Patent ID: 8412042

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: an interconnection node configured to dynamically provide interconnection access between a first optical network and at least either a second optical network or a third optical network in a purely optical fashion; wherein the interconnection node includes: a first network portion coupled with the first network that includes a first pair of wavelength cross-connect (WXC) units coupled with a first transmission path of the first network, and providing a plurality of add and drop ports, and a second pair of wavelength cross-connect (WXC) units coupled with a second transmission path of the first network, and providing a plurality of add and drop ports; a second network portion including first and second multi-degree reconfigurable add-drop multiplexers (ROADMs) coupled with the second network and the first network portion of the interconnection node such that optical signals may be routed between the second network and the first network; and a third network portion including first and second multi-degree ROADMs coupled with the third network and the first network portion of the interconnection node such that optical signals may be routed between the third network and the first network.