Distributed network element and undersea network element management system for optical communication systems

An optical communication system, comprising:

• a plurality of cable landing stations configured to be communicatively coupled using one or more optical communication cables in a peer-to-peer network for routing of one or more optical signals using one or more network elements;
• each cable landing station in the plurality of cable landing stations includes
• a management device configured to determine one or more optical communication paths for routing the one or more optical signals;
• a command/response optical device communicatively coupled to the management device for routing the one or more optical signals in accordance with the optical communication path;
• wherein, in response to receiving a request for routing at least one optical signal in the one or more optical signals, the management device of each cable landing station is configured to determine at least one optical communication path in the one or more optical communication paths for routing the at least one optical signal in accordance with a topology map of the peer-to-peer network of the plurality of cable landing stations.