Patent ID: 7072582

Claim:
A method for automatically setting output power levels of optical transmitters in an optical communications arrangement having at least a first and a second node, wherein the transmitter of the first node is optically coupled to a receiver in the second node, and the transmitter in the second node is optically coupled to a receiver in the first node, comprising: transmitting respective sequences of power-level messages from the transmitters to the receivers, wherein each message in a sequence includes output-power code that indicates an output power level used by the transmitter to transmit the message, and each transmitter uses increasing power levels to transmit each power-level message in the sequence; detecting power levels at which the power-level messages are received by the receivers; and when a receiver receives a power-level message at a power level that satisfies a selected power level, automatically setting an output power level of the coupled transmitter to the output power level indicated in the power-level message.