Patent ID: 8045551
Filing Date: 2011-10-25
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for PNNI out-of-band signaling and blocking, comprising: discovering nodes and links through in-band mechanisms, wherein each of the nodes is configured to first perform the discovering step through the in-band mechanisms; for all blocked nodes and links in the discovering step, configuring the blocked nodes and links through out-of-band mechanisms; and routing and signaling using PNNI through a combination of discovered in-band links and configured out-of-band links transparent to a communication mechanism of the discovered in-band links and the configured out-of-band links; wherein the discovered in-band links and configured out-of-band links comprise a unified control plane, and wherein a node linked to a prior node via an in-band link in the control plane and terminating the in-band link is linked to a subsequent node via an out-of-band link in the control plane.