Patent ID: 7350986

Claim:
An optical transceiver comprising the following: a receiver configured to receive optical signals and convert the optical signals to electric signals; a sensor that is optically coupled to the receiver, the sensor being capable of measuring the receive power level of a received optical signal; a memory holding replaceable microcode that comprises: executable instructions concerning loss of signal (LOS) assert and deassert power levels; and loss of signal assert and deassert power level information; and at least one microprocessor configured to cause the optical transceiver to perform the following as a result of executing the microcode: an act of accessing a measured receive power level; an act of accessing a loss of signal assert power level; an act of comparing the measured receive power level to the loss of signal assert power level; and an act of causing a loss of signal indicator to be asserted if; the measured receive power level is less than the loss of signal assert power level; and the loss of signal indicator is not already asserted in connection with the measured receive power level.