A method for optimizing a network configuration of network resources includes receiving service attribute data associated with network resources and the traffic demand, based at least in part on the service attribute data, determining one or more network resources for providing communication between end user devices and a carrier network, i.e., one or more metro and/or backbone networks, and determining an optimal configuration of the one or more network resources within the network, wherein the optimal configuration optimizes one or more predetermined criteria. A system for optimizing a configuration of network resources includes a computer-readable medium including service attribute data descriptive of a plurality of network resources, a preprocessing module operable to receive the one or more service attributes and determine a set of one or more resources and transmission modes between the end user devices and the carrier network, and an optimization module operable to determine an optimum configuration of the resources and transmission modes within the network.