Operations administration and management service for an optical layer of a communication network

摘要

We disclose a network element having one or more OAM components that enable the network element to send and receive in-band service messages without disrupting the flow of user data on the wavelength channel(s) used for the transmission of said in-band service messages. When deployed in a transport plane of a communications network, a plurality of such network elements can advantageously be used to perform various OAM functions that support a link-fault-management mechanism in a manner that complements and strengthens the existing OAM capabilities, particularly at various intermediate points within the optical network path(s).

主权项

1. A method for a network element, the method comprising:
configuring a first network element of an optical network path to transmit a first in-band service message to a second network element via said optical network path using a first set of one or more subcarriers of a first wavelength channel; and configuring the first network element to receive a second in-band service message from the second network element via said optical network path using a second set of one or more subcarriers of a second wavelength channel; wherein either the second in-band service message is responsive to the first in-band service message or the first in-band service message is responsive to the second in-band service message; and wherein the first in-band service message and the second in-band service message are parts of an operations, administration, and management (OAM) function selected from a set including a wavelength continuity-check protocol (WCCP), a wavelength ping protocol (WPP), and a wavelength trace route protocol (WTRP).