Method and apparatus for detecting shared risk link groups

1. A method of detecting shared risk link groups, the method comprising:

injecting probe beams into a first test link and a second test link;

receiving a first backlight and a second backlight of the probe beams back from the first test link and the second test link, respectively;

filtering the first backlight with a first polarizer such that light with a first designated direction can pass through the first polarizer, and filtering the second backlight with a second polarizer such that light with a second designated direction can pass through the second polarizer;

detecting and recording a first time-varying response of a power level of the light that passes through the first polarizer, and detecting and recording a second time-varying response of a power level of the light that passes through the second polarizer;

aligning a time of a first wave crest in the first time-varying response with a time of a first wave crest in the second time-varying response;

calculating a resemblance value for the first time-varying response and the second time-varying response; and

determining, based on the resemblance value, whether the first test link and the second test link are located in a same shared risk link group.

2. A method of detecting shared risk link groups, the method comprising:

injecting probe beams into a first test link and a second test link;

receiving a first backlight and a second backlight of the probe beams back from the first test link and the second test link, respectively;

filtering the first backlight with a first polarizer such that light with a first designated direction can pass through the first polarizer, and filtering the second backlight with a second polarizer such that light with a second designated direction can pass through the second polarizer;

detecting and recording a first time-varying response of a power level of the light that passes through the first polarizer, and detecting and recording a second time-varying response of a power level of the light that passes through the second polarizer;

calculating a resemblance value for the first time-varying response and the second time-varying response by:

associating the first and second time-varying responses with a timeline, transforming the timeline into a series of discrete time points, and associating a first power value from the first response and a second power value from the second response with each discrete time point; and

calculating the resemblance value from the first power value and the second power value associated with each discrete time point; and

determining, based on the resemblance value, whether the first test link and the second test link are located in a same shared risk link group.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the backlight of the probe beams comprises Rayleigh backscattered light and Fresnel back-reflected light.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the first time-varying response and the second time-varying response are obtained by an optical time domain reflectometer.

5. A method of detecting shared risk link groups, the method comprising:

injecting probe beams into a first test link and a second test link;

receiving a first backlight and a second backlight of the probe beams back from the first test link and the second test link, respectively;

recording, respectively, a first response of a time-varying first power corresponding to the first backlight and a second response of a time-varying second power corresponding to the second backlight;

calculating a resemblance value for the first response and the second response, calculating the resemblance value to include:

associating the first and second responses with a timeline, transforming the timeline into a series of discrete time points, and associating a first power value from the first response and a second power value from the second response with each discrete time point; and

calculating the resemblance value from the first power value and the second power value associated with each discrete time point; and

determining, based on the resemblance value, whether the first test link and the second test link are located in a same shared risk link group.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein determining, based on the resemblance value, includes concluding that the first test link and the second test link are located in the same shared risk link group when the resemblance value exceeds a predetermined threshold.

7. A method of detecting shared risk link groups, the method comprising:

injecting probe beams into a first test link and a second test link;

receiving a first backlight and a second backlight of the probe beams back from the first test link and the second test link, respectively;

mapping a polarization characteristic of the first backlight as a time-varying first power, and mapping a polarization characteristic of the second backlight as a time-varying second power;

recording a first response of the time-varying first power corresponding to the first backlight, and a second response of the time-varying second power corresponding to the second backlight;

calculating a resemblance value for the first response and the second response, calculating the resemblance value to include:

detecting wave crests and troughs in the first and second responses to obtain a first eigenvector group of the first response and a second eigenvector group of the second response; and

extracting identical eigenvectors from the first eigenvector group and the second eigenvector group, and calculating a first proportion of the identical eigenvectors in the first eigenvector group, and a second proportion of the identical eigenvectors in the second eigenvector group; and

determining, based on the resemblance value, whether the first test link and the second test link are located in a same shared risk link group, the determining to determine that the first test link and the second test link are located in the same shared risk link group when both the first proportion and the second proportion exceed a predetermined threshold.

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising, prior to grouping, aligning a time of a first wave crest in the first response with a time of a first wave crest in the second response.

