Patent ID: 8797886

Claim:
A method comprising: receiving, with an intermediate network device along a label switched path (LSP) having a plurality of alternative paths, a request that conforms to a first connectivity protocol to perform a first verification of the LSP; generating, with the intermediate network device, first packet header information that conforms to the first connectivity protocol and second packet header information that conforms to a second connectivity protocol, wherein the first packet header information and the second packet header information are associated with two or more of the plurality of alternative paths of the LSP; and sending the first packet header information and the second packet header information from the intermediate network device to a network device in a single reply packet that conforms to the first connectivity protocol, wherein the first packet header information and the second packet header information in the reply packet instruct the network device with packet header information to form packets and direct the packets along the individual paths in accordance with both the first connectivity protocol and the second connectivity protocol.