Patent ID: 7339725
Filing Date: 2008-03-04
Classification: H04B

Abstract:
1. A method of recovering from a failure of at least one pump sources in an amplifier in an optical communications system, comprising: providing first optical amplifiers having a first maximum gain and first noise figure and second optical amplifiers having a second maximum gain greater than the first maximum gain and a second noise figure greater than the first noise figure; provisioning first optical amplifiers discretely along an optical path for at least one span having a span losses that exceeds the first maximum gain; provisioning second optical amplifiers discretely along the optical path to compensate for span losses along the optical path; controlling the second optical amplifiers to provide gain that substantially compensates for span losses associated with the second optical amplifiers and the span losses exceeding the first maximum gain of the first optical amplifiers; and controlling the second optical amplifiers to provide gain that compensates for a failure of at least one pump in the first optical amplifiers.