Out-of-band communication channel for subcarrier-based optical communication systems

1. A system comprising:

a hub transceiver configured to be communicatively coupled to a first network node and to an optical communications network; and

a plurality of edge transceivers, wherein each of the edge transceivers is configured to be communicatively coupled to a respective second network node and to the optical communications network,

wherein the hub transceiver is operable to:

transmit, over a first communications channel of the optical communications network, a first message to each of the edge transceivers concurrently, wherein the first message comprises an indication of available network resources on the optical communications network, and

wherein each of the edge transceivers is operable to:

transmit, over a second communications channel of the optical communications network, a respective second message to the hub transceiver, wherein the second message comprises an indication of a respective subset of the available network resources selected by the edge transceiver for use in communicating over the optical communications network,

receive, from the hub transceiver, a third message acknowledging receipt of a selection by the edge transceiver,

receiving, from the hub transceiver, a fourth message confirming an assignment of the selected subset of the available network resources to the edge transceiver for use in communicating over the optical communications network, and

transmit, using the selected subset of the available network resources, data from the second network node that is communicatively coupled to the edge transceiver to the first network node via the hub transceiver.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the hub transceiver is configured to transmit the first message periodically to each of the edge transceivers.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the indication of the available network resources on the optical communications network comprises:

an indication of a plurality of optical subcarriers of the optical communications network, and

an identity of one or more of the optical subcarriers that are not currently assigned to any of the edge transceivers.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the first communications channel comprises first signals that have been amplitude modulated with respect to each of the plurality of optical sub carriers.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the second communications channel comprises second signals transmitted according to one or more frequencies that do not coincide with the plurality of optical subcarriers.

6. The system of claim 3 , wherein the first message further comprises:

instructions for requesting assignment of the one or more of the optical subcarriers that are not currently assigned to any of the edge transceivers.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein each of the edge transceivers is operable to:

transmit the respective second message to the hub transceiver periodically until the third message is received by the edge transceiver from the hub transceiver.

8. The system of claim 1 ,

wherein the hub transceiver is operable to:

transmit a fifth message to a first edge transceiver of the plurality of edge transceivers, wherein the fifth message comprises a command to modify an assignment of network resources to the first edge transceiver, and

wherein the first edge transceiver is operable to, in response to receiving the fifth message:

transmit data from the second network node communicatively coupled to the first edge transceiver to the first network node via the hub transceiver according to the modified assignment of network resources.

9. The system of claim 1 ,

wherein the hub transceiver is operable to:

transmit a fifth message to a first edge transceiver of the plurality of edge transceivers, wherein the fifth message comprises a command to relinquish the subset of network resources that had been assigned to the first edge transceiver, and

wherein the first edge transceiver is operable to, in response to receiving the fifth message:

refrain from transmitting data to the hub transceiver using the subset of network resources that had been assigned to the first edge transceiver.

10. The system of claim 1 ,

wherein the hub transceiver is operable to:

transmit a fifth message to a first edge transceiver of the plurality of edge transceivers, wherein the fifth message comprises a request for a status of the first edge transceiver, and

wherein the first edge transceiver is operable to, in response to receiving the fifth message:

transmit the status of the first edge transceiver to the hub transceiver.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein a first edge transceiver of the plurality of edge transceivers is operable to transmit a status of the first edge transceiver to the hub transceiver periodically.

12. The system of claim 1 ,

wherein the hub transceiver is operable to:

transmit a fifth message to a first edge transceiver of the plurality of edge transceivers, wherein the fourth message comprises a command to modify a transmit power of the first edge transceiver, and

wherein the first edge transceiver is operable to, in response to receiving the fourth message:

transmit data from the second network node that is communicatively coupled to the first edge transceiver to the first network node via the hub transceiver according to the modified transmit power.

