Systems and methods of mesh-based fault detection in passive optical networks
A PON system includes both a PON via which optical services are delivered and a wireless network overlaying the PON. The wireless network may be a self-organizing wireless mesh network, and may generally operate as a logical signaling pathway via which information regarding optical states/statuses of PON components and/or related information is delivered from the field to back-end servers of the PON system. Accordingly, the system may include multiple in-common nodes (e.g., OLTs, LMTUs, etc.) which are included in both the PON and the wireless network. Based on optical information received via the wireless network, the servers can localize the physical location of a PON fault to a particular geographical region of multiple regions serviced by the PON (in some cases narrowing the fault's physical location to a particular span, FDH, or optical terminal), and may dispatch a technician directly to the localized physical location to address the fault.
1. A system for fault localization in a Passive Optical Network (PON), the system comprising:
a wireless mesh network overlaying the PON, the wireless mesh network including a plurality of nodes, the plurality of nodes including a plurality of optical components of the PON, and the wireless mesh network configured to deliver one or more signals indicative of respective losses of optical connectivity of one or more optical components of the PON to one or more servers for localizing a fault within the PON.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the wireless mesh network is configured to deliver signals indicative of respective optical connectivity statuses of the one or more optical components to the one or more servers for the localizing of the fault within the PON.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of optical components includes at least one of a last mile termination unit (LMTU), an Optical Line Terminal (OLT), a Fiber Distribution Hub (FDH), a Fiber Distribution Terminal (FDT), or a Network Interface Device (NID).
4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the plurality of optical components includes at least one LMTU.
5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of optical components includes at least one of a first optical component including a first software defined radio, or a second optical component communicatively connected to a respective software defined radio.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein each signal of the one or more signals indicative of the respective losses of optical connectivity of the one or more optical components includes an indication of at least one of: (i) a timestamp corresponding to a detection of a loss of optical connectivity of a respective optical component, or (ii) a route, within the wireless mesh network, via which an indication of the loss of optical connectivity of the respective optical component is being delivered via the wireless mesh network to the one or more servers.
7. The system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the plurality of optical components is not actively providing optical services via the PON.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of nodes includes at least one logical wireless node, each logical wireless node comprising a respective optical component of the PON and a respective wireless transceiver communicatively connected to the respective optical component.
9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the wireless mesh network is configured to deliver a respective control signal to at least one optical component of the PON.
10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the respective control signal is generated by the one or more servers or a portable computing device communicatively connected to the wireless mesh network.
11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the wireless mesh network is configured to deliver data that is generated by at least one optical component of the PON to at least one of the one or more servers or a portable computing device communicatively connected to the wireless mesh network.
12. The system of claim 1 , wherein the wireless mesh network is configured to route messages within the wireless mesh network on a peer-to-peer, ad-hoc, or self-organizing basis.
13. The system of claim 12 , wherein one or more nodes of the wireless mesh network maintains routing statuses of one or more other nodes of the wireless mesh network, and the routing of the messages within the wireless mesh network is based on the maintained routing statuses.
14. The system of claim 13 , wherein at least one of the one or more nodes of the wireless mesh network transmits updates to the maintained routing statuses to at least one other node of the wireless mesh network, and the routing of the messages within the wireless mesh network is based on the updated routing statuses.
15. The system of claim 1 , wherein each wireless node of the wireless mesh network is configured to support at least one of: a short-range wireless protocol; a VHF (very high frequency) band, a UHF (ultra high frequency) band; at least one of a 2.4 GHz, 4.9 GHz, 5G, 6G, or 60 GHz frequency band; an IEEE 802.11 af compliant protocol, or an IEEE 802.11 ah compliant protocol.
16. The system of claim 1 , wherein at least a portion of the plurality of nodes of the wireless mesh network are authenticated and/or authorized to communicate via the wireless mesh network.
17. A method at a wireless mesh network overlaying a passive optical network (PON), the wireless mesh network including a plurality of nodes, and the plurality of nodes including two or more optical components of the PON, and the method comprising, at each optical component of the two or more optical components included in the plurality of nodes of the wireless mesh network:
receiving, via the PON and via a respective optical interface of the each optical component, an optical signal including content of a respective optical-based service provided by the PON;
delivering, by the each optical component, the content of the respective optical-based service to a respective user interface of a respective last mile termination unit disposed at a respective location serviced by the PON;
obtaining, by the each optical component, one or more signals indicative of respective losses of optical connectivity of one or more optical components of the PON; and
delivering, by the each optical component and via the wireless mesh network, one or more indications of the respective losses of optical connectivity of the one or more optical components to one or more servers for localizing a fault within the PON.
18. The method of claim 17 , further comprising delivering, by the each optical component and via the wireless mesh network, an indication of respective optical connectivity statuses of the one or more optical components of the PON to the one or more servers for the localizing of the fault within the PON.
19. The method of claim 17 , wherein the two or more optical components include at least one of: a last mile termination unit (LMTU) of the PON, an Optical Line Terminal (OLT), a Fiber Distribution Hub (FDH), a Fiber Distribution Terminal (FDT), or a Network Interface Device (NID) of the PON.
20. The method of claim 17 , wherein a respective wireless interface communicatively connecting the each optical component to the wireless mesh network is included in or communicatively connected to the each optical component.
21. The method of claim 20 , wherein the respective wireless interface is included in a respective software defined radio that is included in or communicatively connected to the each optical component.
22. The method of claim 17 , further comprising including, in the one or more indications of the respective losses of optical connectivity of the one or more optical components, an indication of at least one of: (i) a timestamp corresponding to a detection of a loss of optical connectivity of a respective optical component, or (ii) a route, within the wireless mesh network, via which an indication of the loss of optical connectivity of the respective optical component is being delivered via the wireless mesh network to the one or more servers.
23. The method of claim 17 , further comprising delivering, by the each optical component and via the wireless mesh network, a respective control signal to at least one optical component of the PON.
24. The method of claim 23 , wherein the respective control signal is generated by the one or more servers or a portable computing device communicatively connected to the wireless mesh network.
25. The method of claim 17 , further comprising delivering, by the each optical component and via the wireless mesh network, data that is generated by at least one optical component of the PON to at least one of the one or more servers or a portable computing device communicatively connected to the wireless mesh network.
26. The method of claim 17 , further comprising routing, by the each optical component, messages within the wireless mesh network on a peer-to-peer, ad-hoc, or self-organizing basis.
27. The method of claim 26 ,
further comprising maintaining, by the each optical component, routing statuses of one or more other nodes of the wireless mesh network; and
wherein the routing, by the each optical component, of the messages within the wireless mesh network is based on the maintained routing statuses.
28. The method of claim 27 , further comprising obtaining, by the each optical component and via the wireless mesh network, one or more updates to the maintained routing statuses, and updating the maintained routing statuses based on the obtained one or more updates.
29. The method of claim 17 , further comprising at least one of authenticating or authorizing the each optical component to communicate via the wireless mesh network.