An Ethernet protection switching system comprising: a switching infrastructure residing at a line card within a network, the switching infrastructure adapted to perform switching functions at the line card; a software module residing at the line card and programmed to effectuate a first subset of software-driven control-plane actions for the network, in response to a set of events obtainable in the network, in accordance with a network protection protocol; a central processing unit communicatively coupled to the software module and the switching infrastructure and configured to execute operations of the software module; and protection hardware communicatively coupled to the switching infrastructure and wired to effectuate a hardware-driven, control-plane change from a second subset of control-plane actions comprising blocking and unblocking ports, in response to a set of events obtainable in the network, in accordance with the network protection protocol, using logic circuitry operable at aggregate speeds quicker than those achievable by the software module, wherein the protection hardware comprises: a monitoring circuitry, the monitoring circuitry configured to monitor for a protection event at the line card; a reception circuitry, the reception circuitry configured to receive a protection message dropped to the protection hardware from the switching infrastructure; a switch protection circuitry configured to determine a need for a time-critical network alteration from a protection event received through at least one of the monitoring circuitry and the reception circuitry; and an action circuitry configured to interface with the switching infrastructure of the line card to implement the time-critical network alternation comprising blocking and unblocking ports quickly through dedicated circuit pathways in the protection hardware. a switching infrastructure residing at a line card within a network, the switching infrastructure adapted to perform switching functions at the line card; a software module residing at the line card and programmed to effectuate a first subset of software-driven control-plane actions for the network, in response to a set of events obtainable in the network, in accordance with a network protection protocol; a central processing unit communicatively coupled to the software module and the switching infrastructure and configured to execute operations of the software module; and protection hardware communicatively coupled to the switching infrastructure and wired to effectuate a hardware-driven, control-plane change from a second subset of control-plane actions comprising blocking and unblocking ports, in response to a set of events obtainable in the network, in accordance with the network protection protocol, using logic circuitry operable at aggregate speeds quicker than those achievable by the software module, wherein the protection hardware comprises: a monitoring circuitry, the monitoring circuitry configured to monitor for a protection event at the line card; a reception circuitry, the reception circuitry configured to receive a protection message dropped to the protection hardware from the switching infrastructure; a switch protection circuitry configured to determine a need for a time-critical network alteration from a protection event received through at least one of the monitoring circuitry and the reception circuitry; and an action circuitry configured to interface with the switching infrastructure of the line card to implement the time-critical network alternation comprising blocking and unblocking ports quickly through dedicated circuit pathways in the protection hardware. a monitoring circuitry, the monitoring circuitry configured to monitor for a protection event at the line card; a reception circuitry, the reception circuitry configured to receive a protection message dropped to the protection hardware from the switching infrastructure; a switch protection circuitry configured to determine a need for a time-critical network alteration from a protection event received through at least one of the monitoring circuitry and the reception circuitry; and an action circuitry configured to interface with the switching infrastructure of the line card to implement the time-critical network alternation comprising blocking and unblocking ports quickly through dedicated circuit pathways in the protection hardware.