Sub-passband ramping as a method of managing power transients in c+l band optical line networks

A network element, comprising:

• an amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) source configured to generate ASE noise;
• a processor;
• and
• a non-transitory processor-readable medium storing processor-executable instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to:
• activate an ASE passband (AP) in an unoccupied band of an optical spectrum for transmission in a fiber optic line, the AP having an ASE start frequency and an ASE end frequency and being loaded with the ASE noise;
• receive an operation to execute, the operation being an activation of one or more signal passbands (SPs) in the optical spectrum for transmission in the fiber optic line, the one or more SPs having a SP start frequency greater than or equal to the ASE start frequency and a SP end frequency less than or equal to the ASE end frequency, each of the one or more SPs containing one or more optical carriers carrying user data;
• divide the operation into a plurality of sub-operations including a first sub-operation and a second sub-operation, the first sub-operation identifying one or more first sub-passbands and the second sub-operation identifying one or more second sub-passbands, each of the one or more first sub-passbands and the one or more second sub-passbands being a portion of the one or more SPs;
• deactivate a first portion of the AP in the optical spectrum for transmission in the fiber optic line, the first portion overlapping with the one or more first sub-passbands;
• execute the first sub-operation in a first loading cycle, thereby activating the one or more first sub-passbands in the optical spectrum for transmission in the fiber optic line;
• deactivate a second portion of the AP in the optical spectrum for transmission in the fiber optic line, the second portion overlapping with the one or more second sub-passbands;
• and
• execute the second sub-operation in a second loading cycle after the first loading cycle, thereby activating the one or more second sub-passbands in the optical spectrum for transmission in the fiber optic line.

A network element, comprising:

• an amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) source configured to generate ASE noise;
• a processor;
• and
• a non-transitory processor-readable medium storing processor-executable instructions that when executed by the processor cause the processor to:
• activate one or more signal passbands (SPs) in an optical spectrum for transmission in a fiber optic line, each of the one or more SPs containing one or more optical carriers carrying user data;
• receive an operation to execute, the operation being a deactivation of at least one of the one or more SPs in the optical spectrum for transmission in the fiber optic line;
• divide the operation into a plurality of sub-operations including a first sub-operation and a second sub-operation, the first sub-operation identifying one or more first sub-passbands and the second sub-operation identifying one or more second sub-passbands, each of the one or more first sub-passbands and the one or more second sub-passbands being a portion of the at least one of the one or more SPs;
• execute the first sub-operation in a first loading cycle, thereby deactivating the one or more first sub-passbands in the optical spectrum for transmission in the fiber optic line;
• activate a first ASE passband (AP) in a first unoccupied band of the optical spectrum for transmission in the fiber optic line previously occupied by the one or more first sub-passbands, the first AP being loaded with the ASE noise;
• execute the second sub-operation in a second loading cycle after the first loading cycle, thereby deactivating the one or more second sub-passbands in the optical spectrum for transmission in the fiber optic line;
• and
• activate a second AP in a second unoccupied band of the optical spectrum for transmission in the fiber optic line previously occupied by the one or more second sub-passbands, the second AP being loaded with the ASE noise.