Patent ID: 7912691

Claim:
A method, comprising: identifying a plurality of candidate locations of a distributed network that do not satisfy design criteria based on an initial simulated routing of data traffic in the distributed network, the design criteria including a threshold amount of spare capacity and long-range optics, wherein a first candidate location of the plurality of candidate locations comprises a first fiber span with less than the threshold amount of spare capacity, and wherein a second candidate location of the plurality of candidate locations comprises a fiber span that does not include the long-range optics; selecting at least one of the plurality of candidate locations for placement of a Reconfigurable Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer (ROADM) based at least partially on a cost; simulating rerouting of data traffic in the distributed network including the ROADM at the at least one selected candidate location; iteratively, until a termination is reached: identifying additional candidate locations based on the design criteria; selecting one of the additional candidate locations for placement of an additional ROADM; simulating rerouting of data traffic on the distributed network based on placement of the additional ROADM at the selected one additional candidate location; and reaching the termination when no additional candidate locations are identified; and generating a representation of the distributed network that includes the additional ROADM placed at the selected one additional candidate location.