Disclosed herein are switch devices in terminal ends of a network and methods of using same. One embodiment relates to a terminal end of a network including a terminal end transceiver configured to communicate with one or more end user devices, and a switch device configured to automatically route communication at the terminal end transceiver between a primary communication path with a central office and an auxiliary communication path with the central office. Another embodiment relates to a method of switching between primary and auxiliary communication paths at a terminal end. Automatic switching is particularly applicable in a looped communication architecture with redundant communication paths for preventing interruption and increasing reliability for an improved user experience. Another embodiment relates to indexing with splices to reduce connections in a communication path and increase signal quality.

A method includes: determining, by the control device, that a site receives a first service; determining that a mapping wavelength of a first service is blocked on an original routing path, where the original routing path includes a first line board connected to a first local dimension, and a wavelength occupied by the first local dimension includes the mapping wavelength of the first service; and routing, by the control device, the first service to a second line board connected to a second local dimension, where the mapping wavelength of the first service is available in the second local dimension.

A system, apparatus, and method for an optical grooming network; wherein a set of switches form an optical grooming interconnection system where each switch is communicatively coupled to each other switch; a set of clients; where each switch of the set of switches is communicatively coupled to a client of the clients; wherein each client receiver is enabled to communicate through the set of switches to any client or modem; and a set of coherent optical modems; wherein each coherent optical modem is communicatively coupled to a switch of the set of switches; wherein each client of the clients is able to communicate through the set of switches to every coherent optical modem of the set of coherent optical modems, and each coherent optical modem in the set of coherent optical modems can communicate to every coherent optical modem of the set of coherent optical modems.

A software-defined network multi-layer controller (SDN-MLC) may communicate with multiple layers of a telecommunication network. The SDN-MLC may have an optimization algorithm that helps in capacity planning of the telecommunications based on the management of multiple layers of the telecommunication network.

One or more servers may receive an instruction to change a modulation format, associated with one or more optical channels, from a first modulation format to a second modulation format; provide the instruction to change the modulation format to a network device, associated with the one or more optical channels, to cause the network device to change the modulation format, associated with the one or more optical channels, from the first modulation format to the second modulation format; and determine that a license repository is to be updated based on receiving the instruction to change the modulation format. The license repository may store one or more licenses. The one or more servers may generate a license update instruction to update the license repository based on determining that the license repository is to be updated and output the license update instruction to cause the license repository to be updated.

An apparatus includes a reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer (ROADM) having an input port to receive a first optical signal from a second device. The ROADM also includes a first wavelength selective switch (WSS), in optical communication with the input port, to convert the first optical signal into a second optical signal, a loopback, in optical communication with the first WSS, to transmit the second optical signal, and a second WSS, in optical communication with the loopback, to convert the second optical signal to a third optical signal and direct the third optical signal back to the second device via the input port.

An apparatus includes a reconfigurable optical add/drop multiplexer (ROADM) having an input port to receive a first optical signal from a second device. The ROADM also includes a first wavelength selective switch (WSS), in optical communication with the input port, to convert the first optical signal into a second optical signal, a loopback, in optical communication with the first WSS, to transmit the second optical signal, and a second WSS, in optical communication with the loopback, to convert the second optical signal to a third optical signal and direct the third optical signal back to the second device via the input port.

Embodiments provides a low-latency data switching device and method. The device includes at least two boundary hardware modules and at least one optical forwarding module. The first boundary hardware module is configured for matching, with a first data forwarding table, signaling message information for a signaling message sent by a host router, acquiring a service request sent by the host router, and searching a second data forwarding table for an optical channel for the service request. The at least one optical forwarding module is configured for mapping the service request to a second service request, and forwarding the second service request in sequence via the optical channel, the second boundary hardware module is configured for acquiring next-hop routing information of the data switching device for the service request, and forwarding the service request to the next-hop router of the data switching device.

A software-defined network multi-layer controller (SDN-MLC) may communicate with multiple layers of a telecommunication network. The SDN-MLC may have an optimization algorithm that helps in capacity planning of the telecommunications based on the management of multiple layers of the telecommunication network.

Systems and methods for allocating optical circuits on optical mesh networks are disclosed herein. For example, the disclosed methods include identifying a new circuit to be added to a mesh optical network and identifying a set of potential paths for the new circuit. For each optical link in each identified potential path, costs are determined for a plurality of frequency slots of allocating the new circuit to a potential path including the optical link. The cost of allocating a given frequency slot on a given optical link is determined in part based on the lengths of optical circuits that can traverse the given optical link using that frequency slot. Total cost values are calculated for allocating available frequency slots over each of the identified potential paths, and one of the identified potential paths and one or more of the available frequency slots are allocated for the new circuit.