Patent ID: 7370107

Claim:
A method for using the complete resource capacity of a synchronous digital hierarchy network, subject to a protection mechanism, in the presence of a data packet network, said network comprising nodes bidirectionally transmitting time division multiplex (TDM) and data traffic over Working and Protection capacity/channels, wherein in case of a failure at the affected nodes, said method comprising: cutting the working capacity; subjecting the TDM traffic to said protection mechanism, and shifting the TDM traffic over the protection capacity; shifing a part of high priority data traffic over the protection capacity; and a part of low-priority data traffic, transported over the protection capacity in normal conditions, shares a remaining protection capacity with a low-priority part of the data traffic, transported over the working capacity in normal conditions, wherein the complete protection capacity is used to carry data traffic in both normal and failure conditions, wherein in said network nodes, an Actuator function is performed on a connection matrix of a cross-connect, whereby in case of a failure, new matrix connections to the protection capacity are established in order to restore the failed working capacity, said Actuator function causing the performing of the following actions on said protection capacity, in case of a failure: squelching partially the low priority traffic, present before the failure, and pre-empting only a part of the low priority traffic necessary for carrying said TDM and said high priority data traffic; Bridge and Switch comprising acting on the cross-connection matrix to restore the TDM and high priority data traffic; and balancing the access for the low priority data traffic to the remaining spare capacity by said statistical multiplexing.