Patent ID: 6907158

Claim:
A configurable optical add/drop multiplexer (C-OADM), comprising: at least one optical switch configured to select one or more optional operational modes, wherein the at least one optical switch has an input and a first and a second selectable output; a wavelength drop pathway in communication with the first selectable output of a first optical switch of the at least one optical switch; a wavelength tapping pathway in communication with the second selectable output of the first optical switch; a full channel add pathway in communication with the first selectable output of a second optical switch of the at least one optical switch; and a partial channel add pathway in communication with the second selectable output of the second optical switch, wherein the full channel add pathway provides a full channel added to the wavelength tapping pathway onto an unused wavelength channel, and the partial channel add pathway provides a channel added to a tapped path onto an unused channel.