Patent ID: 8570871

Claim:
A network component comprising: a receiver unit configured to receive a signal indicating an aggregated label switched path (LSP) associated with a composite link that comprises a plurality of component links, and a plurality of identifiers for a plurality of data flows of the aggregated LSP that are associated with the component links; a logic unit configured to map each of the identifiers to one corresponding link of the component links; and a transmitter unit configured to forward the data flows on the corresponding component links and send the corresponding identifiers in a plurality of inner labels below a top LSP label in the data flow's packets, wherein the receiver unit is further configured to receive a second signal indicating a bidirectional LSP on one of the component links, and wherein the transmitter is further configured to indicate in a return message a plurality of candidate links from the component links for the bidirectional LSP, and wherein the identifiers identify the data flows to which a plurality of data packets within the aggregated LSP belong.