Patent ID: 7764630

Claim:
A method for automatically discovering a bus system in a multipoint transport network (MTN), which the MTN is a two-dimensional arrangement of a plurality of nodes, wherein each node potentially can be logically connected with a plurality of physically adjacent nodes via a potential link connection, comprising the steps of: placing a first test signal in Generic Framing Procedure (GFP) layer overhead by GFP termination functions in order to first gain at least one relation between all GFP termination functions and corresponding termination points; deriving at least one of the relations between all connection points of the MTN bus by using local knowledge about the status of GFP adaptation functions, which needs a communication between all nodes of the MTN bus concerning the status of the GFP adaptation functions; and employing an adapted link management protocol (LMP) between all connection points of the MTN bus, wherein the LMP is adapted such that the placing step is further defined by detecting Termination Connection Point (TCP) to TCP relations using the standard LMP, the deriving step is further defined by exchanging messages for inferring a client layer link connection, wherein within said messages parameters are adapted in order to provide required information at the end of the, discovery process to each node, and wherein the employing step is further defined by forming a new MTN bus message containing the at least one of the relations and sending the new bus message along the MTN bus, and wherein discovery of conditions of the nodes takes place in the control plane such that to discover the conditions of at least one potential connection between the nodes, the data plane is checked against the control plane.