Patent ID: 8126577

Claim:
A system for managing an optical communication device, comprising: an integrated circuit for controlling a parameter of the optical communication device; a monitoring component coupled to a memory register within the optical communication device, for monitoring a value of the parameter of the optical communication device that is stored within a memory register, wherein the monitoring component generates test data for transmission by the optical communication device, an output of the optical communication device in response to the test data are looped back to the monitoring component; a device interface, the device interface enabling two way communication between the optical communication device, the monitoring component, and an interface recognition/selection component, the two way communication comprising at least one of a management data input-output interface or a general purpose input/output interface; a digital agent interface that outputs the parameter monitored according to a digital agent selectable interface, the digital agent interface comprising one of a concise interface or a comprehensive interface, the digital agent interface is configured to receive an input in response to the output and forward the input to the device interface to adjust performance of the optical communication device by modifying the value of the parameter stored within the memory register; and an interface recognition/selection component that recognizes a communication protocol employed by the digital agent interface and loads a software logical interface that adapts the device interface to comply with communications protocols of the digital agent interface.