Use of dying gasp to locate faults in communications networks

摘要

Novel tools and techniques that can be used to detect network impairment, including but not limited to impairment of optical fiber networks. In an aspect, such tools and techniques can be deployed at relatively low cost, allowing pervasive deployment throughout a network. In another aspect, such tools and techniques can take advantage of a “dying gasp,” in which a network element detects a sudden drop in received optical (or electrical) power, resolution, etc. at short time scales and sends a notification across the network before the connection is completely compromised. In yet another aspect, some tools can include a supervisory function to analyze aspects of the dying gasp with the goal to determine network segments associated with an impairment and an estimate of the location of an impairment within the network.

主权项

1. A method of estimating a location of fiber impairment in an optical network, the method comprising:
receiving, at a computer system, one or more dying gasp communications, the one or more dying gasp communications comprising at least one communication from a network element in the optical network; and determining, with the computer system, based at least in part on the one or more dying gasp communications, that a network impairment has occurred, wherein the network impairment comprises an impairment in a fiber segment; and identifying, with the computer system, based at least in part on the one or more dying gasp communications, an approximate location of the network impairment, wherein the one or more dying gasp communications comprise at least one dying gasp communication from at least one of a plurality of network elements in the passive optical network, and wherein the approximate location of the network impairment is identified based at least partially on analyzing timings of the one or more dying gasp communications, the approximate location including at least one of an identification of the fiber segment experiencing the impairment or an estimate of the location of the impairment within the fiber segment.