13. The system of claim 1 ,

wherein at least one of the plurality of edge transceivers or the hub transceiver is operable to:

transmit a fifth message to at least another one of the plurality of edge transceivers or the hub transceiver, wherein the fifth message comprises a command to forward data from the at least another one of the plurality of edge transceivers or the hub transceiver to a further transceiver communicatively coupled to the optical communications network, and

wherein the at least another one of the plurality of edge transceivers or the hub transceiver is operable to, in response to receiving the fifth message:

forward the data to the further transceiver according to the fifth message.

14. The system of claim 13 , wherein the further transceiver is one of the plurality of edge transceivers.

15. The system of claim 1 , wherein a first edge transceiver of the plurality of edge transceivers is operable to determine a carrier frequency associated with the hub transceiver.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the first edge transceiver is operable to determine a carrier frequency associated with the hub transceiver by:

receiving a signal from the hub transceiver via the optical communications network, wherein receiving the signal comprises scanning a frequency range using a local oscillator of the first edge transceiver, the frequency range including a plurality of frequency subsets;

determining a plurality of power values of the optical signal, each of the plurality of power values being associated with a corresponding one of the plurality of frequency subsets, and

determining, based on the plurality of power values, a carrier frequency associated with the hub transceiver.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the power level corresponding to the carrier frequency is greater than the power values corresponding to the frequency ranges that do not coincide with the carrier frequency.

18. The system of claim 1 , wherein the hub transceiver is operable to:

receive, from each of the edge transceivers, a respective signal,

determine, for each received signal, a respective power of the received signal,

determine a modification to a transmit power of one or more of the edge transceivers to reduce a difference in power between the received signals, and

transmit, to the one more of edge transceivers, an indication of the modification to a transmit power.

19. The system of claim 18 , wherein one or more of the edge transceivers are operable to:

receive, from the hub transceiver, the indication of the modification to the transmit power, and

responsive to receiving the indication of the modification to the transmit power, transmit a signal to the hub transceiver according to the modification to the transmit power.

20. The system of claim 1 ,

wherein the hub transceiver is operable to:

receive a signal from a first edge transceiver of the plurality of edge transceivers,

determine, one or more quality metrics regarding the received signal, and

transmit the one or more quality metrics to the first edge transceiver, and

wherein the first edge transceiver is operable to:

receive the one or more quality metrics from the hub transceiver, and

modify one or more control parameters for transmitting data based on the one or more quality metrics.

21. The system of claim 20 , wherein the one or more control parameters comprise a transmit power of the first edge transceiver.

22. The system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the first communications channel or the second communications channel corresponds to a respective optical subcarrier.

23. The system of claim 1 , wherein the hub transceiver is configured to be physically coupled to an external connection interface of the first network node.

24. The system of claim 23 , wherein each of the edge transceivers is configured to be physically coupled to a respective external connection interface of the respective second network node.

25. The system of claim 1 , wherein the first network node and the second network nodes are computing devices.

26. An apparatus comprising:

an edge transceiver configured to be communicatively coupled to a first network node and to an optical communications network, wherein the edge transceiver is operable to:

receive, over a first communications channel of the optical communications network, a first message from a hub transceiver, wherein the first message comprises an indication of available network resources on the optical communications network,

transmit, over a second communications channel of the optical communications network, a second message to the hub transceiver, wherein the second message comprises an indication of a subset of the available network resources selected by the edge transceiver for use in communicating over the optical communications network,

receive, from the hub transceiver, a third message acknowledging receipt of a selection by the edge transceiver,

receive, from the hub transceiver, a fourth message confirming an assignment of the selected subset of the available network resources to the edge transceiver for use in communicating over the optical communications network, and

transmit, using the selected subset of the available network resources, data from the first network node to a second network node via the hub transceiver.

27. The apparatus of claim 26 , wherein the indication of the available network resources on the optical communications network comprises:

an indication of a plurality of optical subcarriers of the optical communications network, and

an identity of one or more of the optical subcarriers that are not currently assigned to the edge transceiver or any other edge transceivers of the optical communications network.

28. The apparatus of claim 27 , wherein the first communications channel comprises first signals that have been amplitude modulated with respect to each of the plurality of optical sub carriers.

