MFAS-aligned pseudorandom binary sequence (PRBS) patterns for optical transport network (OTN) testing

A method of testing an optical transport network (OTN), the method comprising:

• generating, at a signal generator, a test signal to be carried in plural OTN multiframes, each multiframe including a multiframe alignment signal (WAS), wherein the test signal comprises an WAS-aligned pseudorandom binary sequence (PRBS) pattern whose value spans from 0 to 255 to indicate a relative location of each optical channel transport unit-k/optical channel data unit-k (OTUk/ODUk) frame within the multiframe;
• transmitting, by a transmitter, the test signal into an OTN;
• receiving, at a receiver, the test signal from the OTN;
• determining, at a processor, whether the received test signal matches the transmitted test signal based on the WAS-aligned PRBS pattern;
• and
• identifying a problem with the OTN in the event the received test signal does not match the transmitted test signal.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having an executable stored thereon, which when executed instructs a processor to perform the following:

• generating a test signal to be carried in plural optical transport network (OTN) multiframes, each multiframe including a multiframe alignment signal (MFAS), wherein the test signal comprises an MFAS-aligned pseudorandom binary sequence (PRBS) pattern whose value spans from 0 to 255 to indicate a relative location of each optical channel transport unit-k/optical channel data unit-k (OTUk/ODUk) frame within the multiframe;
• transmitting the test signal into an Optical Transport Network (OTN);
• receiving the test signal from the OTN;
• determining whether the received test signal matches the transmitted test signal based on the WAS-aligned PRBS pattern;
• and
• identify a problem with the OTN in the event the received test signal does not match the transmitted test signal.