a scalable wave division multiplexing optical ip switching method and system are disclosed for switching data packet payloads in the optical domain . the method comprises the steps of : receiving , at an optical switch , one or more optical signals comprising a plurality of optical data packets , wherein each data packet has a payload and header information and wherein each input fiber has at least one input wavelength ; extracting the header information from each of the plurality of data packets ; converting the header information for each of the plurality of data packets from an optical format to an electrical format ; processing the header information for each of the plurality of data packets at a control unit to generate control signals to control data packet payload routing through the optical switch ; routing the payload from each data packet through the optical switch to at least one desired switch output ; converting the header information for each data packet back to an optical format ; and recombining the payload and header information for each data packet for transmission on one or more output fibers from the desired switch output .