Patent ID: 6850706
Filing Date: 2005-02-01
Classification: H04B

Abstract:
1. A method for monitoring operation of optical supply line fibers within a transparent fiber-optic communications network, the method comprising the steps of: providing that the transparent fiber-optic communication network have a plurality of central optical devices connected to one another via further optical fibers; providing a monitoring device for monitoring a data rate of data being transmitted between each central optical device and a remote optical device; providing a regeneration unit for reproducing an original transmission level of optical signals transmitted via the optical fibers and the optical supply line fibers within each of the central optical devices; providing at least two optical supply line fibers for transmission of a plurality of optical user signals between one of the a central optical devices and the remote optical device; transmitting an optical auxiliary signal, which is produced in the monitoring device of the respective central optical device, together with a first optical user signal via at least one of the optical supply line fibers from the respective central optical device to the remote optical device; diverting and transmitting back, via at least one further fiber of the optical supply line fibers, the optical auxiliary signal received in the remote optical device to the monitoring device of the respective central optical device in addition to a second optical user signal; and evaluating the optical auxiliary signal in the monitoring device of the respective central optical device in order to monitor an operational state of at least one of the at least two optical supply line fibers.