Abstract: A way to reduce costs in a communication network is to use through-repeaters for any signal channels that do not need to have data dropped or inserted at a given site. This however complicates any protective switching involved to bridge failed data channels. The present system incorporates a master computer at one end of the switching network which communicates to a plurality of slave computer controllers at all the remaining sites having drop and insert channels whereby it can maintain an up to date table of the system configuration and thereby use segments of the protection channel to bridge various failed portions of the entire system.