Measuring linear and non-linear transmission perturbations in optical transmission systems

A method, comprising:

• receiving, by a processor, a reference correlation of a transmission of a channel of a fiber link;
• recording an optical power spectrum of the channel;
• determining a baud rate of the channel;
• applying a spectral correlation technique to the channel with a multiple baud rate distance in frequency domain;
• calculating a generalized optical signal-to-noise ratio (gOSNR) value based on the spectral correlation technique and the reference correlation;
• and
• comparing the gOSNR with wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) OSNR measurements to evaluate an amount of non-linear noise contributions.

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

• receive a reference correlation of a transmission of a channel of a fiber link;
• record an optical power spectrum of the channel;
• determining a baud rate of the channel;
• applying a spectral correlation technique to the channel with a multiple baud rate distance in frequency domain;
• calculating a generalized optical signal-to-noise ratio (gOSNR) value based on the spectral correlation technique and the reference correlation;
• and
• comparing the gOSNR with wavelength division multiplexed (WDM) OSNR measurements to evaluate an amount of non-linear noise contributions.