Subchannel security at the optical layer

Abstract

The present invention includes various novel techniques, apparatus, and systems for optical WDM communications that involve dynamically modifying certain aspects of the WDM transmission (and corresponding receive) process at the optical (physical) layer to significantly enhance data/network security. These various dynamic modifications can be employed individually or in combination to provide even greater security depending upon the desired application and design tradeoffs. WDM transmission steps typically include encoding the client signals, mapping them to one or more subchannels within or across ITU channels, modulating them onto subcarrier frequencies, and multiplexing them together for optical transmission. By dynamically modifying one or more of these processing steps over time (in addition to any encryption of the underlying client signals), the current invention provides additional security at the physical (optical) layer of an optical network and thus greatly enhances overall network security.