Patent ID: 8792499

Claim:
A method of scheduling an optical network, the method comprising: receiving at a scheduling server status information concerning at least one transmit queue for a plurality of optical pass-through switches (OptSws); determining a schedule for one or more transmissions to take place in a cycle based on the status information for the plurality of OptSws, the determining including: for a wavelength that is available to transmit a transmission, removing one or more unsupportable transmissions from a candidate transmission list, determining a first transmission of the candidate transmission list, the first transmission being the one of the transmissions of the candidate transmission list which most preferably satisfies a given parameter; updating a usage list to reflect determination of the first transmission; and replacing the candidate transmission list with the residue set of the first transmission; and forwarding a control message to the plurality of OptSws in order that the schedule may be implemented at the plurality of OptSws.