Patent attributes
An optical network is disclosed that carries optical traffic in multiplexed wavelengths between a number of nodes. The network includes at least one light-trail associated with one of the wavelengths and established between a convener node and an end node, and including one or more intervening nodes. The network also includes an out-of-band control channel that is associated with a different wavelength than the light-trail. The control channel is used to communicate control messages to establish the light-trail and to allocate use of the light-trail by the convener node and the intervening nodes. Each of the convener node, the one or more intervening nodes, and the end node is operable to receive optical traffic in a number of multiplexed wavelengths from the optical network, drop a first copy of the multiplexed optical traffic from the optical network, and forward a second copy of the multiplexed optical traffic on the optical network. These nodes also forward the optical traffic in selected wavelengths of the dropped first copy for communication to one or more client devices associated with the node. The nodes further convert traffic received from one or more client devices of the node into client optical traffic in one or more wavelengths, passively add the client optical traffic to the second copy or to a modification of the second copy to form a combined signal, and forward the combined signal to the network.
