Abstract:
An apparatus comprises an optical level controller for autonomously controlling an optical device such that an optical level of the supplied optical signal becomes an objective level, and a controlled variable storer for storing a controlled variable in storage if a restart is required, the optical level controller providing the controlled variable to control the optical signal, wherein the optical level controller starts the control of optical device after the restart while the controlled variable stored in the storage by the controlled variable storer is set at an initial value.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority of the prior Japanese Application No. 2007-286229, filed on Nov. 2, 2007, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    1. Field 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to an optical transmission apparatus and a restart control method, particularly to an optical transmission apparatus and a restart control method which can prevent unstable communication even if restart is performed. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    Recently, larger capacity and longer distance has been demanded in a network with increasing communication capacity and communication distance. An optical network, in which Wavelength Division Multiplex (WDM) is utilized, is used to satisfy these demands in a core network. 
         [0006]    An optical transmission apparatus called Optical Add and Drop Multiplexer (OADM) is used to establish connection with another network in and optical network in which Wavelength Division Multiplex (WDM) is utilized. In an OADM, any wavelength is added to any path and a signal light having any wavelength is dropped from the path and received from any path (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-40437). 
         [0007]    The optical add and drop multiplexer includes a mechanism in which autonomous control is performed to realize stable communication. In the mechanism, an optical level of the optical signal becomes a target level in each division-multiplexed wavelength (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-208650. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0008]    In view of the foregoing, an object of the invention is to provide an optical transmission apparatus which can prevent unstable communication even if the restart is performed, and a restart control method. 
         [0009]    According to an aspect of an embodiment, an apparatus comprises an optical level controller for autonomously controlling an optical device such that an optical level of the supplied optical signal becomes an objective level, and a controlled variable storer for storing a controlled variable in storage if a restart is required, the optical level controller providing the controlled variable to control the optical signal, wherein the optical level controller starts the control of the optical device after the restart while the controlled variable stored in the storage by the controlled variable storer is set at an initial value. 
         [0010]    Additional objects and advantages of the embodiment will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. 
         [0011]    The object and advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by means of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. 
         [0012]    It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed. 
         [0013]    The above-described embodiments of the present invention are intended as examples, and all embodiments of the present invention are not limited to including the features described above. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  shows an example of a configuration of a WDM communication system; 
           [0015]      FIG. 2  shows a configuration of an optical add and drop multiplexer; 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  shows a configuration of a main part of an optical add and drop multiplexing module; 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is a functional block diagram showing a function of an optical device control unit; 
           [0018]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart showing an operation of the optical device control unit of  FIG. 4 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 6  shows a modification of the optical add and drop multiplexing module; and 
           [0020]      FIG. 7  is a flowchart showing an operation of a conventional optical device control unit. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0021]    Reference may now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. 
         [0022]    An optical transmission apparatus and a restart control method according to a preferred embodiment of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
       Embodiment 
       [0023]    A WDM communication system including optical add and drop multiplexers  2   a  to  2   f  according to an embodiment of the invention will be described below.  FIG. 1  shows an example of a configuration of the WDM communication system including the optical add and drop multiplexers  2   a  to  2   f  of the embodiment. In the configuration of the WDM communication system of  FIG. 1 , optical networks  1   a  to  1   d  are connected by the optical add and drop multiplexers  2   a  to  2   f.  Operation Systems (OPS)  3   a  and  3   b  are also connected to the WDM communication system in order to maintain and manage the optical add and drop multiplexers  2   a  to  2   f.    
         [0024]    Each of the optical add and drop multiplexers  2   a  to  2   f  includes a control mechanism in which autonomous control is performed such that an optical level of the optical signal becomes a target level in each division-multiplexed wavelength. The optical add and drop multiplexers  2   a  to  2   f  can maintain the stable communication state even if the control mechanism is restarted to update firmware or a programmable device in response to an instruction of each of the operation systems  3   a  and  3   b.    
