Various embodiments of the present invention are directed to a method for creating a DWDM optical fiber network topology based on a set of demands associated with a region of interest. The demands may be placed on one or more rings in a DWDM optical fiber network based on several Evaluation Function (EF) parameters, which may include Ring COI calculations. EF parameters may include without limitation: (1) a preference for a ring topology solution or partial solution that considers (e.g., routed or skipped) as many demands as possible; (2) a preference for a ring topology solution or partial solution that skips the fewest number of demands; (3) a preference for a ring topology solution or partial solution that produces the highest Ring COI value; and/or (4) a preference for a ring topology solution or partial solution that provides, on average, the fewest number of node hops, i.e., the fewest number of intermediate nodes along various paths between endpoints.