Patent ID: 7146101

Claim:
A network element residing in an optical transport network, comprising: an optical transport line terminating at the network element, the optical transport line operable to carry an optical system signal therein; a demultiplexing component connected to the optical transport line, the demultiplexing component operable to receive the optical system signal and separate the optical system signal into a plurality of intermediate optical signals; a plurality of optical fibers connected to the demultiplexing component, and a plurality of management signal sources interposed between the demultiplexing component and the plurality of optical fibers, where each of the management signal sources introduces an optical management signal into a corresponding optical fiber, such that each of the optical fibers carries an optical management signal and one of the plurality of intermediate optical signals therein, the optical management signal being transmitted at a wavelength different than the wavelength range used to transmit the intermediate optical signal.