Self-tuning an optical network at an operating point

1. A method comprising:

at a network interface unit, for a section of an optical network comprising a plurality of spans between optical nodes, each optical node having an amplifier to amplify optical signals for transmission between optical nodes, obtaining physical network layer data from the optical nodes for use as input to an analytical model;

on a processor coupled to the network interface unit, executing the operations of:

computing a set of powers defining an optimum working point of the amplifiers in the network section based on variations in amplifier noise figure which depend on amplifier gain;

computing a figure of merit representative of performance of the network section based on linear and non-linear noise at current power levels of the amplifiers;

evaluating the figure of merit; and

applying the set of powers to the amplifiers in the network section when evaluation of the figure of merit indicates that network performance improvement can be achieved by applying the set of powers to the amplifiers.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the obtaining the physical network layer data comprises obtaining data including one or more of: span loss between amplifier output and amplifier input at the edges of each span; span length, local loss and positions of concentrated losses; fiber type, chromatic dispersion and non-linear coefficients; noise figure versus gain for the amplifiers; and dense wavelength division multiplex grid characteristics.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein computing the set of powers is based on a minimization problem described by the analytical model.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising executing on the processor coupled to the network interface unit the operations of: verifying whether the set of powers is compatible with amplifier working range constraints, and outputting the set of powers for use if it is determined to be compatible with amplifier working range constraints.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein computing the figure of merit is based further on currently provisioned traffic through the section.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein evaluating the figure of merit is based on current traffic conditions.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein evaluating the figure of merit is based on fully loaded channel traffic.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein evaluating the figure of merit is based on reference traffic according to a network planning strategy.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising executing on the processor coupled to the network interface unit the operations of: evaluating physical light impairments after the set of powers have been set for each of a plurality of network sections of an optical link, and linearly adding the physical light impairments of the plurality of sections to obtain an end-to-end physical light impairment quantity for the optical link.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the physical network layer data comprises discovering, retrieving or measuring with a controller card at each optical node.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining comprises obtaining the physical network layer data from a software design tool characterizing the section of the optical network.

12. An apparatus comprising:

a network interface unit configured to enable communications over a network and to obtain, for a section of an optical network comprising a plurality of spans between optical nodes, each optical node having an amplifier to amplify optical signals for transmission between optical nodes, physical network layer data from the optical nodes for use as input to an analytical model; and

a processor coupled to the network interface unit, wherein the processor is configured to:

compute a set of powers defining an optimum working point of the amplifiers in the network section based on variations in amplifier noise figure which depend on amplifier gain;

compute a figure of merit representative of performance of the network section based on linear and non-linear noise at current power levels of the amplifiers;

evaluate the figure of merit; and

apply the set of powers to the amplifiers in the network section when evaluation of the figure of merit indicates that network performance improvement can be achieved by applying the set of powers to the amplifiers.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the processor is configured to compute the set of powers based on a minimization problem described by the analytical model.

14. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to verify whether the set of powers is compatible with amplifier working range constraints, and output the set of powers for use if it is determined to be compatible with amplifier working range constraints.

15. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the processor is configured to obtain the physical network layer data including one or more of: span loss between amplifier output and amplifier input at the edges of each span; span length, local loss and positions of concentrated losses; fiber type, chromatic dispersion and non-linear coefficients; noise figure versus gain for the amplifiers; and dense wavelength division multiplex grid characteristics.

16. The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to evaluate physical light impairments after the set of powers have been set for each of a plurality of network sections of an optical link, and linearly add the physical light impairments of the plurality of sections to obtain an end-to-end physical light impairment quantity for the optical link.

17. One or more non-transitory computer readable storage media encoded with software comprising computer executable instructions that when executed perform the operations of:

for a section of an optical network comprising a plurality of spans between optical nodes, each optical node having an amplifier to amplify optical signals for transmission between optical nodes, obtain physical network layer data from the optical nodes for use as input to an analytical model;

compute a set of powers defining an optimum working point of the amplifiers in the network section based on variations in amplifier noise figure which depend on amplifier gain;

compute a figure of merit representative of performance of the network section based on linear and non-linear noise at current power levels of the amplifiers;

evaluate the figure of merit; and

apply the set of powers to the amplifiers in the network section when evaluation of the figure of merit indicates that network performance improvement can be achieved by applying the set of powers to the amplifiers.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 17 , further comprising instructions that when executed compute the set of powers based on a minimization problem described by the analytical model.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 17 , further comprising instructions that when executed verify whether the set of powers is compatible with amplifier working range constraints, and output the set of powers for use if it is determined to be compatible with amplifier working range constraints.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage media of claim 17 , further comprising instructions that when executed evaluate physical light impairments after the set of powers have been set for each of a plurality of network sections of an optical link, and linearly add the physical light impairments of the plurality of sections to obtain an end-to-end physical light impairment quantity for the optical link.