Is submarine cable network...?

Is submarine cable network packet switched or circuit switched?

Hard to say. It is an optical network. Good answers would by both. It carries circuit switch and packet switch type of traffic. As far I know, a submarine cable packs many fiber optics. Over each fiber are carrying optical communications. Each fiber carries many optical signals multiplexed in colors. If you stop here, you can said that it is a circuit kind of network, because one color can be assimilated as one circuit, but over each color can be carried a packet type of signal or a circuit type like SDH. But over one of this kind of signal (circuits type for example) can be transported many packets type of networks and, simultaneosly, many circuit type of networks. So, talking about circuit or packet type of network is (in my opinion) an oversimplification. Can be useful in some circumstances, but not in this case.

Hi Gil,

I liked your discussion. So if we say that it's sort of a packet switched network can we also say that some routing devices are involved somewhere?

Yes.. you are right. But you have to take in account that the traffic is huge. So if it is a packet network, the demands of switching will be very very high. So you will be talking about giga or tera routers. And you have to take in account that you are probably carrying part of the traffic of one continent, so the scheme of protection is also very important. Part of the job of the switching equipment will be handling the protection scheme.

Anyhow, as far I remember most of the backbone networks were built around DWDM and SDH/SONET. But, it was almost 8 years ago. I don’t know how is done today.
My guess is that today may be economically the best option to set up a circuit switch network base on SDH/SONET for voice networks using colored lasers over DWDM and Terarouters handling packed switch traffic directly attached with colored lasers to a DWDM mux.
Regards
Tavo

it is optical network n it develop a kind of packet switching,bcoz the frame moves in optical fiber is stm, make up by the process called sdh or sonet