Passive optical network monitoring

A method of monitoring a passive optical network that includes a plurality of waypoint devices, the method comprising:

• transmitting a probe signal into the passive optical network;
• perturbing one of the plurality of waypoint devices;
• reflecting, by each waypoint device of the plurality of waypoint devices, one or more reflected signals each including a portion of the probe signal, and detecting a change in a characteristic of one or more reflected signals associated with the waypoint device being perturbed and the one or more reflected signals embedding an address of the waypoint device in a return signal for providing an indication of the identity of the waypoint device being perturbed;
• receiving the return signal from the passive optical network;
• and
• for each waypoint device:
• extracting the address of the waypoint device from the return signal, and
• identifying a network waypoint in the passive optical network associated with the waypoint device based at least in part on the address of the waypoint device.

A system for monitoring a passive optical network, comprising:

• a transmitter configured to transmit a probe signal into the passive optical network;
• a receiver configured to receive a return signal from the passive optical network;
• a plurality of waypoint devices each including one or more reflective elements configured to embed an address of the waypoint device in the return signal, wherein at least one reflective element of at least one of the waypoint devices of the plurality of waypoint device includes a reflective characteristic that changes in response to a perturbation;
• one or more processors operatively coupled to the transmitter and the receiver;
• an actuator in communication with the one or more processors and configured to generate the perturbation;
• a human machine interface operatively coupled to the one or more processors;
• and
• a memory operatively coupled to the one or more processors, wherein
• each waypoint device is located in one or more optical paths of the passive optical network, and
• the memory includes program code that, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the system to, for each waypoint device:
• extract the address of the waypoint device from the return signal, and
• identify a network waypoint in the passive optical network associated with the waypoint device based at least in part on the address of the waypoint device, and wherein the program code is configured to cause the system to:
• receive input from the human machine interface indicating activation of the actuator, and
• in response to receiving the input, activate the actuator.

A method of monitoring a passive optical network that includes a plurality of waypoint devices, the method comprising:

• transmitting a probe signal into the passive optical network;
• reflecting, by each waypoint device of the plurality of waypoint devices, one or more reflected signals each including a portion of the probe signal, the one or more reflected signals embedding an address of the waypoint device in a return signal;
• receiving the return signal from the passive optical network;
• and
• for each waypoint device:
• extracting the address of the waypoint device from the return signal, and
• identifying a network waypoint in the passive optical network associated with the waypoint device based at least in part on the address of the waypoint device, and where the one or more reflected signals include a plurality of reflected signals, and further comprising:
• identifying at least one of the plurality of reflected signals as a reference reflected signal, wherein:
• determining the one or more spacings between the plurality of reflected signals includes determining an optical path distance between the reference reflected signal and each of the other reflected signals of the plurality of reflected signals,
• determining the wavelength of each reflected signal includes comparing the wavelength of each of the other reflected signals of the plurality of reflected signals to the wavelength of the reference reflected signal, and
• determining the amplitude of each reflected signal includes comparing the amplitude of each of the other reflected signals of the plurality of reflected signals to the amplitude of the reference reflected signal.