wavelength division multiplexed (wdm) optical networks are emerging as promising candidates for the infrastructure of the next-generation internet. such networks are envisaged for spanning local, metropolitan and wide geographical areas. wdm optical networks go beyond technologies such as synchronous optical network (sonet) and asynchronous transfer mode (atm) in realizing the full potential of the optical medium. from passive star coupler-based broadcast optical networks to switch-based optical wavelength-routed networks, the book covers a wide range of available technologies and designs for proposed network architectures. the author investigates the impact of physical-layer issues on the design of such wdm-based optical networks. in particular, this book presents a sampling of problems such as amplifier placement and optimization, sharing and minimization of wavelength converter usage, and bit-error rate (ber)-based all-admission in wdm optical networks and proposes novel solutions. efficient algorithms are described which significantly improve the cost-effectiveness of wdm networks. design of optical wdm networks: lan, man and wan architectures is targeted towards practitioners and researchers in the field of optical networks and wdm as well as students interested in the future of networking and telecommunications.