         [0025]    In the example of  FIG. 1 , the optical add and drop multiplexers  2   a  to  2   f  are used to connect the optical networks to one another. The optical add and drop multiplexers  2   a  to  2   f  may be used to connect the optical network to other networks such as Ethernet (registered trademark) and an ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) network. 
         [0026]    Configurations of the optical add and drop multiplexers  2   a  to  2   f  will be described. Because the optical add and drop multiplexers  2   a  to  2   f  have the similar configuration, the optical add and drop multiplexer  2   a  will be used as an example to describe the configuration.  FIG. 2  shows a configuration of the optical add and drop multiplexer  2   a.  As shown in  FIG. 2 , the optical add and drop multiplexer  2   a  includes optical add and drop multiplexing modules  10   a  and  10   b,  reception amplifier modules  20   a  and  20   b,  transmission amplifier modules  30   a  and  30   b,  and a management module  40 . 
         [0027]    The optical add and drop multiplexing module  10   a  adds an optical signal fed from an add port  11  to an optical signal fed from the right direction of  FIG. 2 , and the optical add and drop multiplexing module  10   a  supplies the optical signal to the left direction of  FIG. 2 . The optical add and drop multiplexing module  10   a  drops a signal having a particular wavelength from an optical signal fed from the left direction of  FIG. 2 , and the optical add and drop multiplexing module  10   a  supplies the optical signal from a drop port  12 . In the reception amplifier module  20   a,  the optical signal fed from the right direction of  FIG. 2  is optical-amplified by an amplifier  21  and supplied to the optical add and drop multiplexing modules  10   a  and  10   b.  In the transmission amplifier module  30   a,  an amplifier  31  optical-amplifies a signal supplied to the left direction by the optical add and drop multiplexing module  10   a.    
         [0028]    The optical add and drop multiplexing module  10   b  adds the optical signal fed from the add port  11  to the optical signal fed from the left direction of  FIG. 2 , and the optical add and drop multiplexing module  10   b  supplies the optical signal to the right direction of  FIG. 2 . The optical add and drop multiplexing module  10   b  drops a signal having a particular wavelength from the optical signal fed from the right direction of  FIG. 2 , and the optical add and drop multiplexing module  10   b  supplies the optical signal from the drop port  12 . In the reception amplifier module  20   b,  the optical signal fed from the left direction of  FIG. 2  is optical-amplified by the amplifier  21  and supplied to the optical add and drop multiplexing modules  10   a  and  10   b.  In the transmission amplifier module  30   b,  the amplifier  31  optical-amplifies a signal supplied to the right direction by the optical add and drop multiplexing module  10   a.    
         [0029]    The management module  40  manages the optical add and drop multiplexing modules  10   a  and  10   b  based on setting information  41  stored therein. For example, the setting information  41  includes optical cross connect information indicating which an optical signal having a wavelength is added, which an optical signal having a wavelength is dropped, and which an optical signal having a wavelength is passed through. The management module  40  provides an instruction to the optical add and drop multiplexing modules  10   a  and  10   b  such that the optical device is set based on the optical cross connect information. 
         [0030]    The setting information  41  is edited through the operation systems  3   a  and  3   b  (shown in  FIG. 1 ) by a network manager, and setting information  41  is stored in a nonvolatile memory. Accordingly, the optical cross connect information set by the network manager is not lost even if the optical add and drop multiplexer  2   a  is restarted, and the optical cross connect information is used to reproduce the same state as the pre-restart after the restart. 
         [0031]      FIG. 3  shows a configuration of a main part of the optical add and drop multiplexing module  10   a  of  FIG. 2 . In  FIG. 3 , the configuration relating to the drop of the optical signal is omitted for the purpose of convenience. The optical add and drop multiplexing module  10   b  has a configuration similar to that of the optical add and drop multiplexing module  10   a.    
