Systems, devices, and methods for evaluating a link status of a fiber-optic communication system

A small form-factor pluggable (“SFP”) transceiver interfacing with a computing device, the SFP transceiver comprising:

• a wavelength coupler configured to filter received optical signals having a first wavelength received by way of a single optical fiber from received optical signals having a second wavelength received by way of the single optical fiber;
• a transmitter configured to transmit optical signals having the first wavelength by way of the wavelength coupler and the single optical fiber;
• a receiver configured to receive optical signals having the second wavelength by way of the single optical fiber and to convert the optical signals having the second wavelength into digital signals for use by the computing device;
• an invalid signal splitter optically coupled between the wavelength coupler and the transmitter and configured to redirect an optical signal received from the single optical fiber and having a wavelength different than the second wavelength;
• an invalid signal detector optically coupled to an output of the invalid signal splitter and configured to receive from the invalid signal splitter the optical signal having the wavelength different than the second wavelength and to prevent the optical signal having the wavelength different than the second wavelength from being converted into digital signals for use by the computing device;
• a single port disposed on a face of the SFP transceiver and configured to optically couple the single optical fiber to the wavelength coupler, the transmitter, the receiver, the invalid signal splitter, and the invalid signal detector;
• a light emitting diode (“LED”) disposed on the face of the SFP transceiver proximate the single port;
• and
• a link status indicator configured to provide by way of the LED one or more visual indications of a link status of the SFP transceiver including
• a first visual indication with the LED that the SFP transceiver has received a valid optical signal when the receiver receives an optical signal having the second wavelength,
• a second visual indication with the LED that the SFP transceiver has received an invalid optical signal when the invalid signal detector receives an optical signal having the wavelength different than the second wavelength, and
• a third visual indication with the LED that no optical signal has been received by the SFP transceiver when no optical signal has been received by the invalid signal detector and the receiver.

A method comprising:

• receiving, by a transceiver device, a plurality of optical signals from an additional transceiver device by way of a single optical fiber,
• filtering, by a wavelength coupler optically coupled to an optical port, received optical signals having a first wavelength from received optical signals having a second wavelength;
• transmitting, by a transmitter optically coupled to the optical port via the wavelength coupler, an optical signal having the first wavelength by way of the wavelength coupler and the single optical fiber;
• receiving, by a receiver optically coupled to the optical port via the wavelength coupler, an optical signal having the second wavelength by way of the single optical fiber and to convert the optical signal having the second wavelength into a digital signal for use by a computing device interfacing with the transceiver device;
• redirecting, by an invalid signal splitter optically coupled between the wavelength coupler and the transmitter, an optical signal received from the single optical fiber and having a wavelength different than the second wavelength;
• receiving, by an invalid signal detector optically coupled to an output of the invalid signal splitter, from the invalid signal splitter the optical signal having the wavelength different than the second wavelength and to prevent the optical signal having the wavelength different than the second wavelength from being converted into a digital signal for use by the computing device;
• and
• providing, by a link status indicator communicatively coupled to the transmitter, the receiver, and the invalid signal detector, one or more visual indications including
• a first visual indication that the transceiver device has received a valid optical signal when the receiver receives an optical signal having the second wavelength,
• a second visual indication that the transceiver device has received an invalid optical signal when the invalid signal detector receives an optical signal having the wavelength different than the second wavelength, and
• a third visual indication that no optical signal has been received when no optical signal has been received by the invalid signal detector and the receiver.