OCS is a switching technique used in optical networks to establish and manage light paths between nodes. Unlike traditional electronic switching, OCS operates directly on optical signals, eliminating the need for optical-to-electrical-to-optical (OEO) conversions. Optical Circuit Switching (OCS) has emerged as a critical technology for next‐generation Artificial Intelligence (AI) and hyperscale data‐center networks. This direct manipulation of light. By establishing on-demand end-to-end optical paths at the physical layer, OCS bypasses intermediate packet processing, achieving ultra-low latency, non-blocking bandwidth, and superior energy efficiency, thereby providing a new architectural alternative for AI training clusters and high-performance. An Optical Circuit Switch is a network switch where signals stay in the optical domain from source to destination, avoiding the power-hungry Optical-Electrical-Optical (O-E-O) conversions typical in standard switches. As GPU clusters scale to tens of thousands of accelerators and 800G/1.
[PDF Version]