Optical network device with integrated port mirroring

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by an optical line terminal (OLT) coupled to a passive optical network, an optical signal that represents an upstream frame of the passive optical network;

capturing, by the OLT and while receiving the optical signal that represents the upstream frame, a representation of physical layer data corresponding to the upstream frame of the passive optical network, wherein the representation of the physical layer data comprises samples of the optical signal;

generating, by the OLT, an encapsulated representation of the physical layer data corresponding to the upstream frame of the passive optical network; and

outputting, via another network different than the passive optical network, the encapsulated representation of the physical layer data to another device different than the OLT.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the encapsulated physical layer data of the upstream frame of the passive optical network comprises:

storing, by the OLT, the representation of the physical layer data corresponding to the upstream frame of the passive optical network;

segmenting, by the OLT, the representation of the physical layer data into a plurality of segments that each include a portion of the representation of the physical layer data; and

encapsulating, by the OLT, the plurality of segments into a plurality of frames that each include a respective segment of the plurality of segments, and

wherein outputting comprises outputting, by the OLT and via the other network, the plurality of frames to the other device.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the representation of the physical layer data corresponding to the upstream frame of the passive optical network comprises an oversampled representation of the optical signal corresponding to the upstream frame of the passive optical network.

4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of frames are of a different frame type than the upstream frame.

5. The method of claim 2 , wherein each of the plurality of frames includes respective contextual information.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the respective contextual information for a particular segment of the plurality of segments indicates one or more of:

a location of the portion of the representation of the physical layer data included in the particular segment within the upstream frame of the passive optical network; or

sampling information for the physical layer data.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the other network is not a passive optical network.

8. An optical line terminal (OLT) coupled to a passive optical network, wherein the OLT comprises:

an optical detector configured to receive an optical signal that represents an upstream frame of the passive optical network;

a memory; and

one or more processors configured to:

obtain, via the optical detector, a representation of physical layer data of the passive optical network corresponding to the upstream frame of the passive optical network, wherein the representation of the physical layer data comprises samples of the optical signal;

generate an encapsulated representation of the physical layer data of the passive optical network; and

output, via another network different than the passive optical network, the encapsulated representation of the physical layer data to an external device.

9. The OLT of claim 8 , wherein, to generate the encapsulated physical layer data of the passive optical network, the one or more processors are configured to:

store the representation of the physical layer data of the passive optical network;

segment the representation of the physical layer data into a plurality of segments that each include a portion of the representation of the physical layer data; and

encapsulate the plurality of segments into a plurality of frames that each include a respective segment of the plurality of segments, and

wherein, to output the encapsulated representation of the physical layer data to the external device, the one or more processors are configured to output, via the other network, the plurality of frames to the external device.

10. The OLT of claim 9 , wherein the representation of the physical layer data corresponding to the upstream frame of the passive optical network comprises an oversampled representation of the optical signal corresponding to the upstream frame of the passive optical network.

11. The OLT of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of frames are of a different frame type than the upstream frame.

12. The OLT of claim 9 , wherein each of the plurality of frames includes respective contextual information.

13. The OLT of claim 12 , wherein the respective contextual information for a particular segment of the plurality of segments indicates one or more of:

a location of the portion of the representation of the physical layer data included in the particular segment within the upstream frame of the passive optical network; or

sampling information for the physical layer data.

14. The OLT of claim 8 , wherein the external device comprises one or more server systems.

15. An optical line terminal (OLT) coupled to a passive optical network, wherein the OLT comprises:

means for receiving an optical signal that represents an upstream frame of the passive optical network;

means for obtaining a representation of physical layer data of the passive optical network corresponding to the upstream frame of the passive optical network, wherein the representation of the physical layer data comprises samples of the optical signal;

means for generating an encapsulated representation of the physical layer data of the passive optical network; and

means for outputting, via another network different than the passive optical network, the encapsulated representation of the physical layer data to an external device.

16. The OLT of claim 15 , wherein the means for generating the encapsulated physical layer data of the passive optical network comprises:

means for storing the representation of the physical layer data of the passive optical network;

means for segmenting the representation of the physical layer data into a plurality of segments that each include a portion of the representation of the physical layer data; and

means for encapsulating the plurality of segments into a plurality of frames that each include a respective segment of the plurality of segments, and

wherein the means for outputting comprise means for outputting, via the other network, the plurality of frames to the external device.

17. The OLT of claim 16 , wherein the representation of the physical layer data corresponding to the upstream frame of the passive optical network comprises an oversampled representation of the optical signal corresponding to the upstream frame of the passive optical network.

18. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed, cause one or more processors of an optical line terminal (OLT) coupled to a passive optical network to:

obtain a representation of physical layer data of the passive optical network corresponding to an upstream frame of the passive optical network, wherein the representation of the physical laver data comprises samples of an optical signal that corresponds to the upstream frame;

generate an encapsulated representation of the physical layer data of the passive optical network; and

output, via another network, the encapsulated representation of the physical layer data to an external device.

19. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 18 , wherein the instructions that cause the one or more processors to generate the encapsulated physical layer data of the passive optical network comprise instructions that cause the one or more processors to:

segment the representation of the physical layer data into a plurality of segments that each include a portion of the representation of the physical layer data; and

encapsulate the plurality of segments into a plurality of frames that each include a respective segment of the plurality of segments, and

wherein the instructions that cause the one or more processors to output comprise instructions that cause the one or more processors to output, via the other network, the plurality of frames to the external device.

20. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 19 , wherein the representation of the physical layer data corresponding to the upstream frame of the passive optical network comprises an oversampled representation of the optical signal corresponding to the upstream frame of the passive optical network.