A router, comprising: a core controller; a plurality of egress edge units coupled to said core controller, said plurality of egress edge units including at least one egress port; and a plurality of ingress edge units coupled to said core controller and in communication with said plurality of egress edge units, wherein each ingress edge unit comprises: a plurality of ingress ports; an ingress interface associated with each ingress port, each ingress interface operable to segregate incoming optical data into a plurality of subflows, wherein each subflow contains data intended for a particular destination port; and a TWDM multiplexer operable to: receive subflows; generate a micro lambda from each subflow; time multiplex each micro lambda according to a schedule pattern; wavelength multiplex each micro lambda; and transmit each micro lambda to a switch fabric according to the schedule pattern.