Patent ID: 7260327

Claim:
An optical burst switching (“OBS”) network having operation and maintenance (“OAM”) functionality, the OBS network comprising a plurality of OBS nodes interconnected via links, wherein each of the OBS nodes comprises: an OAM module (“OAMM”) for processing information regarding OAM functions in the OBS network; and a routing manager (“RM”) for processing routing information, wherein at least one wavelength in each of the links comprises an OAM/1 wavelength for OAM/1 transmissions between nodes, the OAM/1 transmissions comprising OAM activity information; wherein at least one wavelength in each of the links comprises a reference wavelength for providing a wavelength reference to which light generating devices in the OBS network lock; and wherein at least one wavelength in each of the links comprises a routing wavelength for providing routing information between nodes.