Patent ID: 8446906

Claim:
A network, comprising: an ingress node configured to: receive client data, the client data including a client overhead section and a client payload section, copy data, as virtual overhead data, from the client overhead section of the client data, map the client data into a frame, the frame including a frame overhead section and a frame payload section, the frame payload section including the client data, store the virtual overhead data in the frame overhead section of the frame, and output the frame on the network; an intermediate node configured to: receive the frame outputted by the ingress node, extract the virtual overhead data from the frame overhead section of the frame, process the virtual overhead data to create processed virtual overhead data, insert the processed virtual overhead data into the frame overhead section of the frame, and output the frame on the network, where the intermediate node does not recover the client data from the frame; and an egress node configured to: receive the frame outputted by the intermediate node, extract the processed virtual overhead data from the frame, recover the client overhead data, as recovered client overhead data, from the processed virtual overhead data, recover the client data from the frame, insert the recovered client overhead data into the client overhead section of the client data, and output the client data with the recovered client overhead data where the ingress node is further configured to: map the frame into a second frame, the second frame including a second overhead section and a second payload section, the second payload section including the frame, and where, when outputting the frame on the network, the ingress node is configured to output the frame within the second frame, and where the intermediate node is further configured to: receive the second frame, extract the frame from the second frame, and map the frame into a third frame, the third frame including a third overhead section and a third payload section, the third payload section including the frame, and where, when outputting the frame on the network, the intermediate node is configured to output the frame within the third frame.