signal transmitted through a span group between a first node and an n-th node and a second index related to a second transmission performance of an optical signal transmitted through a span or a span group between the first node and an m-th node, wherein n is an integer of 3 or more, and m is the integer satisfying m<n, and estimate a third index related to a third transmission performance of an optical signal to be transmitted through a span between the m-th node and the n-th node, based on the first index and the second index.