Recovery method for an optical network

A system and method of routing communication signals is provided. A first technique uses a packet switched device that operates using Internet Protocol, the packet switched device determines one or more commands based on a routing request to establish, maintain, restore or breakdown one or more communication paths and a circuit switched device that provides physical switching between a plurality of ports based on the one or more commands from the packet switched device. A second technique for expediting error condition information is also provided. As various error conditions are recognized, information relating to the error conditions is provided directly to the packet switched device to enable the packet switched device to restore communications with minimal delay.