US Patent 8218965 Optical failover routing

Apparatuses, systems, and methods of routing data through an optical network are disclosed. One such method includes transmitting optical data via a first fiber optic network from an originating node on a first level to a second level, receiving the optical data at a destination node on a third level from the second level via a second fiber optic network, wherein the second level, connected to the first fiber optic network and the second fiber optic network, includes a first intermediate node as a primary route on the second level for transmitting the optical data from the originating node to the destination node, and a second intermediate node as an alternate route on the second level for transmitting the optical data from the originating node to the destination node when the first intermediate node fails.