Patent ID: 8830826

Claim:
An apparatus for selecting a backup egress node for a backup egress path, comprising: a memory; a processor coupled to the memory, wherein the memory includes instructions that when executed by the processor causes the apparatus to perform the following: transmit a message that specifies the apparatus is configured to select the backup egress node for the backup egress path; receive a path computation element (PCE) protocol (PCEP) request (PCReq) message requesting to select the backup egress node for the backup egress path to protect against a fault in a primary egress node of a Point to Multi-Point (P2MP) or Point-to-Point (P2P) label switched path (LSP); and transmit a reply message that comprises a selection result for selecting the backup egress node for the backup egress path, wherein the backup egress path extends from a previous-hop internal node of the primary egress node of the P2MP or P2P LSP to a backup egress node, and wherein the PCReq message comprises a request parameters (RP) object comprising a backup egress bit (T) flag that is set to a value to specify that the PCReq message is requesting selection of the backup egress node.