Patent ID: 7903565

Claim:
A method of simultaneously monitoring, in a Multi-Protocol Label Switching network, both a label switched path and a tandem connection of said label switched path, said tandem connection being a section of said label switched path comprising a sequence of succeeding nodes, said tandem connection to be monitored having an input node and an output node, said method comprising the steps of: receiving a first Operation, Administration and Management, OAM, packet at the input node, said first OAM packet having a switching header and an OAM header; generating at the input node a second Operation, Administration and Management, OAM, packet having an OAM header; inserting a tandem connection header, different from the OAM header, in said first OAM packet after said switching header; sending towards said output node both said first OAM packet with the tandem connection header and said second OAM packet; at said output node, identifying said second OAM packet according to the absence of said tandem connection header, and extracting said second OAM packet from said label switched path for monitoring said tandem connection; and at said output node, identifying said first OAM packet according to the presence of said tandem connection header, removing said tandem connection header, and forwarding said first OAM packet along said label switched path for monitoring said label switched path.