The Case For Optical Switching

We have seen that switching evolved over decades using manual, electromechanical, and electronic devices and systems.Optical switching presents a future alternative which is currently starting to be deployed.Our discussion is currently turned to the subject of optical switching.In the remainder of this article, we examine the history of Fiber Optical Switch  and investigate the drivers to introduce it into communications networks.We categorize optical, optical switching methods, optical switching domains and optical switching technologies.Finally, we try to clear up some important terminological issues pertinent to this field of science and engineering.

Interest in optical switching appeared for the first time in the 1970s, and rose in the 1980s after the inroads made by Fiber Optic Manufacturers  to the transmission area.By the beginning of the 1990s, there was currently considerable research effort on optical switching.Contributions to this effort came from researches in areas of electronic switching, optical and opo-electronic devices, optical computing, and optical communications.At that time, optical switching devices were generally classified, according to their functionality, into the so called recreational devices and logical devices.
Relational devices establish a relation,or mapping ,between the state of the device and this type do not use the information flowing through them to change the state of the device,Logical devices ,no the other hand ,are digital devices and are assumed to be capable of suing the information passing through them to control the switching stage of the divine itself.Logical devices were mainly targeting optical logic applications and optical computing, but were also envisioned to enable building of ophthalmic digital switches for telecommunications.

Clearly,the migration of switching to the optical domain would bring tremendous advantages to the network ,Optical switching extends the reach of the virtually unlimited optical bandwidth from transmission systems to switching nodes,thereby elevating the information carrying capacity of the network to levels that are way beyond reach with Opto-mechanical Switch  .The migration of switching to the optical domain is an opportunity to enhance network agility, flexibility and reliability, and can make the network more cost effective.


The abundance of end -to end bandwidth in optical switching based networks alias creates new opportunities for wavelength based services and applications ,Optical switching is the cornerstone in the vision of the optical layer and is crucial for tomorrow's network architectures,As such ,it is an essential part of the long-trm solution to many network problems.The merits of optical switching, without doubt, constitute a compelling motivation to utilize if extensively in future as soon as all technological ingredient is fully mature and cost effective, and when the telecommunications market is ready for this step.