Patent ID: 8213793

Claim:
A method, comprising: receiving, using a device, parameters that characterize an optical network, the received parameters including information identifying nodes for performing wavelength translation; receiving, using the device, information associated with one or more first demands and one or more second demands, where each demand, of the one or more second demands, is disjoint with respect to any other demand in the one or more second demands; assigning, based on information identifying a wavelength assignment, a first wavelength to at least one demand of the one or more second demands; selecting, based on the received parameters and using the device, routes for the one or more first demands and the one or more second demands, second wavelengths for the one or more first demands and at least one other demand of the one or more second demands, and wavelength translation nodes for the one or more first demands and the one or more second demands, where each of the one or more first demands includes a working path and one or more protect paths, and where the wavelength translation nodes are selected from nodes identified in the information identifying the nodes for performing wavelength translation; and configuring, using the device, the optical network based on assigning the first wavelength to the at least one demand of the one or more second demands, the selected routes, the selected second wavelengths, and the selected wavelength translation nodes.