Patent ID: 8433193

Claim:
An optical channel power offset method, comprising: dividing an optical network into one or more sections, wherein a section of the one or more sections comprises a start point in the optical network where a power of each optical channel can be adjusted individually to an end point comprising a next point in the optical network where the power of each optical channel can be adjusted individually; adding an optical channel to one or more of the one or more sections; taking inventory of fiber type for each span in the optical network, wherein the fiber type comprises one of a plurality of fiber types; determining a channel type of the optical channel, wherein the channel type comprises one of a plurality of channel types; calculating a power of the optical channel for each of the one or more sections which the optical channel is added responsive to the channel type; wherein the optical channel power offset method is performed by one or more of a network management system, an element management system, and a controller; wherein some optical channels traverse different sections between the start point and the end point; for each section, j, and channel type X calculating the optical channel power according to the formula of Chan_Type ⁢ _X ⁢ _Power j = 1 N j ⁢ ∑ i ⁢ Number_Spans ⁢ _Type j , i × FT_X ⁢ _Power i , wherein N j comprises a total number of fiber spans in section j, Number_Spans_Type j,i is the number of spans of fiber type i in section j based on the taking inventory step, FT_X_Power, is a predetermined value for each channel type X of the plurality of channel types and for each fiber type of the plurality of fiber types, and the summation is over all fiber types, i, in section j.