A system configured for use in a network having an internet protocol network having an internet protocol domain and an optical network having an optical domain, the system comprising: an optical network operations center having a first optical interface that is configured to be optically coupled to an optical control plane of the optical network operations center in the optical network having the optical domain managed by the optical network operations center, wherein the first optical interface resides in the optical domain and is controlled by the optical network operations center; a Wavelength Division Multiplexing, WDM, optical interface of an internet protocol network device that resides in an internet protocol domain of an internet protocol network, wherein the internet protocol network device is normally managed by an internet protocol network operations center via an internet protocol control plane and is configured to convert internet protocol traffic destined for the optical domain into optical traffic, and to convert optical traffic destined for the internet protocol domain into internet protocol traffic via optical signals that cross an internet protocol-optical boundary that separates control functions of the internet protocol domain and control functions of the optical domain; an optical networking element having a logical interface configured to be coupled to the optical network operations centre in the optical domain via the first optical interface and to the WDM optical interface of the internet protocol network device, wherein the logical interface is configured to act as a proxy in the optical domain for the WDM optical interface of the internet protocol network device by interfacing signals across the internet protocol-optical boundary from the optical domain into the internet protocol domain and translate a request from the optical network operations center to configure the WDM optical interface of the internet protocol device in the internet protocol domain; and the optical networking element having means for establishing a communication path for exchanging peer-to-peer signaling between the said internet protocol network device in the internet protocol domain and the optical network operations center to provision the WDM optical interface. an optical network operations center having a first optical interface that is configured to be optically coupled to an optical control plane of the optical network operations center in the optical network having the optical domain managed by the optical network operations center, wherein the first optical interface resides in the optical domain and is controlled by the optical network operations center; a Wavelength Division Multiplexing, WDM, optical interface of an internet protocol network device that resides in an internet protocol domain of an internet protocol network, wherein the internet protocol network device is normally managed by an internet protocol network operations center via an internet protocol control plane and is configured to convert internet protocol traffic destined for the optical domain into optical traffic, and to convert optical traffic destined for the internet protocol domain into internet protocol traffic via optical signals that cross an internet protocol-optical boundary that separates control functions of the internet protocol domain and control functions of the optical domain; an optical networking element having a logical interface configured to be coupled to the optical network operations centre in the optical domain via the first optical interface and to the WDM optical interface of the internet protocol network device, wherein the logical interface is configured to act as a proxy in the optical domain for the WDM optical interface of the internet protocol network device by interfacing signals across the internet protocol-optical boundary from the optical domain into the internet protocol domain and translate a request from the optical network operations center to configure the WDM optical interface of the internet protocol device in the internet protocol domain; and the optical networking element having means for establishing a communication path for exchanging peer-to-peer signaling between the said internet protocol network device in the internet protocol domain and the optical network operations center to provision the WDM optical interface.