What is OCS testing?

Optical circuit switch (OCS) testing is the process of verifying the operation and optical performance of an optical circuit switch and the paths it establishes.

An OCS dynamically connects input and output ports in the optical domain, without converting optical signals to the electrical domain for switching.

Why is OCS testing important?

Optical circuit switching is increasingly relevant to high-performance computing and AI data center architectures that require flexible, high-capacity connectivity between compute resources.

As port counts and possible path combinations increase, testing must confirm that requested connections are established correctly and that performance remains consistent across configurations.

Key testing considerations

• Input-to-output path verification
• Switch configuration and port mapping
• Optical performance across different paths
• Switching performance and repeatability
• Test automation and scalability
• Operational reliability