Abstract: One or more servers may receive an instruction to change a modulation format, associated with one or more optical channels, from a first modulation format to a second modulation format; provide the instruction to change the modulation format to a network device, associated with the one or more optical channels, to cause the network device to change the modulation format, associated with the one or more optical channels, from the first modulation format to the second modulation format; and determine that a license repository is to be updated based on receiving the instruction to change the modulation format. The license repository may store one or more licenses. The one or more servers may generate a license update instruction to update the license repository based on determining that the license repository is to be updated and output the license update instruction to cause the license repository to be updated.

Abstract: A network device may receive an activation instruction. The network device may provide network resources. The activation instruction may request the network device to activate a particular network resource that is deactivated. The activation instruction may be associated with a license that identifies the particular network resource and identifies a resource request of a user. The network device may configure, based on the activation instruction, a component of the network device to activate the particular network resource. The component, after being configured to activate the particular network resource, may allow data flows, received by the network device, to be provided towards a destination device using the particular network resource. The network device may receive a data flow and provide, by the component of the network device, the data flow towards the destination device using the particular network resource.

Abstract: Consistent with the present disclosure, an optical amplifier is provided that is configurable in one of two modes. In both modes, the optical service channel (OSC) may be dropped and converted to an electrical signal. In the first mode, the electrical signal is subject to further processing and the monitoring and/or control information carried by the OSC may be updated with new data. Such updated monitoring and control information is then supplied to an OSC transmitter and modulated onto an OSC output from the optical amplifier. In a second mode of operation (“loop back” mode), however, the monitoring and/or control information bypasses the processing noted above is looped back to the OSC transmitter unchanged. Accordingly, OSC monitoring and control information or data can be rapidly passed through the optical amplifier with little delay. Moreover, the optical amplifier may be configured to operate in either the first or second modes by appropriately configuring a switch.

Abstract: Consistent with the present disclosure, a method and apparatus for providing a uniform spectral gain of an optical amplifier is provided. Namely, a “balancing” step is carried out in which an optical channel having the lowest power level input to an optical circuit, such as an dynamic gain equalizer (DGE), is assigned a zero “attenuation error” and is substantially un-attenuated by the DGE. The lowest power level optical signal does not require further attenuation and effectively serves as a reference power level, which the power levels of the remaining optical signals are set to. For example, remaining optical signals are assigned either positive or negative attenuation errors relative to the zero attenuation error based on optical signal input powers to the DGE and accumulated DGE attenuations over time. Those optical signals having a negative attenuation error are substantially unattenuated by the DGE, because such optical signals are adequately attenuated and do not require further attenuation.

Abstract: A system is provided that includes optical amplifiers provided upstream from an optical add-drop multiplexer (OADM). One of the optical amplifiers may be a Raman amplifier that supplies amplified light to another optical amplifier, such as an erbium doped fiber amplifier (EDFA), which, in turn, further amplifies and feeds the light to an input of the OADM. During turn-up, for example, the EDFA may initially be disabled, the power of the pump lasers of the Raman amplifier may be gradually increased until light input to the EDFA exceeds a power threshold at which the EDFA can amplify the input light. Light supplied to the EDFA does not have an excessive amount of power. Accordingly, at this point, the gain of the EDFA may be appropriately adjusted and then activated to supply optical signals to the OADM. Such optical signals may have a low power but not too low so as to prevent proper operation of downstream EDFA. Moreover, these optical signal do not have power that is so high as to cause “spiking.

Abstract: A system is provided that includes optical amplifiers provided upstream from an optical add-drop multiplexer (OADM). One of the optical amplifiers may be a Raman amplifier that supplies amplified light to another optical amplifier, such as an erbium doped fiber amplifier (EDFA), which, in turn, further amplifies and feeds the light to an input of the OADM. During turn-up, for example, the EDFA may initially be disabled, the power of the pump lasers of the Raman amplifier may be gradually increased until light input to the EDFA exceeds a power threshold at which the EDFA can amplify the input light. Light supplied to the EDFA does not have an excessive amount of power. Accordingly, at this point, the gain of the EDFA may be appropriately adjusted and then activated to supply optical signals to the OADM. Such optical signals may have a low power but not too low so as to prevent proper operation of downstream EDFA. Moreover, these optical signal do not have power that is so high as to cause “spiking.