Patent ID: 9525622
Filing Date: 2016-12-20
CPC Classification: H04L

Claim Text:
1. A method in a first network device that is communicatively coupled to a second network device in a segment routing (SR) network, the method comprising: creating a first SR label stack for a data packet, wherein the first SR label stack causes the data packet to be forwarded through the SR network using a first set of links, and wherein the first SR label stack includes a first service label that identifies a first service to be applied to the data packet by the second network device; sending the data packet with the first SR label stack through the SR network; creating a second SR label stack for an operations administration and maintenance (OAM) packet by copying at least a part of the first SR label stack to the second SR label stack, wherein the second SR label stack, in response to copying the at least a part of the first SR label stack, causes the OAM packet to be forwarded through the SR network using the first set of links, and wherein the second SR label stack prevents the second network device from applying the first service to the OAM packet; and sending the OAM packet with the second SR label stack through the SR network.