This paper comparatively studies single-layer and multi-layer traffic engineering strategies on an IP/MPLS/WDM network. These strategies are evaluated and compared in two different scenarios. In the first scenario, the strategies make use of statistical information on the traffic patterns. In the second scenario, the traffic engineering decisions are based on the instantaneous traffic information only. The performance and benefits of both approaches are discussed based on simulations considering both throughput and network resource usage. © 2007 IEEE.