A data center network node comprising at least one server connection for connecting to a server 6, a connection 7 for connecting the at least one server 6 to a first subnetwork. The first subnetwork is a conventional subnetwork which comprises at least one of a switch or a router. The node further comprises an optical receiver array 20 for connecting the node to an optical offload subnetwork, wherein the optical receiver array 20 comprises a plurality of optical receivers. The array is configured such that each receiver is connectable to an optical path within a multi-path optical connection. The node further comprises an optical transmitter array 23 for connecting the node to an optical offload subnetwork. The optical transmitter array comprises a plurality of optical transmitters. The array is configured such that each receiver is connectable to an optical path within a multi-path optical connection. The node further comprises an electrical switching arrangement 26 for directing an incoming data stream from a receiver in the receiver array 22 to at least one of the at least one server connection to server 6 or at least one transmitter in the transmitter array 23, and for directing an outgoing data stream from one of the at least one server 6 to at least one transmitter in the transmitter array 23. The electrical switching arrangement 26 provides for effective transport of data in a data center, e.g. transporting high bandwidth elephant flows on an optical offload network. The electrical switching arrangement 26 enables the provision of point to multipoint connections for data streams by enabling a data stream to be passed to multiple transmitters or received at a node, sent to a server in the node, and transmitted to a subsequent node in the network. Once high bandwidth flow demands have been identified, a schedule of logical links between the nodes of the network is constructed so as to enable the high bandwidth flows to be transmitted on the offload network. The development of the schedule is implemented by an orchestrator 29 and comprises constructing a booking list for high bandwidth flows, wherein a high bandwidth flow is a data stream which has a capacity requirement greater than a threshold.