RAD eyes smart SFP transceivers with OAM patent acquisitions

RAD has positioned itself to offer smart SFP optical transceivers with the acquisition of two issued U.S. patents and one pending U.S. application pertaining to operations, administration, and management (OAM) technology.

The two patents, US 8,982,726 and 9,025,490, cover connectivity check and loopback functionality within an SFP optical module. The company sees these capabilities as applicable to its MiNID line of miniature Carrier Ethernet and IP network demarcation devices (NIDs). Addition of smart SFPs would improve the NIDs' fault and performance management capabilities.

The company did not reveal when it might offer smart SFPs based on the newly acquired intellectual property. Nor did it say whether it would produce the devices or contract with an outside vendor.

The two patents previously belonged to BTPatent LLC, according to Google's patent database. They were filed in 2011.

Smart SFPs are an area of growing vendor interest. Companies such as OE Solutions and most recently Transition Networks have offered such optical modules to add fault identification and performance management to fielded systems, typically NIDs. In addition, Viavi Solutions is able to embed sensors in optical modules to enable its PacketPortal offering, while Nokia has used smart transceivers to enable onboard OTDR functionality for its PON optical line terminals.

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