Patent ID: 8462788

Claim:
A method for setting up a Label Switching Path (LSP), the method comprising: sending, by an ingress edge node, a label request packet to a downstream node, wherein the label request packet carries an Equal Cost Multi-Path (ECMP) property flag of a Forwarding Equivalence Class (FEC); sending, by the downstream node that receives the label request packet, the label request packet to a next-hop node according to the property flag; performing, by the node that receives the label request packet, label mapping according to a path of the label request packet, distributing a label based on the FEC, and setting up an LSP; wherein the ECMP property flag indicates setting up an ECMP route is permitted or setting up an ECMP route is not permitted; and wherein sending the label request node according to the property flag comprises: selecting, by the downstream node, one of multiple next-hop nodes to receive the label request packet if the property flag indicates that setting up an ECMP route is not permitted and the downstream node has the multiple next-hop nodes.