An optical network including a plurality of gateway nodes interconnected with a plurality of intermediate nodes with segments of fiber. The network includes a plurality of devices, such as reconfigurable optical add drop multiplexors, optimally placed at various nodes throughout the network. The device placement is optimized with an integer linear programming analysis considering span definition such that any given span involves some number of segments not exceeding a number of segments that would require wavelength regeneration, cost of placement of a device at a given node, cost of wavelength regeneration, and various parameters and constraints.