9. An apparatus for detecting shared risk link groups, the apparatus comprising:

a light source unit to generate a light beam;

a transmit/receive unit to:

receive the light beam generated by the light source unit, and inject the light beam into a first test link and a second test link, and

receive a first backlight of the light beam returned by the first test link, and a second backlight of the light beam returned by the second test link;

a first polarizer to filter the first backlight such that light with a first designated direction can pass through the first polarizer, and a second polarizer to filter the second backlight such that light with a second designated direction can pass through the second polarizer;

an information recording unit to detect and record a first time-varying response of a power level of the light that passes through the first polarizer, and detect and record a second time-varying response of a power level of the light that passes through the second polarizer;

a delay unit to:

align a time of a first trough in the first time-varying response with a time of a first trough in the second time-varying response to obtain a first revised response and a second revised response, and

send the first revised response to the information processing unit as the first time-varying response, and the second revised response to the information processing unit as the second time-varying response; and

an information processing unit to calculate a resemblance value for the first time-varying response and the second time-varying response, and determine, based on the resemblance value, if the first test link and the second test link are located in the same shared risk link group.

10. An apparatus for detecting shared risk link groups, the apparatus comprising:

a light source unit to generate a light beam;

a transmit/receive unit to:

receive the light beam generated by the light source unit, and inject the light beam into a first test link and a second test link, and

receive a first backlight of the light beam returned by the first test link, and a second backlight of the light beam returned by the second test link;

a first polarizer to filter the first backlight such that light with a first designated direction can pass through the first polarizer, and a second polarizer to filter the second backlight such that light with a second designated direction can pass through the second polarizer;

an information recording unit to detect and record a first time-varying response of a power level of the light that passes through the first polarizer, and detect and record a second time-varying response of a power level of the light that passes through the second polarizer; and

an information processing unit to calculate a resemblance value for the first time-varying response and the second time-varying response, and determine, based on the resemblance value, if the first test link and the second test link are located in the same shared risk link group, calculating the resemblance value to include:

associating the first and second time-varying responses with a timeline, transforming the timeline into a series of discrete time points, and associating a first power value from the first response and a second power value from the second response with each discrete time point; and

calculating the resemblance value from the first power value and the second power value associated with each discrete time point.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the light source unit includes a laser.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the transmit/receive unit includes a circulator.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 , wherein the first and second backlight of the light beam include Rayleigh backscattered light and Fresnel back-reflected light.

14. An apparatus for detecting shared risk link groups, the apparatus comprising:

a light source unit to generate a light beam;

a transmit/receive unit to:

receive the light beam generated by the light source unit, and inject the light beam into a first test link and a second test link, and

receive a first backlight of the light beam returned by the first test link, and a second backlight of the light beam returned by the second test link;

an information recording unit to record a first curve of a time-varying first power corresponding to the first backlight, and a second curve of a time-varying second power corresponding to the second backlight; and

an information processing unit to calculate a resemblance value for the first curve and the second curve, and determine, based on the resemblance value, if the first test link and the second test link are located in the same shared risk link group, the information processing unit to further:

associate the first and second curves with a timeline, transform the timeline into a series of discrete time points, and associate a first power value from the first curve and a second power value from the second curve with each discrete time point; and

calculate the resemblance value from the first power value and the second power value associated with each discrete time point.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 , wherein the information processing unit to conclude that the first test link and the second test link are located in the same shared risk link group when the resemblance value exceeds a predetermined threshold.

16. An apparatus for detecting shared risk link groups, the apparatus comprising:

a light source unit to generate a light beam;

a transmit/receive unit to:

receive the light beam generated by the light source unit, and inject the light beam into a first test link and a second test link, and

receive a first backlight of the light beam returned by the first test link, and a second backlight of the light beam returned by the second test link;

an information recording unit to record a first response of a time-varying first power corresponding to the first backlight, and a second response of a time-varying second power corresponding to the second backlight; and

an information processing unit to:

group wave crests and troughs in the first response into a first eigenvector group;

group wave crests and troughs in the second response into a second eigenvector group;

extract analogous eigenvectors from the first and second eigenvector groups, and calculate a first proportion of the analogous eigenvectors in the first eigenvector group;

extract analogous eigenvectors from the first and second eigenvector groups, and calculate a second proportion of the analogous eigenvectors in the second eigenvector group; and

determine that the first test link and the second test link are located in the same shared risk link group when both the first proportion and the second proportion exceed a predetermined threshold.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 , further comprising a delay unit to:

align a time of a first wave crest in the first response with a time of a first wave crest in the second response to obtain a first revised response and a second revised response, and

send the first revised response to the information processing unit as the first response, and the second revised response to the information processing unit as the second response.

18. The apparatus of claim 16 , further comprising a delay unit to:

align a time of a first trough in the first response with a time of a first trough in the second response to obtain a first revised response and a second revised response, and

send the first revised response to the information processing unit as the first response, and the second revised response to the information processing unit as the second response.