Patent ID: 8243743
Filing Date: 2012-08-14
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method for in-band protection switch signaling in a communication system, the communication system arranged as a point-to-multipoint tree, the point-to-multipoint tree including a root node communicatively coupled to a plurality of leaf nodes through both a working link and a protection link, the method comprising: transferring data through a current link of the point-to-multipoint tree, the current link being one of the working link and the protection link; detecting, by a leaf node, a fault in the current link of the point-to-multipoint tree; in response to detecting the fault, setting a remote defect indicator (RDI) flag in a continuity check message (CCM) at the leaf node; transmitting the CCM to the root node; in response to receiving the CCM, notifying, by the root node, each other leaf node in the point-to-multipoint tree of the fault using the current link, the notifying via continuity check messages to the leaf nodes, each continuity check message including an automatic protection switching type-length-value (TLV), a TLV having a protection group identifier identifying a subset of the leaf nodes according to a service associated with the subset; and switching the root node and each leaf node to the other link of the working link and the protection link.