INTELLIGENT PERFORMANCE MONITORING IN OPTICAL NETWORKS USING FEC STATISTICS

摘要

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 crror 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 ten 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 correctedm 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.