Patent ID: 8565071

Claim:
A protection method in a packet transport network, in which a protection path is established for bearing a service data flow on a shared protection ring, wherein the service data flow comprises at least a first service data flow and a second service data flow, which is subsequent to the first service data flow, and the protection path comprises a wrapping protection path and a steering protection path, the method comprising: sending, by a node, the first service data flow through the wrapping protection path if being informed that a span of the shared protection ring is failed; stopping sending, by the node, the second service data flow through the wrapping protection path; buffering, by the node, the second service data flow; after the node stops sending the second service data flow through the wrapping protection path, determining if the first service data flow again passes by a source node or a target node and switching, by the node, the protection path from the wrapping protection path to the steering protection path if it is determined that the first service data flow passes by the source node or the target node again; and sending, by the node, the buffered second service data flow through the steering protection path.