         [0032]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , in addition to the add port  11 , the optical add and drop multiplexing module  10   a  includes a thru port  13   a,  a mux port  13   b,  an optical demultiplexer  14 , optical switches  15   a  to  15   n,  Variable Optical Attenuators (VOAs)  16   a  to  16   n,  Photo Diodes (PDs)  17   a  to  17   n,  an optical multiplexer  18 , and an optical device control unit  19 . 
         [0033]    The thru port  13   a  is used to receive the optical signal optical-amplified by the reception amplifier module  20   a,  and the optical demultiplexer  14  separates the optical signal received by the thru port  13   a  into each wavelength. The optical switches  15   a  to  15   n  are provided in each wavelength separated by the optical demultiplexer  14 , and the optical switches  15   a  to  15   n  supplies one of the optical signal having the particular wavelength separated by the optical demultiplexer  14  and the optical signal having the particular wavelength received by the add port  11  to VOAs  16   a  to  16   n,  respectively. 
         [0034]    VOAs  16   a  to  16   n  corresponding to the optical switches  15   a  to  15   n  are provided, respectively. VOAs  16   a  to  16   n  attenuate the optical signals such that optical levels of the optical signals supplied from the optical switches  15   a  to  15   n  become target optical levels, respectively. PDs  17   a  to  17   n  corresponding to VOAs  16   a  to  16   n  are provided, respectively. PDs  17   a  to  17   n  measure the optical levels of the optical signals supplied from VOAs  16   a  to  16   n  and supplies the measurement results to the optical device control unit  19 , respectively. 
         [0035]    The optical multiplexer  18  wavelength-multiplexes the optical signal having wavelengths supplied from VOAs  16   a  to  16   n  through PDs  17   a  to  17   n.  The mux port  13   b  is used to supply the division-multiplexed optical signal to the transmission amplifier module  30   a  from the optical multiplexer  18 . 
         [0036]    The optical device control unit  19  controls optical devices such as the optical switches  15   a  to  15   n,  VOAs  16   a  to  16   n,  and PDs  17   a  to  17   n.  Specifically, the optical device control unit  19  controls the optical switches  15   a  to  15   n  based on the optical cross connect information included in the setting information  41  such that the optical signal is correctly dropped. The optical device control unit  19  varies attenuations of VOAs  16   a  to  16   n  based on the measurement results of PDs  17   a  to  17   n  such that the optical levels of the optical signals having wavelengths become objective levels. 
         [0037]      FIG. 4  is a detailed configuration of the optical device control unit  19 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , the optical device control unit  19  includes a Central Processing Unit (CPU)  191 , a timer unit  192 , a firmware update unit  193 , and a storage unit  194 . In  FIG. 4 , the configuration relating to the control of the optical switch  15   a  to  15   n  is omitted for the purpose of convenience. 
         [0038]    CPU  191  is an arithmetic processing device which can perform various pieces of arithmetic processing, and CPU  191  realizes various functions by executing firmware  194   b  stored in the storage unit  194 . For example, CPU  191  executes the firmware  194   b  to realize an optical level control unit  191   a,  a controlled variable saving unit  191   b,  a stable state determination unit  191   c,  and an optical amplifier control unit  191   d.    
         [0039]    The optical level control unit  191   a  adjusts controlled variables of VOAs  16   a  to  16   n  based on the measurement results of PDs  17   a  to  17   n  such that the optical levels of the optical signals having wavelengths become the objective levels. The optical level control unit  191   a  varies the controlled variables of VOAs  16   a  to  16   n  little by little within a predetermined width such that a communication failure is not generated by rapidly changing the optical level. 
         [0040]    The optical level control unit  191   a  uses information obtained from controlled variable information  194   a  stored in the storage unit  194  as initial values of the controlled variables given to VOAs  16   a  to  16   n,  when the control of VOAs  16   a  to  16   n  is resumed after the restart. As described later, the controlled variable saving unit  191   b  saves the controlled variables of VOAs  16   a  to  16   n  before the restart in the controlled variable information  194   a.  Therefore, the optical level control unit  191   a  can set the controlled variables of VOAs  16   a  to  16   n  at proper sizes for a short time after the restart to avoid the generation of the communication failure associated with the restart. 
