Firmware updating methods and apparatus for optical transceiver

A method for programming an optical transceiver by downloading firmware data from a remote provider onto a computing device local to the optical transceiver and electronically writing data derived from the downloaded firmware data onto the optical transceiver using a hardware device connected electrically to the computing device, the optical transceiver being electrically connected to the hardware device at a socket of the hardware device, wherein the hardware device has a memory storing an identity of the hardware device, wherein the optical transceiver has on-board memory storing firmware data and storing data indicative of the optical transceiver including a transceiver ID, the method comprising:

• reading the identity of the hardware device from its memory;
• supplying that identity to a remote provider over the Internet;
• in response to confirmation at the remote provider of the validity of the identity of the hardware device, sending the transceiver ID to the remote provider to select new firmware data corresponding to the transceiver ID and downloading the new firmware data from the remote provider into storage of the computing device;
• outputting the new firmware data from the storage to the hardware device;
• and
• writing the new firmware data from the hardware device to the memory of the optical transceiver.