Who is Huber + Suhner Polatis?
Huber + Suhner Polatis is a supplier of all-optical switching solutions for fiber-based network infrastructures in telecom, data center, defense, and industrial environments.
- All-optical fiber cross-connect switches for layer-1 network switching (optical networking)
- High-density, low-loss optical switching platforms for software-defined and programmable networks (network infrastructure)
- Optical circuit switching solutions for data center, test and measurement, and telecom lab automation use cases (network test automation)
- Ruggedized and secure optical switching systems for defense, government, and critical communications (mission-critical networking)
- Management software, APIs, and network integration capabilities for Software Defined Networking (SDN) and orchestration platforms (network management)
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More About Huber + Suhner Polatis
Huber + Suhner Polatis provides optical circuit switching systems that operate at the physical layer of fiber networks, allowing enterprises and institutions to establish, reroute, and automate optical connections without optical-electrical-optical conversion. Its platforms are used in telecom networks, cloud and enterprise data centers, test and measurement labs, government and defense communications, and media and broadcast environments where deterministic optical paths and automation are priorities.
The core offerings are all-optical matrix switches (optical networking) that route light directly between input and output fibers using optical crosspoint technologies. These switches are designed to be protocol-agnostic and bit-rate independent, allowing transport of Ethernet, Fibre Channel (FC), Optical Transport Networks (OTN), SONET/SDH, and other common telecom and data center protocols over singlemode or multimode fiber. Because switching occurs in the optical domain, they are used for applications where preserving signal format and avoiding additional latency or regeneration is important.
In enterprise and service provider architectures, Huber + Suhner Polatis solutions are typically deployed as layer-1 cross-connects or optical patch panels under software control. They integrate with SDN controllers and orchestration platforms through open APIs such as Representational State Transfer (REST) and command-line interfaces, and in many cases align with standards and frameworks used in SDN and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) environments. This allows operators to automate tasks that were previously manual, such as reconfiguring test beds, changing connectivity between network elements, or provisioning diverse paths for redundancy and Disaster Recovery (DR).
For test and measurement and lab automation, the optical switches (network test automation) are used to build reconfigurable test topologies. Instead of moving patch cords, engineers can programmatically connect devices under test to various network elements, instruments, or traffic generators. This is used in telecom equipment development, qualification labs, and interoperability testing where repeatable optical paths and high port counts are required.
In defense, government, and critical infrastructure networks, Huber + Suhner Polatis offers ruggedized and secure variants of its optical switches (mission-critical networking). These systems are engineered for operation in constrained or remote facilities, command and control networks, and protected communications nodes. They support architectures where fiber is used for sensing, surveillance backhaul, or secure data transport, and where remote reconfiguration of connectivity is required without physical presence.
The product portfolio fits into marketplace categories such as optical networking hardware, layer-1 switching, network lab automation, and SDN-integrated infrastructure. By providing protocol-transparent, software-controlled optical switching, Huber + Suhner Polatis enables organizations to treat physical fiber connectivity as a programmable resource that can be orchestrated alongside higher-layer network services.
Our description of Huber + Suhner Polatis. Updated December 2025.