         [0041]    The controlled variable saving unit  191   b  stores the controlled variables applied to VOAs  16   a  to  16   n  by the optical level control unit  191   a  as controlled variable information  194   a  in the storage unit  194  before the restart is performed. The controlled variable saving unit  191   b  changes contents stored as the controlled variable information  194   a  according to the usage state of each wavelength. 
         [0042]    The controlled variable saving unit  191   b  stores the controlled variable information  194   a  that the attenuation of VOA corresponding to the wavelength in non-operation should be maximized to set VOA corresponding to the wavelength in non-operation at a shut-down state in the storage unit  194  such that VOA corresponding to the wavelength in non-operation has an influence on other wavelengths in operation. Because the controlled variable saving unit  191   b  can start the control from the state in which the attenuation of VOA is maximized, the controlled variable saving unit  191   b  stores the controlled variable information  194   a  that the wavelength of ALD (Automatic Level Down) state, that is, the wavelength which is in operation while the signal is not fed, the controlled variable saving unit  191   b  should be set at the shut-down state in the storage unit  194 . 
         [0043]    The controlled variable saving unit  191   b  causes the stable state determination unit  191   c  to determine whether or not the wavelength is in operation while the signal is fed is stabilized. For the wavelength whose stability is determined by the stable state determination unit  191   c,  the controlled variable applied to the corresponding VOA is stored as the controlled variable information  194   a  which should be applied to VOA after the restart. On the other hand, for the wavelength whose instability is determined by the stable state determination unit  191   c,  because the proper controlled variable cannot specified after the restart, the stable state determination unit  191   c  stores the controlled variable information  194   a  that the wavelength should be set at the shut-down state in the storage unit  194 . 
         [0044]    In order to prevent the instability of the communication state during the restart, the optical level control unit  191   a  maximizes the attenuation of VOA to set the wavelength at the shut-down state before the restart is performed for VOA corresponding to the determination, made by the stable state determination unit  191   c,  that wavelength should be set at the shut-down state. 
         [0045]    The stable state determination unit  191   c  monitors the measurement results of the optical levels transmitted from PDs  17   a  to  17   n,  and the stable state determination unit  191   c  determines whether or not each wavelength is stabilized. The determination whether or not each wavelength is stabilized is made based on whether or not a difference between the optical level and the target level of each wavelength falls within a predetermined range. The stable state determination unit  191   c  determines that the wavelength is not stabilized when the difference between the optical level and the target level of each wavelength does not fall within a predetermined range even after a predetermined time elapses. 
         [0046]    The optical amplifier control unit  191   d  makes transitions of the reception amplifier modules  20   a  and  20   b  and the transmission amplifier modules  30   a  and  30   b  from an ALC (Automatic Level Control) mode in which the optical level of the division-multiplexed optical signal is kept constant to an AGC (Automatic Gain Control) mode in which a gain of the division-multiplexed optical signal is kept constant before the restart is performed. 
         [0047]    In the case where the whole of the optical add and drop multiplexer  2   a  is not restarted but only the optical device control unit  19  is restarted, the communication continuously is conducted during the restart. However, when the reception amplifier module  20   a  is set in the ALC mode, in the case where the number of paths is increased or decreased to vary the number of wavelengths in the operation state during the restart, the gain control of each wavelength is not performed based on the proper number of wavelengths, which possibly causes a communication error. The transition to the AGC mode is made before the restart is performed, which allows the problem to be solved. 
         [0048]    The timer unit  192  is timing means for measuring a time in which the stable state determination unit  191   c  waits for the stability of the wavelength. The firmware update unit  193  downloads an update-version file from another server to update the firmware  194   b  stored in the storage unit  194 . The firmware update unit  193  also performs a process for restarting the optical device control unit  19  to execute the updated firmware  194   b.  The firmware update unit  193  provides an instruction to the controlled variable saving unit  191   b  to perform the saving processing of the controlled variable of VOAs  16   a  to  16   n  before the restart such that the communication does not become unstable after the restart. 
