Intelligent performance monitoring in optical networks using FEC statistics
First Claim
1. A method of monitoring performance of a communication system, the communication system having at least one communication channel, the method comprising:
- providing the data with an error correction portion;
examining the error correction portion of the data to determine if an error has occurred;
if an error has occurred, correcting the error;
monitoring a number of errors corrected; and
using the monitored number of errors corrected, making a determination as to a condition in the communication system.
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Abstract
An apparatus and method for monitoring performance of a communication channel or link are described. Errors in the transfer of data are detected and corrected using forward error correction (FEC). The FEC statistics are monitored to determine conditions related to performance of the system. For example, the number of errors corrected by the FEC can be monitored over predetermined periods of time. Using this approach, certain fading errors which tend to correct themselves over time without intervention can be identified, and costly, time consuming troubleshooting and repair efforts can be avoided. By monitoring the types of errors being corrected, i.e., one-bits or zero-bits, certain particular conditions, such as coherent crosstalk, can be identified. Also, monitoring the FEC statistics, particularly numbers of errors corrected, permits identification of system performance degradation at extremely low error rates, such that a Q-measurement for the system is generated.
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Citations
32 Claims
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1. A method of monitoring performance of a communication system, the communication system having at least one communication channel, the method comprising:
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providing the data with an error correction portion;
examining the error correction portion of the data to determine if an error has occurred;
if an error has occurred, correcting the error;
monitoring a number of errors corrected; and
using the monitored number of errors corrected, making a determination as to a condition in the communication system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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16. An apparatus for monitoring performance of a communication system, the communication system having at least one communication channel over which data is forwarded, the apparatus comprising:
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an error correction encoding module for providing the data with an error correction portion;
an error correction decoding module for receiving the data, examining the error correction portion of the data to determine if an error has occurred, and, if an error has occurred, correcting the error; and
a processor for monitoring a number of errors corrected and, using the monitored number of errors corrected, making a determination as to a condition in the communication system.
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31. A method of monitoring performance of a communication system, the communication system transferring data over at least one communication channel and a forward error correction which provides statistics related to the errors corrected, the method comprising:
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analyzing the statistics related to the errors corrected; and
using the analyzed statistics, making a determination as to a condition in the communication system.
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32. An apparatus for monitoring performance of a communication system, the communication system transferring data over at least one communication channel and having a forward error correction which provides statistics related to the errors corrected, the apparatus comprising a processor for (i) analyzing the statistics related to the errors corrected, and, (ii) using the analyzed statistics, making a determination as to a condition in the communication system.
Specification