Patent ID: 8416683

Claim:
A method for protecting a data service in a Metropolitan Area Transport Network, comprising: establishing a work path for transporting a service between a source node and a work destination node of the service in the Metropolitan Area Transport Network (MATN), wherein the source node is a node in the MATN through which the service enters the MATN, the work destination node is a node via which a service in the work path leaves the MATN; setting a node other than the work destination node as a protection destination node; establishing a protection path between the source node and the protection destination node for protecting the service in the work path, wherein the protection destination node is a node via which a service in the protection path leaves the MATN; the source node detecting a failure state of: (a) a first path component comprising links of the work path and the protection path, and (b) a node in the first path component; the work destination node and the protection destination node each detecting a failure state of a second path component comprising the links connecting the work destination node and the protection destination node to at least one data device that is connected to the data network, and if there is the failure, notifying the source node; and switching the data service in the work path to the protection path by the source node upon one or more of the following conditions: (a) when the failure state of the link of the work path or the failure state of the node in the link is detected, and (b) a failure state notice of the work destination node is received; the source node continuing transmitting the data service in the protection path after the work path recovers from the failure state.