         [0049]    The controlled variable information  194   a  and the firmware  194   b  are stored in the storage unit  194 , and the storage unit  194  is formed by a nonvolatile memory such that the information is not lost after the restart. 
         [0050]    In the configuration of  FIG. 4 , CPU  191  reads the firmware  194   b  to realize the control of VOAs  16   a  to  16   n  and the like. However, a part of or all the functions realized by CPU  191  may be realized with a programmable device such as FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) or a hard-wired logic device such as ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). 
         [0051]    In the case where the function realized by CPU  191  is realized with the programmable device, preferably an update unit corresponding to the firmware update unit  193  is provided to enable logic update, and an instruction is provided to the controlled variable saving unit  191   b  to perform the saving processing of the controlled variable of VOAs  16   a  to  16   n  before the restart such that the communication does not become unstable during the restart associated with the logic update. 
         [0052]    An operation of the optical device control unit  19  of  FIG. 4  will be described in comparison with an operation of a conventional optical device control unit. 
         [0053]      FIG. 7  is a flowchart showing the operation of the conventional optical device control unit. As shown in  FIG. 7 , when the conventional optical device control unit is started up, the optical device control unit obtains the initial value of the controlled variable of each wavelength (Operation S 201 ). At this point, the obtained initial value is a constant value which is set to be adjusted. The conventional optical device control unit sets the initial value of the controlled variable at each VOA (Operation S 202 ), and the optical amplifier unit is set in the ALC mode (Operation S 203 ). 
         [0054]    Then, the optical device control unit obtains the optical level from each PD (Operation S 204 ), the optical device control unit computes the controlled variable of each wavelength from the obtained optical level and the target level (Operation S 205 ), and the optical device control unit sets the computed controlled variable at each VOA (Operation S 206 ). The pieces of the process from Operation S 204  to Operation S 206  are repeatedly performed, which brings the optical level of each wavelength close to the target level (No in Operation S 207 ). 
         [0055]    In the case where the restart is required (Yes in Operation S 207 ), the conventional optical device control unit resumes the operation from Operation S 201  to set a constant value previously set as the controlled variable at each VOA. 
         [0056]    In Operation S 205 , in order to prevent the failure generation caused by the rapid variation of the optical level, the controlled variable is computed such that the variation is not increased larger than a predetermined width. Therefore, in the VOA control performed by the conventional optical device control unit, it takes a long time for the light having each wavelength to become the objective level, and sometimes the communication error is generated in the meantime. 
         [0057]      FIG. 5  is a flowchart showing the operation of the optical device control unit  19  of  FIG. 4 . As shown in  FIG. 5 , when an optical device control unit  19  is started up, the optical level control unit  191   a  reads the controlled variable information  194   a  to obtain the controlled variable of each wavelength which is stored by the controlled variable saving unit  191   b  before the start-up (Operation S 101 ). The optical level control unit  191   a  sets the read controlled variables at VOAs  16   a  to  16   n  (Operation S 102 ). The optical amplifier control unit  191   d  sets the reception amplifier modules  20   a  and  20   b  and the transmission amplifier modules  30   a  and  30   b  in the ALC mode which is of an initial mode (Operation S 103 ). 
         [0058]    Then, the optical level control unit  191   a  obtains the optical levels from PDs  17   a  to  17   n  (Operation S 104 ), the optical level control unit  191   a  computes the controlled variable of each wavelength from the obtained optical level and the target level (Operation S 105 ), and the optical level control unit  191   a  sets the computed controlled variables at VOAs  16   a  to  16   n  (Operation S 106 ). The optical level control unit  191   a  repeatedly performs the operations in Operations S 104  to S 106 . Therefore, the optical level control unit  191   a  corrects the controlled variable such that the optical level of each wavelength is maintained at the objective level, and the optical level control unit  191   a  brings the optical level of the wavelength close to the objective level when the wavelength in which the communication is newly started exists (No in Operation S 107 ). 
