Patent ID: 9705701
Date: 2017-07-11
CPC Classifications: H04L

Claim:
1. A method for preventing the formation of a superloop in a network comprising a first Ethernet ring, wherein the first Ethernet ring comprises: a ring node, a first interface node, a second interface node, and a ring protection link, wherein the first interface node is operable to communicate with a third interface node of a second Ethernet ring via a first segment of a core network and the second interface node is operable to communicate with a fourth interface node of the second Ethernet ring via a second segment of the core network, the method comprising: the third interface node of the second Ethernet ring detecting that it cannot communicate with the second interface node of the first Ethernet ring; as a result of the third interface node of the second Ethernet ring detecting that it cannot communicate with the second interface node of the first Ethernet ring, the third interface node of the second Ethernet ring transmitting to the first interface node of the first Ethernet ring a first failure message indicating a malfunction of the second interface node of the first Ethernet ring; the first interface node receiving via the first segment of the core network the first failure message transmitted by the third interface node of the second Ethernet ring; and the first interface node maintaining said ring protection link in the first Ethernet ring in response to the first failure message received from the third interface node of the second Ethernet ring, wherein said step of maintaining said ring protection link comprises the first interface node, in response to the first failure message, deciding not to transmit on the first Ethernet ring a signal failure message for causing the first Ethernet ring to unblock the ring protection link.