ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Optical cross-connect

Okay, so imagine you have a bunch of roads and each road represents a pathway for information to travel. Now, sometimes these roads need to connect with each other so that the information can flow from one road to another.

An optical cross-connect does exactly that, but with light instead of cars. It's like a big switchboard or a traffic intersection where information coming from one "road" of light can be directed to another "road" instead of just going straight ahead.

This is really important for things like internet traffic because it helps make sure that information is getting to where it needs to go as quickly and efficiently as possible. It's like having a really good GPS system that knows the best route to take to get to your destination.

So, an optical cross-connect is basically a way to connect different pathways of light so that information can flow smoothly and quickly.