Abstract
This disclosure addresses critical safety vulnerabilities associated with Optical Supervisory Channel (OSC) systems used for Automatic Laser Safety Shutoff (ALSO) in optical networks. Existing methods assume correct OSC connectivity based solely on manual provisioning, which poses significant risks of unsafe amplifier operation during fiber disruptions. This disclosure introduces two novel methods—OSC_noConfig and OSC Connection Validation (CV)—to robustly verify OSC connectivity. The OSC_noConfig method automatically detects missing OSC provisioning, simplifying safety shutoff criteria to a single-term threshold, thereby ensuring safe amplifier shutdown even when OSC messages are unreliable. The OSC CV method utilizes precise on-off keying signaling to confirm correct OSC connections post-provisioning, immediately raising alarms for detected mismatches. These complementary approaches replace implicit assumptions with explicit validations, significantly enhancing safety and reliability during both pre- and post-provisioning phases.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Anonymous, "Enhanced Optical Supervisory Channel (OSC) Safety Verification for Automatic Laser Shutoff Systems", Technical Disclosure Commons, (August 18, 2025)
https://www.tdcommons.org/dpubs_series/8467