Optical Transponder Pre-FEC BER Detection for Proactive Failover
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing optical communication systems fail to promptly detect signal degradation in optical transponders, leading to delayed failover procedures and data traffic loss due to the lack of proactive notification to routers.
Innovation Solution
Implementing pre-forward error correction (FEC) bit error rate (BER) detection in optical transponders to identify link degradation, allowing routers to initiate failover procedures before failures occur by modifying diagnosis packets and rerouting data.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If pre-FEC BER detection is implemented to proactively detect signal degradation, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The optical transponder performs self-diagnosis by monitoring pre-FEC BER of incoming optical signals and autonomously generating impairment indication packets when degradation is detected, eliminating the need for external monitoring systems
Solution Approach 2:
The system establishes a feedback loop where the optical transponder continuously monitors signal quality, compares pre-FEC BER against thresholds, and triggers notifications to routers when impairment conditions are detected, enabling proactive failover
2Reliability
If proactive failover procedures are implemented, then traffic loss is reduced, but response time requirements increase system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection of signal degradation using pre-FEC BER monitoring before actual link failure occurs, allowing routers to initiate failover procedures in advance and prevent traffic loss
Solution Approach 2:
The optical transponder acts as an intermediary that detects impairment conditions and communicates them to routers through modified diagnosis packets, enabling timely failover without requiring continuous router-side monitoring
3Measurement precision
If diagnosis packets are modified to indicate impairment, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The optical transponder creates copies of incoming diagnosis packets and modifies them with impairment indications before forwarding to the router, preserving the original diagnostic functionality while adding failure prediction capability
Data Source
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AI summary
In some embodiments, an apparatus comprises an optical transponder which includes a processor, an electrical interface and an optical interface. The processor is operatively coupled to the electrical interface and the optical interface. The optical interface is configured to be operatively coupled to a plurality of optical links and the electrical interface is configured to be operatively coupled to a router such that the optical transponder is configured to be operatively coupled between the plurality of optical links and the router. The processor is configured to perform pre-forward error correction (FEC) bit error rate (BER) detection to identify a degradation of an optical link from the plurality of optical links. The processor is configured to make modifications to packets designated to be transmitted via the optical link in response to the degradation being identified such that the router is notified of the degradation of the optical link.