Communication system with cost based protection

1. A communication system comprising:

a first communication device and a second communication device;

a first optical switch and a second optical switch;

a first link coupling the first communication device to the first optical switch, and a second link coupling the second communication device to the second optical switch;

a third link coupling the first optical switch to the second optical switch, wherein during normal operation, the first optical switch connects the first link to the third link and the second optical switch connects the third link to the second link;

a plurality of back-up links coupling the first optical switch to the second optical switch, wherein the back-up links have various monetary costs and latencies; and

in response to a fault on the third link, the first optical switch and the second optical switch are configured to automatically select an available one of the back-up links having a lowest monetary operating cost and an acceptable latency, and in response to the selection, to automatically disconnect the first link and the second link from the third link and automatically connect the first link and the second link to the selected back-up link;

wherein the first communication device is configured to provide Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) layer 2/3 protection in response to a carrier delay timer time-out, wherein the carrier delay timer is set based on a time period that allows the first optical switch and the second optical switch to detect the fault and implement the selected back-up link; and

wherein the time period comprises a detection time period to detect the fault, a switch time period to select the selected back-up link, and a restoration time period for a signal to propagate over the selected back-up link.

2. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the links comprise optical wavelengths.

3. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the first communication device and the second communication device comprise Internet routers.

4. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the first communication device and the second communication device comprise tier one Internet routers.

5. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the first communication device comprises a first Internet router and the second communication device comprises a second Internet router, and further comprising a third Internet router that forms a first mated pair with the first Internet router and a fourth Internet router that forms a second mated pair with the second Internet router.

6. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the first communication device and the second communication device comprise asynchronous transfer mode systems.

7. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the first communication device and the second communication device comprise multi-protocol label switching systems.

8. The communication system of claim 1 wherein the acceptable latency is specified by a service level agreement.

9. A method of operating a communication system, the method comprising:

providing a first communication device and a first optical switch with a first link coupling the first communication device to the first optical switch;

providing a second communication device and a second optical switch with a second link coupling the second communication device to the second optical switch;

providing a third link coupling the first optical switch to the second optical switch, wherein during normal operation, the first optical switch connects the first link to the third link and the second optical switch connects the third link to the second link;

providing a plurality of back-up links coupling the first optical switch to the second optical switch, wherein the back-up links have various monetary costs and latencies; and

in response to a fault on the third link, automatically selecting an available one of the back-up links having a lowest monetary operating cost and an acceptable latency; and

in the first optical switch and the second optical switch, automatically disconnecting the first link and the second link from the third link and automatically connecting the first link and the second link to the selected back-up link;

wherein the first optical switch is configured to provide Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) Layer 1 protection in response to a loss of signal, the first communication device is configured to provide OSI layer 2/3 protection in response to a carrier delay timer time-out, and further comprising setting the carrier delay timer based on a time period that allows the OSI layer 1 protection to complete; and

wherein the time period comprises a detection time period to detect the fault, a switch time period to select the selected back-up link, and a restoration time period for a signal to propagate over the selected back-up link.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the links comprise optical wavelengths.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein the first communication device and the second communication device comprise Internet routers.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein the first communication device and the second communication device comprise tier one Internet routers.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein the first communication device comprises a first Internet router and the second communication device comprises a second Internet router, and wherein the communication system comprises a third Internet router that forms a first mated pair with the first Internet router and a fourth Internet router that forms a second mated pair with the second Internet router.

14. The method of claim 9 wherein the first communication device and the second communication device comprise asynchronous transfer mode systems.

15. The method of claim 9 wherein the first communication device and the second communication device comprise multi-protocol label switching systems.

16. The method of claim 9 wherein the acceptable latency is specified by a service level agreement.