Patent ID: 7616891

Claim:
An optical network operable to carry optical traffic in a plurality of multiplexed wavelengths between a plurality of nodes, the optical network comprising: at least one light-trail established in the optical network between a convener node and an end node, wherein the light-trail couples the convener node, one or more intervening nodes, and the end node and is associated with one of the plurality of wavelengths; an out-of-band control channel associated with a different wavelength than the wavelength associated with the at least one light-trail, the control channel being used to communicate one or more control messages to establish the light-trail and to allocate use of the light-trail by the convener node and the intervening nodes; and wherein each of the convener node and the intervening nodes comprises a burstponder operable to: receive data traffic from one or more client devices of the associated node to be communicated over the light-trail; buffer the received data traffic in one or more queues and assemble the data traffic into an optical payload; report the queue status of the one or more queues to a bandwidth controller associated with the out-of-band control channel such that the bandwidth controller can allocate use of the light-trail using, as least in part, the queue status; and transmit the optical payload over the light-trail as optical traffic using a burst mode transmitter during a time period in which the associated node is allocated use of the light-trail.