A method for negotiating speed between a Fiber Channel (FC) local client and a remote FC client across a DWDM network is provided. A transmission speed of the local FC client at a local ingress transport interface is detected. The data from the local FC client is forwarded along with the detected transmission speed to a remote egress transport interface. The remote egress interface forwards the data at the detected transmission speed to the remote FC client. The present invention eliminates complex speed negotiation state machines that would otherwise be required to make the DWDM transport behave like a virtual wire with respect to the FC ports and to allow the FC clients to negotiate the desired speed directly between themselves.