The fast and diversified development of Internet services leads to numerous services with differentiated delay tolerance of optical connections set-up are converging in the optical network. Consequently, the average set-up delay of optical connection is increased, which will inevitably bring pressures to optical networks. To solve this problem, a delay aware routing spectrum assignment (RSA) algorithm based on services scheduling in priority queues with dynamic virtual topology construction (QVT-RSA) is proposed. First, the QVT-RSA algorithm reasonably identifies various different services and arranges them in order according to their priority, waiting time and delay tolerance requirements. Then, software defined networks (SDN) controller with multi-threads technology is adopted to innovatively parallel serve the ordered service requests to reduce the average set-up delay of optical connections, which also offset the induced delay caused by services scheduling. The network resource is accurately shared among multi-threads using the proposed mutual exclusive resource utilization model realized by dynamic virtual topology construction. The continuously coloring and usable virtual topology linkage reconfiguration can provide topology resources for service requests and adapt the dynamic transformation among serving, waiting and new arriving service requests. The shortest-path routing and first fit spectrum assignment (SPFF-RSA) algorithm is used as the baseline algorithm. Furthermore, by combining the SPFF-RSA algorithm and partial strategy of our strategy, the QSPFF-RSA and V-RSA algorithms are proposed as baseline algorithms as described in V-B. The simulation experiment results demonstrate that the average optical connections set-up delay of QVT-RSA algorithm is reduced compared with SPFF-RSA and QSPFF-RSA algorithms, and the blocking probability of QVT-RSA algorithm is reduced compared with SPFF-RSA, QSPFF-RSA and VRSA algorithms. The optical connections set-up success probability within delay tolerance about high, medium and low priority services of QVT-RSA algorithm is higher than that of the SPFF-RSA, QSPFF-RSA and VRSA algorithms.INDEX TERMS Low delay, QoS, reconfiguration of virtual topology, RSA, services scheduling.