Patent ID: 7181534

Claim:
A method of automatically mapping network addresses of a first protocol for a plurality of network elements in a first network to network addresses of a second protocol, comprising the steps of: defining a table maintained in each network element of the plurality of network elements; wherein the table maintained in each network element of the plurality of network elements is built automatically; assigning an address corresponding to the first protocol for each network element of the plurality of network elements; assigning an address corresponding to the second protocol for each network element of the plurality of network elements; associating the addresses corresponding to the first and second protocols within the table for each network element of the plurality of network elements, the second protocol being a different protocol than the first protocol; advertising an association of the addresses corresponding to the first and second protocols, allowing each network element of the plurality of network elements to build the table; and wherein each of the network elements utilize the first protocol addresses to transmit data destined for other network elements via the first network, wherein the first protocol is Internet Protocol (IP) and the second protocol is Transport Identifier (TID), and wherein the addresses corresponding to the Internet Protocol (IP) are mapped to addresses corresponding to the Transport Identifier (TID) associating an update timer with the first protocol address for each network element in the first network; propagating the first protocol address from each network element in the first network at periodic intervals; resetting the update timer associated with each network element in the first network upon propagation of the first protocol address from that network element; removing a network element from the table if the update timer for that network element reaches a pre-determined count value; and wherein the first network is a SONET ring network and the first network protocol comprises the Internet protocol operating over a SONET Data Communications Channel protocol.