Patent ID: 7012933

Claim:
An multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) packet network, having at least one source edge router, at least one label switch router, and at least one destination edge router connected by transmission links, and using a packet transport protocol providing a protocol type indicator of the transported packet, the network comprising: means for assigning different protocol type indicators for user MPLS packets and non-user MPLS packets of at least one additional protocol type; means at the source edge router for transmitting the non-user MPLS packets; means at the label switch router for forwarding MPLS packets received from the source edge router or from another label switch router in such a manner as to preserve the protocol type indicator of the packet transport protocol of each received MPLS packet; and means at the destination edge router for recognizing the protocol type indicator of the transport protocol of the MPLS packets received from the label switch router and means for segregating the user MPLS packets from non-user MPLS packets.