# US 11,451,888 B2 · Systems and methods for intelligent edge to edge optical system and wavelength provisioning > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,451,888 B2 - Document ID: US11451888B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/140,042 - Filed: 2021-01-02 - Published: 2021-05-27 - Granted: 2022-09-20 - Earliest claimed: 2016-06-20 - Assignees: Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. - Applicants: Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. - Inventors: Luis Alberto Campos; Zhensheng Jia; Carmela Stuart - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11451888B2 ## CPC - H04Q 11/0005: {Switch and router aspects} - H04J 14/0242: {in WDM-PON} - H04J 14/0257: {Wavelength assignment algorithms} - H04J 14/0271: {Impairment aware routing} - H04Q 2011/0016: {using wavelength multiplexing or demultiplexing} - H04Q 2011/0041: {Optical control} - H04Q 2011/0086: {Network resource allocation, dimensioning or optimisation} - H04Q: SELECTING (switches, relays, selectors H01H; wireless communication networks H04W) - H04J: MULTIPLEX COMMUNICATION (transmission in general H04B; peculiar to transmission of digital information H04L5/00; systems for the simultaneous or sequential transmission of more than one television signal H04N7/08; in exchanges H04Q11/00; stereophonic systems H04S) ## Abstract An optical access network includes an optical hub having at least one processor. The network further includes a plurality of optical distribution centers connected to the optical hub by a plurality of optical fiber segments, respectively, and a plurality of geographic fiber node serving areas. Each fiber node serving area of the plurality of fiber node serving areas includes at least one optical distribution center of the plurality of optical distribution centers. The network further includes a plurality of endpoints. Each endpoint of the plurality of endpoints is in operable communication with at least one optical distribution center. The network further includes a point-to-point network provisioning system configured to (i) evaluate each potential communication path over the plurality of optical fiber segments between a first endpoint and a second endpoint, and (ii) select an optimum fiber path based on predetermined path selection criteria. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A point-to-point network provisioning system for an optical access network including a plurality of endpoints connected by a plurality of optical fiber segments, the provisioning system comprising: a processor; a memory having computer executable instructions stored therein, which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to: evaluate each potential communication path over the plurality of optical fiber segments between a first endpoint and a second endpoint of the plurality of endpoints, and select an optimum fiber path, of the evaluated potential communication paths, based on at least one predetermined path selection criteria including an impact of a relative optical power difference between a first optical carrier and a second optical carrier, wherein the first optical carrier is of a different carrier type than the second optical carrier. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The provisioning system of claim 1, wherein the at least one predetermined path selection criteria further includes at least one of (i) a cost factor as a function of bandwidth for each available transmission wavelength for each fiber segment of the plurality of fiber segments, and (ii) an allowable aggregate optical power for each fiber segment of the plurality of fiber segments. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The provisioning system of claim 1, wherein the computer executable instructions further cause the processor to determine that the first optical carrier is an optimal optical carrier to transmit along the selected optimum fiber path. ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The provisioning system of claim 3, wherein the selected optimum fiber path includes a transmission of the second optical carrier therethrough. ### Claim 5 (depends on 4) The provisioning system of claim 4, wherein the processor is in operable communication with at least one optical transmission source of the first and second endpoints, and wherein the computer executable instructions further cause the processor to instruct the optical transmission source to transmit the optimal first optical carrier along the selected optimum fiber path containing the second optical carrier of the different carrier type than the first optical carrier. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The provisioning system of claim 5, wherein the first optical carrier comprises a coherent optical signal, and wherein the second optical carrier comprises a non-coherent optical signal. ### Claim 7 (depends on 5) The provisioning system of claim 5, wherein the first optical carrier comprises a non-coherent optical signal, and wherein the second optical carrier comprises a coherent optical signal. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The provisioning system of claim 1, wherein the processor is disposed within an optical hub of the optical access network. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The provisioning system of claim 1, wherein the computer executable instructions further cause the processor to select an optimum communication path between the first endpoint within the optical access network and a third endpoint disposed outside of the optical access network. ### Claim 10 (depends on 9) The provisioning system of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured to select the optimum communication path that traverses at least one regional or backbone network between the optical access network and the third endpoint. ### Claim 11 (depends on 10) The provisioning system of claim 10, wherein the processor is further configured to select the optimum communication path that traverses at least one primary fiber path through a primary network of the backbone network and at least one secondary fiber path through a secondary network of the backbone network. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The provisioning system of claim 1, further comprising at least one database in operable communication with at least one of the processor and the memory. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) The provisioning system of claim 12, wherein the at least one database is configured to index associations of all potential point-to-point communication links between different pairs of endpoints among the plurality of endpoints. ### Claim 14 A processor for optimizing point-to-point communications between two endpoints of a multi-endpoint optical network, the processor including a memory having computer executable instructions stored therein, which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to: index all endpoints of the optical network; define each potential point-to-point connection between the indexed endpoints; determine a topological fiber path for each defined point-to-point connection, wherein each topological fiber path includes one or more optical fiber segments; calculate available transmission wavelengths for each of the one or more fiber segments; select an optimum fiber path between the two endpoints based on the determined topological fiber path and the calculated available transmission wavelengths; and provision a point-to-point communication link between the two endpoints along the selected optimum fiber path, wherein a first wavelength of the available transmission wavelengths comprises a coherent signal transmission, and a second wavelength of the available transmission wavelengths comprises a non-coherent signal transmission. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The processor of claim 14, wherein the computer executable instructions further cause the processor to analyze each topological fiber path against one or more network performance requirements including at least one of bandwidth parameters, latency parameters, and noise parameters. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The processor of claim 14, wherein the computer executable instructions further cause the processor to determine (i) a set of all nodes crossed along an analyzed topological fiber path, and (ii) corresponding lengths of the one or more fiber segments traversed over the respective analyzed topological fiber path. ### Claim 17 A processor for optimizing point-to-point communications between two endpoints of a multi-endpoint optical network, the processor including a memory having computer executable instructions stored therein, which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to: index all endpoints of the optical network; define each potential point-to-point connection between the indexed endpoints; determine a topological fiber path for each defined point-to-point connection, wherein each topological fiber path includes one or more optical fiber segments; calculate (i) available transmission wavelengths for each of the one or more fiber segments, (ii) a cost factor as a function of bandwidth for each of the available transmission wavelengths, and (iii) an allowable aggregate optical power for each of the one or more fiber segments; select an optimum fiber path between the two endpoints based on the determined topological fiber path and the calculated available transmission wavelengths; and provision a point-to-point communication link between the two endpoints along the selected optimum fiber path. ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The processor of claim 17, wherein the computer executable instructions further cause the processor to filter out each topological fiber path that does not meet one of a predetermined fiber path selection criteria and a redundancy requirement. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The processor of claim 18, wherein the computer executable instructions further cause the processor to locate a secondary path that corresponds to the selected optimum fiber path. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The processor of claim 19, wherein the computer executable instructions further cause the processor to select the optimum fiber path based on a high degree of orthogonality with the corresponding secondary path.