Patent ID: 7382772
Filing Date: 2008-06-03
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A communication system comprising: an first Internet Protocol (IP) service node and a second IP service node; a first telephony service node and a second telephony service node; a first optical interface and a second optical interface wherein the first optical interface is coupled to the first IP service node and the first telephony service node and the second optical interface is coupled to the second IP service node and the second telephony service node; a first working link coupling the first optical interface to the second optical interface and configured to transfer IP traffic between the first IP service node and the second IP service node; a second working link coupling the first optical interface to the second optical interface and configured to transfer telephony traffic between the first telephony service node and the second telephony service node; and a shared protect link coupling the first optical interface to the second optical interface and configured to transfer IP traffic between the first IP service node and the second IP service node or to transfer telephony traffic between the first telephony service node and the second telephony service node, wherein the first optical interface and the second optical interface are configured to replace either of the first working link or the second working link with the shared protect link.