Patent ID: 7389046

Claim:
A network, comprising: a plurality of spine switch ports; a plurality of leaf switch ports; a first signal carrying medium (SCM) coupled to a first subset of the spine switch ports and a first subset of the leaf switch ports, wherein the first SCM comprises a first set of one or more optical medium rings; and a second SCM coupled to a second subset of the spine switch ports and a second subset of the leaf switch ports, wherein the second SCM comprises a second set of one or more optical medium rings distinct from the first set of optical medium rings; wherein the first subset of spine switch ports and the first subset of leaf switch ports are configured to establish a first plurality of virtual links between the first subset of spine switch ports and the first subset of leaf switch ports, wherein the first SCM supports a first plurality of optical wavelengths, and wherein each of the first plurality of optical wavelengths is assigned to one of the first plurality of virtual links to carry information for that virtual link; and wherein the second subset of spine switch ports and the second subset of leaf switch ports are configured to establish a second plurality of virtual links between the second subset of spine switch ports and the second subset of leaf switch ports, wherein the second SCM supports a second plurality of optical wavelengths, and wherein each of the second plurality of optical wavelengths is assigned to one of the second plurality of virtual links to carry information for that virtual link.