Patent ID: 7447213

Claim:
A method for realizing an end-to-end connection between a client layer connected to a Resilient Packet Ring (RPR) network and a client layer connected to a Multi Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) network, the method comprising: interconnecting the RPR network and the MPLS network through a Transparent LAN Service (TLS )layer; in the direction from RPR to MPLS: encapsulating received client frames in TLS packets, indicating the final destination; encapsulating the TLS packets in RPR packets and passing the encapsulated TLS packets to the MPLS network; wherein the TLS packets become MPLS packets and travel in the MPLS network until the final destination; and in the direction from MPLS to RPR: encapsulating received client frames in MPLS packets, indicating a Label Switched Path (LSP) that has to be followed up to the final destination; switching the MPLS packets inside the MPLS network and then passing the switched MPLS packets to the TLS network, becoming TLS packets; encapsulating the TLS packets in RPR packets and wherein the encapsulated PLS packets travel in the RPR network, until the final destination, wherein an auxiliary TLS Header is added to said received client frames, obtaining said TLS packets; then an RPR Header is added to said TLS packets, obtaining said RPR packets, and in that said TLS Header contains a channel identifier field, identifying the connection between the client layer connected to the RPR network and the client layer connected to the MPLS network, said TLS Header further containing Reserved bits and Error correction bits, and wherein in the direction from RPR to MPLS, the TLS header is converted in an MPLS Header by the following steps: the TLS channel identifier field is left unchanged and becomes the MPLS Label in the MPLS header; TLS Reserved bits are left unchanged and put in the MPLS header; the TLS Error correction bits are removed and a predefined MPLS Time-to-live value is inserted in the MPLS header.