From Symptoms to Root Cause: A Practical Guide to Troubleshooting Coherent Optical Transport
(Room Magnolia 2)
20 Jan 26
2:30 PM
-
3:30 PM
Tracks:
Optimizing Data Centers
High-speed coherent optical transport (400G, 800G, and beyond) is the backbone of modern networks but troubleshooting intermittent and random issues remains one of the greatest challenges for engineers and network operations. This presentation delivers a practical, step-by-step framework for diagnosing problems from initial symptoms to verified root cause. Best practices in coherent optics troubleshooting, including analysis of fiber impairments, OSNR, pre/post-FEC performance, DSP metrics, and transceiver health will be discussed. Participants will gain hands-on strategies for leveraging traffic generation, error injection, and advanced monitoring to isolate issues efficiently. Real-world case studies will demonstrate how a methodical approach reduces mean time to repair (MTTR) and increases network reliability. Attendees will leave with a repeatable troubleshooting methodology they can apply directly in the field.