Patent ID: 8018843

Claim:
A communications network comprising: an aggregated link between a first end point and a second end point, wherein the aggregated link comprises a plurality of parallel sub-links extending from the first end point to the second end point, and wherein the aggregated link further comprises at least portions of a first working path and a second working path over which Ethernet packets are transported through the network; and one or more network components configured to: identify a first partial fault along the aggregated link, wherein the first partial fault comprises a decrease in a capacity of the aggregated link, and wherein the decreased capacity of the aggregated link is greater than zero; determine that an aggregated data rate exceeds the decreased capacity of the aggregated link, wherein the aggregated data rate comprises a first data rate and a second data rate corresponding to the first working path and the second working path, respectively; generate a first fault report that specifies a first reduction, wherein the first reduction proportionally decreases the first data rate and the second data rate on a percentage basis such that the aggregated data rate no longer exceeds the decreased capacity of the aggregated link subsequent to the first reduction; and transmit the first fault report to a first node associated with the first working path and a second node associated with the second working path.