Apparatus and method for inline monitoring of transmission signals

1. A method comprising:

receiving at least one alert indicative of a system fault, a system failure, or both;

selecting one or more fiber optic lines for examination based, at least in part, on the received at least one alert, the one or more fiber optic lines supplying a transmit signal and a receive signal to/from a remote transmission station;

selecting at least one property of the transmit signal and/or a receive signal to be monitored;

monitoring, using a data acquisition unit, the transmit signal and/or receive signal in the one or more fiber optic lines;

retrieving, by an element management subsystem (EMS), information corresponding to the at least one property for a predetermined period of time;

generating a visual representation of the retrieved information;

performing an analysis of the retrieved information and/or the visual representation;

supplying information for at least one status of one or more components associated with the transmit signal based, at least in part, on the analysis; and

automatically squelching the transmit signal if the at least one status is associated with excess output power of the transmit signal.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive input for selecting at least one property by facilitating input of a request for signal content of a selected beamport; and

collect a predetermined number of samples obtained by the data acquisition unit,

wherein the predetermined number of samples are obtained from the transmit signal, the receive signal, or both of a prescribed fiber optic line containing the selected beamport.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

generate the visual representation by converting information corresponding to collected samples to a frequency domain, and generating a spectral analysis plot of power density relative to carrier frequency; and

identify carriers, carrier type, carrier positions, absence of carriers, or a combination thereof from the spectral analysis plot.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein supplying information includes identifying at least one beamport, within the selected one or more fiber optic lines, which carries the transmit signal and/or the receive signal.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the at least one status is indicative of a malfunction at the remote transmission station, an intermediate component, a local station, or a combination thereof.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein performing an analysis further comprises:

producing a theoretical representation of the at least one property corresponding to the visual representation; and

comparing the theoretical representation to the retrieved information used to generate the visual representation.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the retrieved information is obtained from a storage unit, the one or more fiber optic lines, or both.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

selecting at least one property comprises selecting a power output for a selected beamport; and

monitoring comprises measuring instantaneous, minimum, and maximum power levels for the selected beamport, and producing an output power profile for the predetermined period of time.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein:

selecting at least one property further comprises inputting a threshold value for output power of the transmit signal in a selected beamport;

performing an analysis further comprises comparing instantaneous output power of the transmit signal for the selected beamport to the threshold value; and

automatically squelching comprises squelching the transmit signal if the instantaneous output power exceeds the threshold value.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

replacing the transmit signal with a sample stream of zero values; and

initiating an alert indicative of excessive output power,

wherein the sample stream of zero values is transmitted until the alert is manually reset.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

selecting at least one property comprises requesting signal content for a selected beamport; and

monitoring comprises collecting, from the selected beamport, a predetermined number of samples from the transmit signal, the receive signal, or both.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein:

generating visual representation comprises converting information corresponding to collected samples to a frequency domain, and generating a spectral analysis plot of power density relative to carrier frequency; and

performing an analysis comprises identifying carriers, carrier type, carrier positions, absence of carriers or a combination thereof from the spectral analysis plot.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein:

selecting at least one property comprises requesting information retrieval for a selected beamport; and

monitoring comprises collecting, from the selected beamport, information corresponding to a predetermined number of samples from the transmit signal, the receive signal, or both.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein:

generating visual representation comprises displaying a modulated carrier signal corresponding to the collected information; and

performing an analysis comprises performing offline demodulation and/or analysis of the collected information.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein selecting one or more fiber optic lines further comprises:

identifying a packet channel unit containing a plurality of fiber optic nodes; and

selecting the one or more fiber optic lines from one of the plurality of fiber optic nodes.

16. An apparatus comprising:

one or more fiber optic lines for supplying a transmit signal and a receive signal to/from a remote transmission station;

a data acquisition unit for acquiring information from the one or more fiber optic lines, and for monitoring the transmit signal and/or receive signal in the one or more fiber optic lines;

an element management subsystem (EMS) configured to retrieve information corresponding to the at least one property for a predetermined period of time; and

a processor configured to:

output at least one alert indicative of a system fault, a system failure, or both;

receive input for selecting one or more fiber optic lines for examination based, at least in part, on the received at least one alert,

receive input for selecting at least one property of the transmit signal and/or a receive signal to be monitored,

output a visual representation of the information retrieved by the EMS,

perform an analysis of the retrieved information and/or facilitate analysis of the visual representation,

output information for at least one status of one or more components associated with the transmit signal based, at least in part, on the analysis, and

automatically squelch the transmit signal if the at least one status is associated with excess output power of the transmit signal.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein:

the processor is further configured to receive input for selecting a packet channel unit containing a plurality of fiber optic nodes; and

the one or more fiber optic lines are selected from one of the plurality of fiber optic nodes contained in the selected packet channel unit.

18. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the information output includes at least one beamport, within the selected one or more fiber optic lines, which carries the transmit signal and/or the receive signal.

19. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the information output is indicative of a malfunction at the remote transmission station, an intermediate component, a local station, or a combination thereof.

20. The method of claim 16 , wherein processor is further configured to:

produce a theoretical representation of the at least one property corresponding to the visual representation; and

compare the theoretical representation to the retrieved information used to visual representation.

21. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the EMS is configured to retrieve information from a storage unit, the data acquisition unit, or both.

22. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein:

the processor is further configured to receive input for selecting a power output for a selected beamport; and

the data acquisition unit is configured to measure instantaneous, minimum, and maximum power levels for the selected beamport, and produce an output power profile for the predeteimined period of time.

23. The apparatus of claim 22 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive input for setting a threshold value for output power of the transmit signal in a selected beamport;

compare instantaneous output power of the transmit signal for the selected beamport to the threshold value; and

automatically squelch the transmit signal if the instantaneous output power exceeds the threshold value.

24. The apparatus of claim 23 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

replace the transmit signal with a sample stream of zero values; and

initiate an alert indicative of excessive output power,

wherein the sample stream of zero values is transmitted until the alert is manually reset.

25. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive input for selecting at least one property by facilitating input of a request for information retrieval capture for a selected beamport; and

collect information corresponding to a predetermined number of samples from the data acquisition unit,

wherein the collected information is obtained from the transmit signal, the receive signal, or both of a prescribed fiber optic line containing the selected beamport.

26. The apparatus of claim 25 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

display a modulated carrier signal corresponding to the collected information; and

perform offline demodulation and/or analysis of the collected information.