Apparatus, systems, and methods for optical channel management

A method, comprising:

• receiving a first optical signal from a second device via an input port of a reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer (ROADM);
• transmitting the first optical signal to a first wavelength selective switch (WSS) to convert the first optical signal into a second optical signal;
• transmitting the second optical signal to a second WSS, in optical communication with the input port, to convert the second optical signal to a third optical signal;
• and
• transmitting the third optical signal towards the second device via the input port.

A reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer (ROADM), comprising:

• an input port to receive a first optical signal from a second device;
• a wavelength selective switch (WSS), in optical communication with the input port, to convert the first optical signal into a second optical signal;
• a first spectral analyzer, operatively coupled to the input port, to acquire first spectral information of the first optical signal;
• an optical transmission line, in optical communication with the WSS, to transmit the second optical signal towards the second device;
• at least one user port, operatively coupled to the WSS, to receive at least a portion of the second optical signal;
• a second spectral analyzer, operatively coupled to the at least one user port, to acquire second spectral information of the second optical signal;
• and
• an optical channel monitor (OCM) operatively coupled to the first spectral analyzer and the second spectral analyzer, the OCM configured to:
• receive the first spectral information so as to locate the at least one user port;
• receive the second spectral information from the second spectral analyzer;
• and
• transmit the second spectral information to the second device.