Patent ID: 7489867

Claim:
A method for providing media access at a site in a WDM system, said method comprising: providing connectivity via an Ethernet switch to a LAN interconnecting a plurality of physically separated sites in said WDM system, said LAN being implemented via an optical service channel of said WDM system, said optical service channel having a wavelength that is outside a spectrum used to transmit payload data in said WDM system; and exchanging LAN data comprising voice over IP packets with another site via said optical service channel, wherein exchanging LAN data comprises: receiving an optical signal comprising said optical service channel and said payload data; isolating said optical service channel from said payload data of said optical signal; exchanging Ethernet frames with said optical service channel; exchanging voice over IP information at an application layer; and generating an optical signal modulated with optical service channel data; and wherein said voice over IP packets are encapsulated within Ethernet frames, each of said Ethernet frames having an associated Ethernet MAC address corresponding to an IP destination address of said LAN data so that said voice over IP packets are directed to said another site according to said MAC address and without the use of Layer 3 routers.