Patent ID: 6850708

Claim:
A communication device, comprising: a plurality of network elements configured to be coupled to a communication path; each of said plurality of network elements further comprising: means for storing hop counts and direction identifiers, each of said hop counts being associated with a corresponding one of said plurality of network elements, and each of said direction identifiers being associated with a respective one of said plurality of network elements; and means for transferring data to at least a selected one of said plurality of network elements in accordance with a selected one of said hop counts and a selected one of said direction identifiers, both said selected one of said hop counts and said selected one of said direction identifiers identifying said selected one of said plurality of network elements, wherein said communication path comprises an optical communication path carrying first optical signals at respective first wavelengths and second optical signals at a second wavelength, said means for transferring data transmitting said data as said second optical signals.