This part of IEC 62343, which is a Technical Report, proposes a software and hardware interface for the optical multicast switch (MCS). This switch can be controlled by resident firmware within the interface that is intended to enable a user or host to retrieve the switch status and/or adjust relevant switch settings. The MCS is defined in IEC 62343-3-4. The technical information regarding MCS and its applications in dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) systems is described in IEC TR 62343-6-4. The objective of thisdocument is a proposal for a software and hardware interface standard of MCS.