29. The apparatus of claim 28 , wherein the second communications channel comprises second signals transmitted according to one or more frequencies that do not coincide with the plurality of optical subcarriers.

30. The apparatus of claim 27 , wherein the first message further comprises:

instructions for requesting assignment of the one or more of the optical subcarriers that are not currently assigned to the edge transceiver or any other edge transceivers of the optical communications network.

31. The apparatus of claim 26 , wherein the edge transceivers is operable to:

transmit the second message to the hub transceiver periodically until the third message is received by the edge transceiver from the hub transceiver.

32. The apparatus of claim 26 , wherein the edge transceiver is operable to:

receive a fifth message from the hub transceiver, wherein the fifth message comprises a command to modify an assignment of network resources to the edge transceiver, and

responsive to receiving the fifth message, transmit data from the first network node to the second network node via the hub transceiver according to the modified assignment of network resources.

33. The apparatus of claim 26 , wherein the edge transceiver is operable to:

receive a fifth message from the hub transceiver, wherein the fifth message comprises a command to relinquish the subset of network resources that had been assigned to the edge transceiver, and

responsive to receiving the fifth message, refrain from transmitting data to the hub transceiver using the subset of network resources that had been assigned to the edge transceiver.

34. The apparatus of claim 26 , wherein the edge transceiver is operable to:

receive a fifth message from the hub transceiver, wherein the fifth message comprises a request for a status of the edge transceiver, and

responsive to receiving the fifth message, transmit the status of the edge transceiver to the hub transceiver.

35. The apparatus of claim 26 , wherein the edge transceiver is operable to transmit a status of the edge transceiver to the hub transceiver periodically.

36. The apparatus of claim 26 , wherein the edge transceiver is operable to:

receive a fifth message from the hub transceiver, wherein the fifth message comprises a command to modify a transmit power of the edge transceiver, and

responsive to receiving the fifth message, transmit data from the first network node to a second network node via the hub transceiver according to the modified transmit power.

37. The apparatus of claim 26 ,

wherein the edge transceiver is operable to:

receive a fifth message from another edge transceivers or the hub transceiver, wherein the fifth message comprises a command to forward data from the edge transceiver to a further transceiver communicatively coupled to the optical communications network, and

responsive to receiving the fifth message, forward the data to the further transceiver according to the fifth message.

38. The apparatus of claim 37 , wherein the further transceiver is another edge transceiver of the optical communications network.

39. The apparatus of claim 26 , wherein the edge transceiver is operable to determine a carrier frequency associated with the hub transceiver.

40. The apparatus of claim 39 , wherein the edge transceiver is operable to determine a carrier frequency associated with the hub transceiver by:

receiving a signal from the hub transceiver via the optical communications network, wherein receiving the signal comprises scanning a frequency range using a local oscillator of the edge transceiver, the frequency range including a plurality of frequency subsets,

determining a plurality of power values of the optical signal, each of the plurality of power values being associated with a corresponding one of the plurality of frequency subsets, and

determining, based on the plurality of power values, a carrier frequency associated with the hub transceiver.

41. The apparatus of claim 40 , wherein the power level corresponding to the carrier frequency is greater than the power values corresponding to the frequency ranges that do not coincide with the carrier frequency.

42. The apparatus of claim 26 , wherein the edge transceiver is operable to:

receive, from the hub transceiver, one or more quality metrics regarding a signal transmitted from the edge transceiver to the hub transceiver, and

modify one or more control parameters for transmitting data based on the one or more quality metrics.

43. The apparatus of claim 42 , wherein the one or more control parameters comprise a transmit power of the first edge transceiver.

44. The apparatus of claim 26 , wherein at least one of the first communications channel or the second communications channel corresponds to a respective optical sub carrier.

45. The apparatus of claim 26 , wherein the edge transceiver is configured to be physically coupled to an external connection interface of the first network node.

46. The apparatus of claim 26 , wherein the first network node and the second network nodes are computing devices.