Patent ID: 6931196

Claim:
An optical apparatus comprising: a plurality of separate optical paths, each of which receiving a separate group of optical signals; a plurality of variable optical attenuators, each of which having an input coupled to an associated one of said separate optical paths; an optical combiner having separate inputs, each of which coupled to an output of an associated one of said variable optical attenuators, said optical combiner having an output providing said separate groups of optical signals in an aggregated form on an aggregate optical signal path; and an optical performance monitor coupled to said aggregate optical signal path, said optical performance monitor being configured to detect a plurality of optical signal to noise ratios, each of which being associated with a respective one of said separate groups and to supply a feedback signal to corresponding ones of said variable optical attenuators for adjusting a respective attenuation associated with each of said attenuators in response to the detected plurality of optical signal to noise ratios.