         [0059]    When the restart is required (Yes in Operation S 107 ), the optical amplifier control unit  191 d sets the reception amplifier modules  20   a  and  20   b  and the transmission amplifier modules  30   a  and  30   b  in the AGC mode in order to stabilize the communication state (Operation S 108 ). The optical level control unit  191   a  sets VOA corresponding to the unused wavelength at the shut-down state, and the controlled variable saving unit  191   b  stores the controlled variables of the wavelengths as the controlled variable information  194   a  (Operation S 109 ). 
         [0060]    Then, the stable state determination unit  191   c  starts the timing with the timer unit  192  (Operation S 110 ), and the stable state determination unit  191   c  confirms the stability of the wavelengths until determining that all the wavelengths in operation are stabilized (Operation S 111 ). When the stable state determination unit  191  c determines that all the wavelengths in operation are stabilized (Yes in Operation S 112 ), the controlled variable saving unit  191   b  stores the controlled variables of the wavelengths in the stable state as the controlled variable information  194   a  (Operation S 115 ). Then, the optical device control unit  19  resumes the operation from Operation Si  01 , and the optical device control unit  19  controls VOAs  16   a  to  16   n  while the controlled variable saved by the controlled variable saving unit  191   b  is set at the initial value. 
         [0061]    On the other hand, if a predetermined time elapses while the stable state determination unit  191   c  does not determine that all the wavelengths in operation are stabilized (Yes in Operation S 113 ), the optical level control unit  191   a  sets VOA corresponding to the wavelength which is not in the stable state at the shut-down state, and the controlled variable saving unit  191   b  stores the controlled variables of the wavelengths as the controlled variable information  194   a  (Operation S 114 ). The controlled variable saving unit  191   b  stores the controlled variable of the wavelength in the stable state as the controlled variable information  194   a  (Operation S 115 ). Then, the optical device control unit  19  resumes the operation from Operation S 101 , and the optical device control unit  19  controls VOA  16   a  to  16   n  while the controlled variable saved by the controlled variable saving unit  191   b  is set at the initial value. 
         [0062]    Thus, in the embodiment, when the restart is required, the controlled variable saving unit  191   b  stores the controlled variable which the optical level control unit  191   a  gives to the VOAs  16   a  to  16   n  as the controlled variable information  194   a.  After the restart, the optical level control unit  191   a  resumes the control of VOAs  16   a  to  16   n  while the controlled variable stored as the controlled variable information  194   a  is set at the initial value. Therefore, the optical level control unit  191   a  can set the optical signal at the objective level for a short time after the restart, and the optical level control unit  191   a  can prevent the unstable communication. 
         [0063]    In the embodiment of the invention, the optical add and drop multiplexer is described by way of example. However, the invention can also effectively be applied to other pieces of optical transmission apparatus except for the optical add and drop multiplexer. In the embodiment, the wavelength whose instability is determined by the stable state determination unit  191   c  after the predetermined elapses is set at the shut-down state. Alternatively, the wavelength is not set at the shut-down state, but the restart may be stopped to inform the network manager of the unstable wavelength through the operation systems  3   a  and  3   b.    
         [0064]    In the embodiment, the optical signal having the particular wavelength is set at the shut-down state by maximizing the attenuation of a VOA. Sometimes, however, the optical signal cannot completely be cut off even if the attenuation of the VOA is maximized. Therefore, in an optical add and drop multiplexing module  10   a ′ shown in  FIG. 6 , optical switches  15   a ′ to  15   n ′ are provided between the optical switches  15   a  to  15   n  and VOAs  16   a  to  16   n,  and the optical signal having the particular wavelength may be set at the shut-down state by flips of the optical switches  15   a ′ to  15   n′.    
         [0065]    Although the embodiments of the present inventions have been described in detail, it should be understood that the various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto without depending from the sprit and scope of the invention. 
         [0066]    Although a few preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.