An optical switch, also known as an optical line switching device (automatic switching type optical patch panel), is a device that enables the network to be always connected. Any communication protocol (Ethernet, ATM, etc. Today's service provider networks must support a plethora of technologies-optical, wireless, DSL, Ethernet, TCP/IP and others - that enable a seemingly endless number of services-voice, data, video, private line, Internet, cloud computing as well as services that are only in the imagination of. Optical switching is the process of controlling the destination of individual optical information signals. This technology allows for high bit rate transmission to be switched between various optical lines. Unlike optical splitters that divide signals, optical switches establish selective connections between. Optical switches are the conduits that direct light signals within fiber optic networks.
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