A network switching system and method and a computer program product for operating a network switch are disclosed. The network switch includes a multitude of input ports and a multitude of output ports. In one embodiment, one processing device is assigned to each of the input ports and output ports to process data packets received at the input ports and transferred to the output ports. In one embodiment, the method comprises creating an intermediate adjustable configuration of processing devices functionally between the input ports and the output ports, and assigning the processing devices of the intermediate configuration to forward the data packets from the input ports to the output ports to obtain a balance between latency and synchronization of the transfer of the data packets from the input ports to the output ports. In an embodiment, software is used to create and to adjust dynamically the intermediate configuration.

In the examples provided herein, a system has a plurality of arrayed waveguide gratings (AWG) having a plurality of input ports and a plurality of output ports. A signal within a given wavelength channel transmitted to one of the input ports of a given AWG is routed to one of the output ports of the given AWG based on a signal wavelength. The system also has a plurality of nodes, with each node comprising a set of components for each AWG that the node is coupled to. Each set of components comprises a plurality of optical transmitters, where each optical transmitter is tunable over multiple wavelength channels within a different wavelength band; a band multiplexer to multiplex the multiple wavelength channels within each different wavelength band; and a first output fiber to couple an output of the band multiplexer to one of the input ports of a first AWG.

A vast contiguous network comprises a large number of three-stage networks, each constituent three-stage network interconnecting a group of access nodes to a group of distributors. The three-stage networks are mutually fused where each pair of three-stage networks shares a respective distributor so that each distributor of the entire network is common in exactly two three-stage networks. Consequently, each access node has multiple parallel paths, each traversing one distributor, to each access node of a same access group and a path traversing one distributor, in addition to numerous compound paths, to each access node of a different access group. Each access node of the contiguous network has a cyclic time-limited dedicated dual control path to each distributor of a respective distributor group as well as a dedicated end-to-end control path, configured as a reserved time-limited path or a contention-free path, to each other access node of the contiguous network.

A network switch capable of supporting cut-though switching and interface channelization with enhanced system performance. The network switch includes a plurality of ingress tiles, each tile including a virtual output queue (VOQ) scheduler operable to submit schedule requests to a fabric scheduler. Data is requested in unit of quantum which may aggregate multiple packets, which reduces schedule latency. Each request is associated with a start-of-quantum (SoR) state or a middle-of-quantum (MoR) state to support cut-through. The fabric scheduler performs a multi-stage scheduling process to progressively narrow the selection of requests, including stages of arbitration in virtual output port level, virtual output port group level, tile level, egress port level and port group level. Each tile receives the grants for its requests and accordingly sends request data to a switch fabric for transmission to the destination egress ports.

A network architecture for an optical communication network, an optical communication network configured according to the network architecture and a method for interconnecting via a MD-WSS are provided. The network comprises at least a first ODN, an MD-WSS having a plurality of ports, and at least a first node. The first ODN is connected to one of the ports of the MD-WSS and the first node is connected to another one of the ports of the MD-WSS, wherein the ports of the MD-WSS 100 are paired such that the port connected to the first ODN is paired with the port connected to the first node such that signals originating from the first ODN are in a default case routed to the first node, and signals originating from the first node are in the default case routed to the first ODN.

A data center network node (13) comprising a first data connection (22) for connecting at least one server to a conventional subnetwork comprising at least one of a switch or a router, an optical transceiver (14) comprising a transmitter (16) and a receiver (17), a second data connection (23) for connecting the at least one server to the optical transceiver, a switching arrangement (21) for linking the optical transceiver (14) to an offload subnetwork (10), the switching arrangement configurable between a first configuration (24) in which the offload subnetwork bypasses the optical transceiver and a second configuration (28) in which the optical transceiver is optically linked to the offload subnetwork.

An example system can comprise an optical circuit switch. An input port module can receive an input optical signal comprising a plurality of input components, perform an optical to electrical to optical conversion on the input optical signal, multiplex the plurality of input components to an internal optical signal, and transmit first internal optical signal on a first internal waveguide. A switch module can receive the internal optical signal and transmit the transformed internal optical signal on a second internal waveguide according to a predefined control algorithm, which can permit any input component to be mapped to any frequency group and sent to any output component. An output port module can receive the internal optical signal, perform another optical to electrical to optical conversion on the internal optical signal, and demultiplex the internal optical signal to an output optical signal comprising a plurality of output components.

The disclosure provides a microwave photon frequency synthesis system and method. In the disclosure, based on various combinations of path switching options of optical routing modules and electrical routing modules, the microwave photon frequency synthesis system is provided with a direct photoelectric conversion mode, an electrical frequency synthesis mode and an optical amplitude and phase control mode. The first optical signal frequency selection based on the optical frequency comb module and the frequency multiplication/division selection of the optical frequency multiplication/division module can be freely combined to realize frequency sources of various frequencies. Based on the optical frequency comb module to generate the first optical signal, and then combined with an electrical filtering module, phase noise can be reduced. The optical amplitude and phase may be controlled by the optical amplitude and phase control module.

Consistent with some disclosed embodiments, an optical switch includes: a scheduler; and a buffer for buffering an optical packet including, arranged in a circuit, a clock generator for generating a clock signal, an optical unbalanced Mach Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) and a fiber delay line (FDL) having an FDL length, wherein the optical packet has an optical packet signal, wherein the scheduler is configured to insert the optical packet into the buffer and to determine a number of circulations of the optical packet through the circuit, wherein the MZI modulates the clock signal based on the optical packet signal to create a reshaped optical packet after each circulation of the optical packet through the circuit, and wherein the FDL introduces a delay in the optical packet proportional to the FDL length.

An example cascaded optical switch includes: a fast optical switch and a slow optical switch both having input ports and output ports. A switching time of the slow switch is longer than a switching time of the fast optical switch. The cascaded optical switch includes a first pre-cabled optical fiber connecting an output port of the slow optical switch to an input ports of the fast optical switch, and a second pre-cabled optical fiber connecting an output ports of the fast optical switch to an input ports of the slow optical switch. The fast optical switch or the slow optical switch is configured to receive configuration data to modify a switching configuration to configure a fiber cross-connect in the optical switch fabric that includes at least one of the first pre-cabled optical fiber or the second pre-cabled optical fiber.