Aggregating Optical Network Device

摘要

A method and apparatus for an electrically switched optically protecting network device is described. One embodiment of the invention established pairs of optical circuits between different electrically switched optically protecting network devices acting as access nodes of an optically switched network. The network device communicates different add/drop traffic flows between externally facing ports of different electrically switched optically protecting network devices by transmitting over the optical circuit. In addition, the network device optically switches optical circuits for which the network device is an intermediate node and electrically switches packets between different ones of the network devices' externally facing ports and those of the optical circuits for which the network device is an end node. Furthermore, the network device protects the communication of traffic flows across the optical network by controlling the packet electrical switching to the pairs of optical circuits.